OK, let's get the very "not vegan in Reykjavik" part out of the way. On the streets, people are wearing fur (Oh lord, not those darling Icelandic foxes!). It may not be the locals, who seem impervious (adapted) to the cold, but the tourists have definitely taken the opportunity to adorn themselves in dead animals as though they had somehow entered an alternate universe where this were acceptable. Yuck. There are also reindeer hides for sale in the shop window. Yuck. And the restaurants, bizarrely, are serving up tourism animals to eat. You can either go watch the puffins and Minke whale or you can eat them with blueberry sauce. Weird, and yuck. Wholly incompatible and unsustainable.
That said, Iceland is a beautiful wild place powered by geothermal energy and lined with walking trails. There's an underlying eco-consciousness and dearth of fast food chains and take-away cups. The people stroll languidly through the cold and pleasantly gesture if you ask for help, but mostly expect you share their independence — no bloated safety messages or instructions given.
And here, in Reykjavik, people know what the word vegan means and you'll find it on menus.
We went to see the Northern Lights (as most of the tourists we talked to did, that, and the solar eclipse). A quest for Aurora Borealis, a trip centered on natural wonders and beauty, seems a fine purpose and we found pleasant company. We stayed mostly in Reykjavik and were there just four nights (so my observations are limited). We thought we'd be eating mostly what we could scavenge from mini-marts, but Happy Cow served us well as usual and it turned into a foodie vacation. We mitigated the effects by walking all over town.
As soon as we got off the plane, we had a fresh Joe & the Juice in the airport, not sure when we'd see our next fresh vegetable. As it turns out, Icelanders like their fresh juices and soy lattes are also ubiquitous.
Inside, KeflavÃk International Airport is one of the prettiest airports. It's well lit and decorated with art and literature. Outside, it is surrounded by barren landscape. If it's your first time in Iceland, you may gasp, "What...have....I...done?".
However, it's a short drive to interesting lava rock and moss-coated lands and the beautiful mountains soon rise above the landscape (if it is not a cloudy day).
In Reykjavik, we immediately went down the main touristy street Laugevegur with its alluring window-shopping (reindeer hides aside) to scout out some of the Happy Cow recommendations.
There are not any vegan restaurants, but some veg-friendly ones. We first scouted the vegetarian Cafe Babalu and were immediately lured inside by the promise of vegan carrot cake. It's a wonderful cozy, bookish geek-friendly cafe. We had the hearty veggie chili served with a more than generous side of corn chips and that very good carrot cake. This cafe has the best bathroom in Reyjakvik (for Star Wars fans) and more seating upstairs if the downstairs looks full.
Down the road, we also found a place that offered sweet and savory crepes with a vegan version made of spelt: pricey, if you make lots of additions, but very filling. You can follow this road straight to HallgrÃmskirkja to see the landmark Cathedral.
Later, we found Ecstasy's Heart-Garden, a restaurant operated by students of Sri Chinmoy. We felt right at home here because we like Silence-Heart-Nest in Fremont, Seattle and one of the staff gave us a brochure of an international directory of their locations. The restaurant had a rotating menu of one soup and one entrée served daily (some vegan), posted a week in advance, and a few vegan sweets available.
Further down the road, we tried The Laundromat Cafe which was a fun, busy, bright pub-type environment with friendly-staff. The only vegan item (other than those fresh juices) was an item under This & That called "Vegan Toast." It was unusual and wonderfully so (and, thus, a very Icelandic experience). Vegan toast turned out to be a grilled aubergine open-face sandwich topped with wasabi sauce, toasted cashews and beetroot chutney. Magically, it all comes together nicely for a unique and filling meal.
Although the locations were convenient, we weren't as excited to try Gló at first because we wondered if it would be too chain-like. We were wrong to hesitate. Then, when we finally went inside for a look, it appeared very fancy (like the kind of place that serves expensive raw food in small portions). Wrong again. Gló turned out to be a fantastic place to get huge veggie wraps, an assortment of fantastic looking salads and thick fruit and veggie-packed smoothies.
This is Iceland's version of fast food? Wow! Done right! It's like the restaurant version of your co-op deli or Whole Foods' salad bar. Please bring one of these to my town.
We also had culinary success eating at the touristy Cafe Loki with a view of HallgrÃmskirkja. This was one of the few meat-centric places we ate. It advertised traditional Icelandic food (of the meaty/fishy variety), but had a veggie plate. It was great: rye bread, a quinoa salad and garden salad. The server figured out that we were vegan without us saying and served us the bread unbuttered. Very nice.
So, the worst part of a vegan vacation in Iceland is that you return and people ask if you tried the fermented shark or sheep's head. Egads, and horrors! But, while not a vegan tourism mecca, it was no problem being vegan in Reykjavik. It's a gorgeous, walkable (do wear many layers), fascinating city with plenty of vegan treats. I returned with newfound appreciation for aubergine, spelt, quinoa and rye and juiced with abandon in Icelandic fashion. As the future is vegan, no doubt they'll soon have a vegan restaurant and someday only faux fur or Vaute coats on the streets. Meanwhile, vegans, you will certainly not suffer on a no-suffering diet in Reykjavik.
That said, Iceland is a beautiful wild place powered by geothermal energy and lined with walking trails. There's an underlying eco-consciousness and dearth of fast food chains and take-away cups. The people stroll languidly through the cold and pleasantly gesture if you ask for help, but mostly expect you share their independence — no bloated safety messages or instructions given.
 |
| Pic courtesy @Werner |
And here, in Reykjavik, people know what the word vegan means and you'll find it on menus.
We went to see the Northern Lights (as most of the tourists we talked to did, that, and the solar eclipse). A quest for Aurora Borealis, a trip centered on natural wonders and beauty, seems a fine purpose and we found pleasant company. We stayed mostly in Reykjavik and were there just four nights (so my observations are limited). We thought we'd be eating mostly what we could scavenge from mini-marts, but Happy Cow served us well as usual and it turned into a foodie vacation. We mitigated the effects by walking all over town.
As soon as we got off the plane, we had a fresh Joe & the Juice in the airport, not sure when we'd see our next fresh vegetable. As it turns out, Icelanders like their fresh juices and soy lattes are also ubiquitous.
Inside, KeflavÃk International Airport is one of the prettiest airports. It's well lit and decorated with art and literature. Outside, it is surrounded by barren landscape. If it's your first time in Iceland, you may gasp, "What...have....I...done?".
However, it's a short drive to interesting lava rock and moss-coated lands and the beautiful mountains soon rise above the landscape (if it is not a cloudy day).
In Reykjavik, we immediately went down the main touristy street Laugevegur with its alluring window-shopping (reindeer hides aside) to scout out some of the Happy Cow recommendations.
There are not any vegan restaurants, but some veg-friendly ones. We first scouted the vegetarian Cafe Babalu and were immediately lured inside by the promise of vegan carrot cake. It's a wonderful cozy, bookish geek-friendly cafe. We had the hearty veggie chili served with a more than generous side of corn chips and that very good carrot cake. This cafe has the best bathroom in Reyjakvik (for Star Wars fans) and more seating upstairs if the downstairs looks full.
 |
| Vegan Toast (That's the veggie burger in the background.) |
Later, we found Ecstasy's Heart-Garden, a restaurant operated by students of Sri Chinmoy. We felt right at home here because we like Silence-Heart-Nest in Fremont, Seattle and one of the staff gave us a brochure of an international directory of their locations. The restaurant had a rotating menu of one soup and one entrée served daily (some vegan), posted a week in advance, and a few vegan sweets available.
Further down the road, we tried The Laundromat Cafe which was a fun, busy, bright pub-type environment with friendly-staff. The only vegan item (other than those fresh juices) was an item under This & That called "Vegan Toast." It was unusual and wonderfully so (and, thus, a very Icelandic experience). Vegan toast turned out to be a grilled aubergine open-face sandwich topped with wasabi sauce, toasted cashews and beetroot chutney. Magically, it all comes together nicely for a unique and filling meal.
Although the locations were convenient, we weren't as excited to try Gló at first because we wondered if it would be too chain-like. We were wrong to hesitate. Then, when we finally went inside for a look, it appeared very fancy (like the kind of place that serves expensive raw food in small portions). Wrong again. Gló turned out to be a fantastic place to get huge veggie wraps, an assortment of fantastic looking salads and thick fruit and veggie-packed smoothies.
This is Iceland's version of fast food? Wow! Done right! It's like the restaurant version of your co-op deli or Whole Foods' salad bar. Please bring one of these to my town.
So, the worst part of a vegan vacation in Iceland is that you return and people ask if you tried the fermented shark or sheep's head. Egads, and horrors! But, while not a vegan tourism mecca, it was no problem being vegan in Reykjavik. It's a gorgeous, walkable (do wear many layers), fascinating city with plenty of vegan treats. I returned with newfound appreciation for aubergine, spelt, quinoa and rye and juiced with abandon in Icelandic fashion. As the future is vegan, no doubt they'll soon have a vegan restaurant and someday only faux fur or Vaute coats on the streets. Meanwhile, vegans, you will certainly not suffer on a no-suffering diet in Reykjavik.
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