Accommodation and Vegetarian Food in Iceland

Vegetarian Food in Iceland is a concern for every vegetarian when planning a trip to Iceland. So was I. I thought we will have to survive on pizzas and pasta only. I searched for restaurants at each place and found only 1 or 2 restaurants having some vegetarian choices. Apart from pizzas, we devoured delicious curries at a few places. Obviously, Reykjavik being the capital city has a plethora of options, but we didn’t stay there. Also, eating out is extremely expensive.

For accommodations, you can find one or two hotels, one or two guesthouse and some cottages at each place. I’m a sucker for hotels and tried to stay at hotels as far as possible. One of the days we stayed at a cottage with a hot pool overlooking the mountains. I would highly recommend staying at a cottage at least once during your trip to Iceland.

If you haven’t yet, check out my 10 days in Iceland Trip Report.

Must Eat in Iceland

Before I start with where to stay in Iceland and where to find vegetarian food in Iceland, there are 2 essential things in Iceland which you must try:

• Ris Buffs – are chocolate covered marshmallows that have crispy rice bubble bits in the chocolate. Available at supermarkets.
• Skyr – Icelandic yoghurt

Keflavik

Accommodation – Park Inn by Radisson Reykjavik Keflavik Airport

We arrived at almost midnight and got our room keys in literally 30 seconds. The reception guy had kept it ready for us. He didn’t require our passports or a credit card for security or any paperwork to be done. That was a shock, but pretty much was the norm in Iceland when we were there in 2017.

Rooms were large, clean and attractive. Moreover, the bathroom was good too. What caught my eye was a funky changeable colourful light behind the bed. Something which I saw for the first time in a hotel room. The beds were super comfy, and we slept like a baby after our tiring day and a flight from Paris. I was very sceptical in choosing this hotel owing to its terrible reviews on TripAdvisor, but everyone agreed it was one of the best hotels of our trip. I would highly recommend staying here before or after a flight.

Dinner

We arrived in Iceland past midnight and didn’t search for a restaurant to have dinner. We drove straight to our hotel where they didn’t have options for a late dinner and we were forced to survive on a small pizza we ate on the plane until the next morning. The next day, we left the hotel at noon. We didn’t have breakfast included here, so didn’t bother paying for the breakfast.

By now, I was starving and I literally started crying as we didn’t have a proper dinner for the past 3 nights. I didn’t care about any of our plans for today. The first thing I needed was a good filling meal. So we searched for nearby options in GPS and found Dominoes where we hogged on pizzas. Sorry, I couldn’t even wait to click a photo.

If you arrive late and want to have dinner, there is a Subway in the Keflavik area which is open 24/7.

Hella

Accommodation – Stracta Hotel Hella

In Iceland, since we were moving hotels each night, most of them were just to crash for the night. Also, we felt in Iceland hotels had a similar feel. Clean, decent size room with similar style bathrooms. Further, they were more expensive than you will find in other European countries. But then in Iceland, most attractions are free, so we didn’t mind paying a little more for food and hotel stay. In the end, it balances out. The USP of this hotel is that they have hot tubs and a sauna to relax after a long day of sightseeing.

Dinner

I wanted to have dinner at Minilik Ethiopian Restaurant in Fludir before heading to Hella, but we reached there after their closing time of 9 pm. So was left with no choice but to have dinner at our hotel, whose restaurant thankfully closed at 10 pm. Most restaurants close by 9 or 10 pm in Iceland, and then it is almost impossible to find food.

We had a delicious risotto for dinner at our hotel. We also found pastries which were nicely displayed at the reception area and of course we devoured some of them for desserts.

Vik

Accommodation – Volcano Hotel

It’s a boutique hotel with only 7 rooms. They are decorated in Scandinavian style, with hardwood floors and light interiors. Rooms were bigger when compared with other hotels we stayed in Iceland and even had a good size bathroom. However, the shower pressure was low and would have preferred water to be hotter. The room also had a sitting area with a sofa. The room had a small window where I loved watching sheep playing around. Could have watched all night long as there is almost 24 hrs daylight but forced myself to sleep as we had yet another long day tomorrow.

This hotel had dinner available only with prior reservations. So make sure to eat at a restaurant in Vik. In short, this hotel was good but not great. Also, we paid more for this hotel than our other hotels in Iceland. It didn’t have any uniqueness and wasn’t a good value for money.

Dinner – Sudur Vik

For finding Vegetarian Food in Iceland, it is better to search beforehand and see what veg dishes restaurants have on their menu. I had searched for restaurants in Vik catering to vegetarians and found 2 options, which seemed good:

1. Halldorskaffi – offered veg Burger, veg pizza and breadsticks.
2. Sudur Vik – offered veg pizza and garlic bread, also on request they can make veg curry with rice. 

I chose Sudur because they had a couple of veg options. However, on the day we went, their pizza oven was not working, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We ordered rice and curry, and it was finger-licking good. It was one of the rare days in Iceland when we had a good meal without having pizzas. Moreover, the best part was its excellent and quick service. We got our food within 5 minutes of ordering, which everyone loves in my family. No one likes fine dining and having long elaborate dinners.

Hofn

Accommodation – Seljavellir Guesthouse

They had check-in until 9 pm (when we went), but we called them up in advance and informed them that we will be late by half an hour. The host had no problem waiting for us. In fact, she was happy that we informed her about our late arrival. I just met her for 2 minutes at check-in and check-out and felt like a friend in no time. She was always smiling and beaming with energy.

It is a guesthouse but had all the amenities like a hotel. The rooms were modern with a decent bathroom. The con was that the bathroom didn’t have a glass separator between the toilet and the shower. We loved that the room had a huge window where I spent the good part of the night looking at the lovely views. Request for rooms with the best views as one side has better views than the other. We didn’t get the room with the best views. Nonetheless, it was still pretty good. Also had a delicious breakfast, one of the rare hotels in Iceland where I got pancakes :).

Dinner – Kaffi Hornid

In Hofn, I had shortlisted 2 restaurants for Vegetarian food:

1. Kaffi Hornid – had veg soup, pasta, sandwich and pizza on its menu.
2. Pakkhus Restaurant – had some limited veg options like veg pie and spring rolls.

I chose Kaffi Hornid for dinner tonight as it had some options for veg food. They had a dish called Byggotto. According to the description, it is barley and vegetables in homemade tomato sauce with Parmesan cheese on top. It sounded something different and unique. It turned out to be super delicious and was the best dish we had in Iceland. We also ordered veg pasta and pizza. It was good enough, but the barley dish was out of the world.  We also had some curly fries. Ended the meal with Icelandic pastry, which was almost like doughnuts.

Seydisfjordur (East Fjord)

Accommodation – Langahlid Cottage in Seydisfjordur

It is a set of 3 cottages in Seydisfjordur. We had planned to reach at 2 pm but eventually got there only at 6 pm. But it didn’t matter as the daylight is there for almost 24 hrs. We quickly changed and took a dip in our private hot tub overlooking the stunning mountains and fjords. The temperature of the hot tub was perfect, and they had already set it up for us. We didn’t have to do anything except open the lid. We devoured onion rings and chips while chilling in the hot tub. Washed it all down with coke and sprite. It was a surreal experience and highly recommend staying at least a night. 

We had 2 bedrooms with a double bed in each room and 1 bedroom with a bunk bed. But had only 1 bathroom between the 4 of us. They provided linens, towels, and a cleaning service. The cottage was lovely, but the rooms were tiny. Something we didn’t care about as most of our time was spent in the living room and the hot pool. Being a cottage, we had a full kitchen which we used just to heat our takeaway food. The only thing they expect you to do is wash vessels. Otherwise, they would charge 50 Euros for the same. We spent a good 2 hours in the hot pool admiring the views. The view from the hot tub was absolutely stunning. But in no time, it became foggy and no one could tell that mountains lie behind the fog.

Dinner – Salt Cafe & Bistro

We reached Egilsstaðir around 5 pm and took a takeaway from Salt Cafe. They had a vast variety of veg food, something rare in Iceland. In Iceland, we never had problems going overboard while ordering. In most restaurants, we would just say 1 of each dish. Vegetarian food in Iceland is limited, and most restaurants had only a few choices. However, here we were spoiled for choices and we ordered way too much.

We had an Indian curry with rice, naan, falafel wrap and a pizza. Everything was absolutely delicious but expensive.

Mývatn

Accommodation – Hotel Laxa

Laxa Hotel is a relatively new hotel, that opened its door in 2014. We paid a little extra to get the lake view rooms. The view from the room was good but not great. I can’t say what views are like from the standard room, but from our lake view rooms, we enjoyed staring at the lake with mountains in distance. Rooms had a modern feel to them and were well equipped with all the amenities. I was sceptical about the bathroom, but it turned out to be good enough. In all, we liked the hotel.

Dinner

On our first night, we had plans to have dinner at Salka restaurant in Húsavík after doing our whale watching tour. I read raving reviews about them. But by the time we reached, they had just closed for the night. We called up a few other restaurants in Myvtan and all would have closed by the time we would reach there from Húsavík. Having no option left, we called up our hotel in Myvtan and ordered 2 portions of risottos and french fries. Risottos were creamy and filling. We enjoyed it with lovely views from our room.

On our next day, we had dinner at Daddi’s Pizza. For vegetarian food in Iceland, one thing you will find everywhere is Pizzas. It is tough to go wrong with Pizzas. We didn’t have any bad pizzas in Iceland. At most other places, we got other dishes along with a pizza, but here they make only pizzas. On their menu, they had marked vegetarian options, and we ordered 3 different medium pizzas to share between 4 of us. Each of them was mouth-watering, and we enjoyed every bite of it.

The other place I wanted to try but couldn’t was Vogafjos Cowshed Cafe, which is something different and unique. It is located inside a cowshed and makes its own mozzarella. They are also known for their Geysir rye bread, Geysir bread ice cream, and homemade cakes.

Akureyri is 80 Km from Mývatn, which is a bigger town and has more options for vegetarian food. If you are here or passing through, you can have a meal at Indian Curry House and get your Indian cravings fixed. Check timings as their opening hour is very short.

Hvammstangi

Accommodation – Hotel Laugarbakki

This hotel was a perfect place in Hvammstangi to crash for the night. By now, we felt Icelandic hotels are similar in style. This was no different. The rooms and bathroom were clean, comfortable and a decent size. They even have hot tubs, which we didn’t use.

Dinner

By the time we would reach Hvammstangi, all restaurants would have closed. So we stopped in Blönduós, which is 60 Km from Hvammstangi, and got a takeaway of pizzas from B&S Restaurant. They had a kids’ party going on, so took quite a while to prepare our order. But pizzas were flavorful and yummy. They also have a couple of other veg dishes like a veg burger, veg casserole, pasta, and nachos, which we didn’t try.

If looking to have dinner in Hvammstangi, Sjavarborg Restaurant has some veg options like nachos, veg burgers, and pizzas.

Isafjördur

Accommodation – Hotel Isafjördur

This hotel is in the heart of town and offers a panoramic view of the fjords and the surrounding mountains. Indeed, we had lovely views from our room. Ask for rooms with a view, as only one of our two rooms had an amazing view. The rooms and bathroom were a good size, and we didn’t have any complaints. In all, we enjoyed our stay here and would highly recommend staying here as options are limited in Isafjördur.

Dinner – Húsið

As Ísafjörður is a small town, choices are limited. After researching restaurants here, I settled on Húsið. Here, we had some delicious pizzas. This restaurant is known for its vegetarian pie, which was a tortilla filled with salads. It wasn’t what I was expecting a pie to be. Nonetheless, was tasty. Since he forgot to get our vegetarian pie, he offered a free cake. Their cake was so soft and so delicious. It disappeared in no time.

Patreksfjörður

Accommodation – Fosshotel Westfjords

It opened in 2013 and is a modern hotel, 60 kilometres from Látrabjarg Bird Cliff. This was one of the rare hotels in Iceland where we got inter-connecting rooms. Since it is relatively a new hotel rooms and bathrooms were nicely done and had all the amenities. Moreover, our rooms had a lovely panoramic view.

Dinner

Today, we ate at our hotel. We ordered at the restaurant at the time of check-in and they were happy to get the food in our rooms. They had 2 veg items – pesto pasta and onion rings. The pesto pasta was too dry for our liking. However, the onions rings were crispy and tasty.

Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Accommodation – Fosshotel Hellnar

We found this hotel to be dated. I had booked 2 standard rooms with ocean views. Here, rooms were the smallest out of all the hotels we stayed in Iceland. There was no space to keep luggage, and the bathroom was tiny too and needed an upgrade. As the room type booked, rooms had a delightful sea view. Compared to its counterpart in Westfjords, this hotel was a no match and much costlier. In fact, it was the costliest hotel we stayed in Iceland. If staying here, go with the superior rooms which are much bigger, about 30 square meters whereas standard rooms are only 16 square meters. Else find another hotel on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

Dinner

Since we covered a lot of sights today, we would have reached late when all restaurants would have closed. So yet again, we called up the hotel and ordered dinner. They were happy to take the order on the phone and get the food prepared as later as possible. On inquiring about vegetarian choices, he said they have vegetarian patties. So we ordered 2 of them.

After arrival, within minutes, they got us 2 plates of vegetarian patties in our room. It was well presented and had 2 potato patties covered in barbecue sauce served with mashed potato, pumpkin puree, and a salad. It was the perfect meal for a person, and it was super delicious. Thankfully, it was not made of soya. We are vegetarians from birth and hate soya. We don’t like a mimic of non-veg dishes or mock meat. If the kitchen would have been open, we would have ordered 2 more portions of it.

So in all, Fosshotel Hellnar had bad rooms but served the best vegetarian food in Iceland.

Reykjavík

Accommodation

We didn’t stay in Reykjavík. Being the capital city, it has plenty of hotels to choose from.

Vegetarian food

In Reykjavík, you can find ample restaurants catering to vegetarians and a wide variety of cuisines like Indian, Chinese, Mexican and so forth. We just passed through Reykjavík and wanted to eat at the Noodle Station. However, we just couldn’t find parking there. We gave up and started our drive to the Blue Lagoon. But then we saw Taco Bell, which had parking, so we just stopped there to grab something to eat. We had nachos and burritos. 

That’s it on accommodations and vegetarian food in Iceland. There are limited hotels and guesthouses at each place, but we found a decent option at each place. Anyway, we were almost moving each night, so didn’t spend much time at each hotel. For vegetarian food, options are limited but sufficient to survive 10 days in Iceland. Yes, food and accommodations are costly when compared to other European destinations, but most of the attractions are free. So at the first glance, it looks too over-priced, but then it balances out.

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Planning a trip to Iceland and Benelux?

Check out all the other posts in this series:

Benelux, Paris & Iceland Trip Planning and Booking
10 days in Benelux: An Epic Itinerary and Trip Report
Vegetarian Food in Amsterdam: What we ate in 3 days
Vegetarian food in Belgium: What we ate in 5 days
2 Days in Paris: Trip Report & Our Misadventures
10 days in Iceland: An Ultimate Itinerary & Trip Report

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