Sjávargrillið is a seafood grill in downtown Reykjavik, opened in 2011 by Iceland's 2010 Chef of the Year. The kitchen cooks the day's catch, langoustine, and Icelandic lamb over an open grill and finishes them with bold international spice blends. Guests eat across two floors built from materials sourced from North Iceland.
The name means "The Seafood Grill," and that explains the menu: catch of the day, salted cod, grilled salmon, and langoustine served in tacos, salads, and soup. As one of the best seafood restaurants in Reykjavik, Sjávargrillið draws locals often enough that the staff knows regulars by name.
Sjávargrillið is part of Guide to Iceland's VIP Club, and members receive 15% off food at lunch on weekdays from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM, and every evening from 5:00 PM. Drinks are charged at the regular price.
Sjávargrillið's Story: A Chef of the Year's Restaurant Since 2011
Chef Gústav Axel Gunnlaugsson was named Iceland's Chef of the Year in 2010 and opened Sjávargrillið the following year. His approach has stayed the same since: start with the freshest Icelandic ingredients available, cook them over the grill, and finish them with spice blends borrowed from kitchens around the world.
The interior is a piece of the chef's own story. Gústav grew up in Husavik, the fishing town on Skjalfandi Bay in North Iceland, and the corrugated iron behind the bar came from the old ice house on Flatey, the island just off his hometown's harbor.
The driftwood columns are pieces the chefs collected themselves while traveling Iceland in search of ingredients, and the result is a room that feels closer to a northern fishing village than to a downtown Reykjavik restaurant.
Sjávargrillið Menu: What to Order
Ask anyone who has eaten at Sjávargrillið what to order and the answer is usually the lobster tacos: deep-fried langoustine in a soft shell with garlic mayo, dates, and parmesan. They have been on the menu for years, and they are the dish people describe to friends afterward.
The salted cod, the grilled salmon, and the shellfish pasta with langoustine, shrimp, and scallops are the other plates that come up in every conversation. The catch of the day changes with the morning's landing, often wolffish or Arctic char, and it is the dish regulars tell first-time visitors to try.
The surprise is the lamb. For a restaurant named after seafood, Sjávargrillið's Icelandic lamb has a following of its own, which says something about how the grill treats it.
Adventurous diners tend to start with the fermented shark bites, a small taste of Iceland served with a proper explanation from the staff rather than a dare.
Weekdays run with a shorter lunch menu built for a quick meal: creamy tomato soup with shrimp, the langoustine tacos, salmon sashimi, shellfish salad, and the catch of the day, with salted cod, grilled salmon, and shellfish pasta as mains.
In the evening, the dinner menu widens to shellfish soup, beef carpaccio, salmon tartare, cod with scallop, lamb steak, and beef tenderloin.
For the full experience, choose one of three set menus, each available with paired wines: the six-course Grill Party, which takes around two hours and is served until 9:30 PM, the four-course Chef's Choice, or the three-course Fish Feast.
Guests who take the tasting menu with the wine pairing tend to call it the highlight of their visit.
Leave room for something from their dessert menu. The crème brûlée and the molten chocolate cake with butterscotch ice cream are the two worth fighting over.
A mushroom croquette main covers vegan diners, and the kitchen adjusts dishes for other dietary needs on request.
Drinks and Cocktails at Sjávargrillið
The bar mixes everything on its drink menu from scratch, with a rotating cocktail of the week and house specials such as Skal, made with Brennivín, birch, and thyme. Icelandic beers include Einstok Pale Ale and Toasted Porter, the wine list pairs with every course of the tasting menus, and five mocktails cover anyone skipping alcohol.
Sjávargrillið Location and Opening Hours
Sjávargrillið is at Skolavordustígur 14, 101 Reykjavik, on the corner of Odinsgata Street. It sits about halfway up Skolavordustigur (Rainbow Street), the sloping shopping street that climbs from Laugavegur to Hallgrimskirkja Church.
From the restaurant, the church is a three-minute walk uphill, and the main shopping streets are two minutes down. Most downtown Reykjavik hotels are within a ten-minute walk.
The restaurant's entrance is on the corner. The ground-floor dining room and bar sit behind the corrugated-iron walls, with a second, quieter dining room upstairs.
The upper floor suits a longer dinner or a group. The ground floor works for a quicker lunch.
Sjávargrillið keeps two services a day, with a break between lunch and dinner. Opening hours are:
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Monday to Friday: 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM and 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
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Saturday and Sunday: 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
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Lunch is served on weekdays only
Tables fill up on weekend evenings and through the summer, so book a day or two ahead. Weekday lunch is easier to walk into.
Why Visit Sjávargrillið
Sjávargrillið combines a kitchen run by a Chef of the Year since 2011, a menu built on Icelandic fish and lamb straight from the grill, and a room made of salvaged iron and driftwood from the north. With 15% off food for Guide to Iceland's VIP Club members at lunch and dinner, it is an easy choice for a first night in Reykjavik or a last meal before the flight home.
Book a table at Sjávargrillið ahead of time to be sure of a seat.
