Given we were in Reykjavik for a week, Hubs and I treated ourselves to not one, but two nice meals (to be fair there are a number of other great restaurants we didn’t even get to). While both were wonderful and represented all that Iceland has to offer, if you were pushed for time (or money) I would still go for Dill – it feels more special. There is some je ne sais quo that the Grillmarkaðurin doesn’t seem to have.
Reservations? Made online. Given the busy nature of the restaurant, I would say these are necessary.
Ambiance? Chic viking hall. Is that a thing? The upstairs receives all the natural light (when available) and down a grand staircase is the remainder of the dining area. The tables are closer than I usually prefer – we were seated nearly on top of other diners, but the acoustics are enough that you are not overhearing what’s being said at your neighbors table. Also, the sinks in the toilets have a cool feature – I’ll leave it for you to discover.
Food? Do you like protein? I mean, REALLY like it? Then I might have the restaurant for you! We opted to the tasting menu, which includes the best of what the restaurant has to offer. Come to the restaurant hungry, because there is going to be a lot of food.
Service? Compared to Dill, I think I preferred the service at Grillmarkaddin. While I enjoyed the interaction with the chefs more at Dill, the wait staff at Grillmarkaddin was better. Very professional and approachable – much like all the Icelanders we met!
Cost? 18.900 kr per person with selected wines for the tasting menu.
Parting thoughts form Hubs… Did we just eat Puffin sliders?