Iceland: August 2021: Day 8: Reykjavik

Iceland

August 2021: Day 8: Reykjavik

Conveyor belt sushi is rarely a good idea.

Lots of sushi.

Quite a long bar.

Salmon sashimi was pretty good, the rest was okay at best, kinda gross at worst.

Had hoped the crab would be okay. It disappointed.

Huge pieces of avocado. Still not very good.

Salmon sushi was meh, the rice here is not good (what do you expect for conveyor belt...).

Baejarins Beztu Pylsur, supposedly the best hot dog in Iceland.

Hot dog and soda, ISK 850 ($6.72).

Loaded means some crunchy bits and some very mild onions, not just ketchup and mustard.

Downtown Reykjavik's tourist heart.

Inside Dill.

Chefs hard at work.

Dried fish.

Placesettings and menu. Menu.

Menu.

Onion bread, pork croquettes.

Tiny pork croquettes.

Fish roe atop cheese and a cracker.

Appetizer spread.

Compressed cabbage is a wonderfully delicate flavor, paired with a very mild cheese.

Potato and mustard seed puree I think it was?

Barley, salt baked roots, mushrooms.

Raw arctic char and buttermilk, Nordic wasabi. NOM.

Smoked char and compressed angelica. Not quite as impressive.

Lamb tartare. Such a small quantity, hard to say how good it was?

Lamb shank. Aside from the bread, might be the closest "normal" food item on the menu.

Delicate lovage root covers the lamb.

Cucumber, fermented tomato, and dill. Meant to refresh your palate?

Whipped chocolate, rhubarb, brown butter. More delicate than a mousse.

Kneading dough for tomorrow.

Chocolates and caramels.

In an effort to sample more of the local seafood before leaving, OSUSHI conveyor belt sushi for lunch. Might have been the best deal out of any meal in Iceland, $49 after plucking 12 plates from the belt, and that included five plates of salmon sashimi! (note: being Iceland and a conveyor belt, the only two kinds of sashimi were salmon and seared tuna... and the seared tuna was not good.) And as it was almost next door, had to get Iceland's most famous hot dog, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur, for an additional snack.

Rest of the afternoon was a relaxing stroll, then we hopped back in the car for the quick drive to Sky Lagoon. Still touristy, Sky Lagoon has a bit more of an earthy feel than the much larger Blue Lagoon, but at least it's quick ten minute drive from Reykjavik, instead of being halfway to the airport. Instead of white rocks (concrete) and pale blue water, Sky Lagoon feels more immediately surrounded by dark volcano rocks and offers a cold pool, saunas, cold mist, and steam room if you pay a few bucks extra. Nice way to relax but like Blue Lagoon (and Iceland in general), not particularly cheap.

Wrapped up the last night of the trip at Iceland's only Michelin star, Dill. Current head chef Ragnar Eiriksson is very focused on sustainability and minimizing waste (as is owner/executive chef, Gunnar Karl Gislason), resulting in some delicious vegetables, both pickled and/or compressed-- the latter with delicate results. Lamb and Arctic char as well; almost wish I could have had an entire meal of just the raw Arctic char. While it's virtually impossible to say any fine dining is actually worth the money, Chef Eiriksson took the time to speak to all of his guests instead of delegating everything to his staff, and the care he takes is is evident throughout the meal.

And as far as price goes... fine dining isn't actually all that painful in Iceland, both in relative and absoute terms. Probably doesn't hurt that you're already numb to $50 meals, so a $100 meal (little over $200 with alcohol) doesn't shock you quite as much???