Iceland Series: Favorite Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in Reykjavik

Reykjavik has so many good food options and many restaurants are vegan friendly. I’ve listed some of our favorites below for those of you who will be travelling to Reykjavik soon! However, in addition to those listed here, there were so many more that we didn’t try. Make sure to check out Ragnar Freyrir’s list of vegan options, which was literally a lifesaver when we were in Iceland.

Kaffi Vinyl
Kaffi Vinyl was all-vegan and all-delicious. We went here twice and got fabulous meals both times. I would recommend coming earlier rather than later because they tended to be busier later in the day. The first dish I got was a Thai noodle dish, which had spectacular flavor and was filled with veggies. The second time, I had a sandwich (I can’t remember which one for the life of me!), but it was also delicious. I also had a cupcake which hit the spot. The vibe in the restaurant is casual (you order from the counter) and has an edgy vibe. They have bands that play in the evenings and have a music vibe (hence the vinyl). This is a must for an vegan travelling to Iceland!

Cupcakes from Kaffi Vinyl

Garðurinn
This restaurant was a small quaint spot located in the heart of downtown. It only had a few tables and has a small rotating menu. They had a daily dish and soup on the menu so my husband and I each got one. The entrees were pretty good- heart and filling with good flavor. But what they really excelled in were their desserts. We got a raw peanut butter cup and some raw truffles. They were so good- I couldn’t believe they were raw!

Raw truffle and peanut butter cup at Garðurinn

C is for Cookie
This was our last stop before leaving to drive to the airport. We stopped here for a quick snack after learning they had a few vegan options- we ended up leaving completely full. They were very accommodating to us- altering a few of their sandwiches to be made vegan. The tofu on the sandwiches was supurb (I’m always a little weary of tofu at restaurants because many places have no idea how to cook it well) and literally made the sandwiches. In addition, we got some pastries, including apple cobbler and a granola pastry. Everything was perfect and more than we could have hoped. On top of that, the shop was a small café and was quaint and adorable. Couldn’t have asked for any better!

Tofu sandwich from C is for Cookie

Joylato
We stopped here for a sweet treat (despite it being fairly chilly) and loved it. They had a number of vegan flavors and toppings, so many options. In addition, they make the ice cream by mixing the cream and toppings with liquid nitrogen. Super unique! The inside was adorable, decorated with bright colors and candy-style decorations. In addition, the servers were both extremely friendly. 

Strawberry ice cream from Joylato

Núðluskálin
This restaurant was perfect after a long day in the cold. This restaurant is all soups and almost every one can be made vegan. My favorite was the Green Through, which had rice noodles, tofu, and fresh veggies. It was so flavorful and just absolutely perfect. As someone who usually thinks soup is a little overrated, I absolutely adored this place and highly recommend it.

Soup from Núðluskálin

-Passion Reykjavik
I LOVED this shop. We stopped here twice to get some breakfast before leaving to explore outside the city. Both times we got delicious pastries, including a giant chocolate rolls, delicious chocolate-covered croissants, and granola pastries. In addition to the delicious food, the inside was very cutely decorated and was a lovely café. I literally cannot recommend this place enough.

Chocolate-covered croissant from Passion Reykjavik

​Íslenska Flatbakan
This was one of our favorite places. This restaurant was located just outside Reykjavik in Kopavagur. It was mostly known for pizza and had so many delicious options. We started with vegan cheese breadsticks, which were filled with creamy vegan cheese and topped with spices. We got the Good-Hearted One, which had vegan chorizo, bananas, onions, jalapenos, pineapple, and peanut. It was SO DELICIOUS! It sounded so weird with the bananas, but it was amazing. It looks like since we’ve been there, they’ve added a few other options including a BBQ pizza, buffalo pizza, and buffalo breadsticks. Definitely recommend this unique and delicious pizza place. 

Vegan pizza at ​Íslenska Flatbakan

Eldur og Ís
We stumbled upon this shop while walking around Reykjavik and were not disappointed. There menu was filled with build-your-own crepes (sweet and savory) and they advertised vegan crepes. We went here multiple times, getting sweet and savory. Every single one we had was delicious. My only complaint is that they didn’t label which of the toppings was vegan, but this was easily remedied by asking the server. 

Vegan crepes at Eldur og Ís (Eldur and ice)

Sushibarinn
My husband and I craved sushi while in Iceland and read that Sushibarrin had great vegan sushi. We weren’t disappointed, with full vegan rolls. While the sushi was delicious, I want to point out that there were numerous “exotic” meats on this menu, which might disturb some people.