Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Supermarkets & Bakeries
Every town and village has at least one small supermarket. The most expensive is 10-11,
but it's generally open late. Bónus (easily recognised by its yellow-and-pink piggy sign) is
the country's budget supermarket chain. Others include Hagkaup, Kjarval, Krónan, Nettó,
Nóatún, Samkaup-Strax and Samkaup-Úrval. Opening times vary greatly; in Reykjavík
most are open from 9am to 11pm daily, but outside the capital hours are almost always
shorter. Sunday hours may be limited or nonexistent.
We can't praise the old-school Icelandic
bakarí
(bakeries) enough. Most towns have one
(it may be part of a supermarket), generally open from 7am or 8am until 4pm on weekdays
(sometimes also Saturdays). They sell all sorts of inexpensive fresh bread, buns, cakes,
sandwiches and coffee, and usually provide chairs and tables.
Iceland has to import most of its groceries, so prices are steep - roughly two or three
times what you'd pay in North America or Europe. Fish (tinned or smoked) and dairy
products represent the best value and are surprisingly cheap. Some fruit and vegetables are
grown locally, and these tend to be fresh and tasty, but imported vegetables sometimes
look pretty sad by the time they hit the supermarket shelves.
Check out
50 Crazy Things to Taste in Iceland,
by Snæfríður Ingadóttir (great photos by
Þorvaldur Örn Kristmundsson), for a few fun pictorials of Iceland's traditional eats.
Vegetarians & Vegans
You'll have no problem in Reykjavík - there are some excellent meat-free cafe-restaurants
in the city, and many more eateries offer vegetarian choices (you'll probably want to eat
every meal at Gló). Outside the capital most restaurants have at least one veggie item on
the menu - although as this is routinely cheese-and-tomato pasta or pizza, you could get
very bored. Vegans will usually have to self-cater.
