Iceland: Cafe Loki
Located just kitty-corner to the Hallgrimskirkja is Café Loki, where we stopped for dinner our first night in Reykjavik:
The upstairs dining room was full, so we ended up sitting downstairs in the café:
While the others sipped on their Icelandic beers, CV and I went ham on our hot chocolates (630 ISK or around $6.30):
We decided to share everything as per usual. We started with the smoked trout and cottage cheese on homemade flatbread (2040 ISK or around $20.40):
Yea, I know. The prices are INSANE. I was getting heart palpitations until I forced myself to stop caring. (YOLO and all that.)
We got the Icelandic meat soup combo (2400 ISK or around $24):
It may look like just veggies in there, but trust me, there's lamb. So much lamb that CV could smell it coming from the kitchen. The lamb haters (CL and CV) sat out on the soup, which meant more for the rest of us!
The combo also came with coffee or tea and a flatbread with smoked lamb:
Café Loki offers many platters that let you sample traditional Icelandic fare. When presented with the option of trying fermented shark, we looked around the table and gave a collective, "Nah." We rather not spend money and stomach space on things we know we're not going to enjoy.
So instead of the more "exotic" plates, we went for the Icelandic plate III (2350 ISK or around $23.50):
It came with two rye bread slices, one topped with mashed fish and the other with pickled herring and egg. The crowning jewel was the rye bread ice cream. T loved it so much that she went back to Café Loki a few days later just to get the ice cream.
One pickled herring bread slice seemed a bit difficult to share, so we also ordered the Loki herring plate (2550 ISK):
It came with three different types of pickled herring and eggs prepared either scrambled or hardboiled.
And then for some reason, we somehow ended up with yet another pickled herring on rye bread (1520 ISK):
I can't remember how that came to pass, but I think I recall them being out of something we'd wanted to try...and then it gets a bit fuzzy after that. Miscommunication? I didn't mind. I discovered that day that I love pickled herring. It's delicious. For once, the eggs were overshadowed. (Actually, those eggs were so bland that they could have not been there at all.)
I also discovered that I love mashed fish. It's like mashed potatoes! But with fish. Oooh...now I'm just imagining it with gravy...
Café Loki is THE place to go if you want to sample your way through Icelandic cuisine. Yes, prices are steep, but that's standard for Iceland in general.
If you're curious, try the fermented shark. And then let me know how you liked it. I'll live vicariously through you.
Café Loki
Lokastigur 28, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
+354 466 2828
The upstairs dining room was full, so we ended up sitting downstairs in the café:
While the others sipped on their Icelandic beers, CV and I went ham on our hot chocolates (630 ISK or around $6.30):
We decided to share everything as per usual. We started with the smoked trout and cottage cheese on homemade flatbread (2040 ISK or around $20.40):
Yea, I know. The prices are INSANE. I was getting heart palpitations until I forced myself to stop caring. (YOLO and all that.)
We got the Icelandic meat soup combo (2400 ISK or around $24):
It may look like just veggies in there, but trust me, there's lamb. So much lamb that CV could smell it coming from the kitchen. The lamb haters (CL and CV) sat out on the soup, which meant more for the rest of us!
The combo also came with coffee or tea and a flatbread with smoked lamb:
Café Loki offers many platters that let you sample traditional Icelandic fare. When presented with the option of trying fermented shark, we looked around the table and gave a collective, "Nah." We rather not spend money and stomach space on things we know we're not going to enjoy.
So instead of the more "exotic" plates, we went for the Icelandic plate III (2350 ISK or around $23.50):
It came with two rye bread slices, one topped with mashed fish and the other with pickled herring and egg. The crowning jewel was the rye bread ice cream. T loved it so much that she went back to Café Loki a few days later just to get the ice cream.
One pickled herring bread slice seemed a bit difficult to share, so we also ordered the Loki herring plate (2550 ISK):
It came with three different types of pickled herring and eggs prepared either scrambled or hardboiled.
And then for some reason, we somehow ended up with yet another pickled herring on rye bread (1520 ISK):
I can't remember how that came to pass, but I think I recall them being out of something we'd wanted to try...and then it gets a bit fuzzy after that. Miscommunication? I didn't mind. I discovered that day that I love pickled herring. It's delicious. For once, the eggs were overshadowed. (Actually, those eggs were so bland that they could have not been there at all.)
I also discovered that I love mashed fish. It's like mashed potatoes! But with fish. Oooh...now I'm just imagining it with gravy...
Café Loki is THE place to go if you want to sample your way through Icelandic cuisine. Yes, prices are steep, but that's standard for Iceland in general.
If you're curious, try the fermented shark. And then let me know how you liked it. I'll live vicariously through you.
Café Loki
Lokastigur 28, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
+354 466 2828
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