Read some kind words in several papers and online guides…
From Tripadvisor:
As soon as I read about this place, I knew we had to visit. Each day there is a soup and an entree prepared and that is what is on offer. When we visited, it was an eggplant stew over rice and lentil soup. Both were outstanding! The cafe was very casual so it felt like dining in a friend’s home. If you enjoy delicious home-cooking, this is the place for you!
The cafe has a simple but wholesome vibe to it, with large servings sizes that are fairly priced and absolutely fill you up. The owner (I think he owned the place) was very pleasant and kind, really embodying the feel of the place. I got the meal of the day (nutloaf) with the soup option (coconut and beet) for about $21 and this filled me up, in fact I was stuffed. There are also several vegan cake and pastry options, alongside vegetarian desserts. A must-visit for vegan travellers in Reykjavik.
Loved loved this little cafe on a quiet street in Reykjavik. It had a 70’s vegetarian in Northern California vibe. The menu changes daily and has only two options. On my day I had “Indian inspired” cauliflower and dahl. It was delicious. You can also order a large plate or a small, and the prices are super reasonable. If I’d been staying any longer I would have gone back!
As a vegetarian for over 40 years, I’ve had my share of faux veggie fare when traveling. But this little cafe is the real deal. Simple, peaceful atmosphere. One dish per day, Perfectly seasoned, available in 2 portion sizes, vegetarian or vegan options. My non-vegetarian husband thoroughly enjoyed his meal as much as I did. The kind owner asked about our stay and gave us a few “insider” tips on our Golden Circle drive the next day. Highly recommend to anyone wanting a healthy meal!
Ok so I’m not vegetarian but my wife liked the idea of this when reading reviews from a book, and I am fine with vegetarian food as an alternative tasty choice from time to time.
There was no disappointment here. Each day they serve a soup and a stew. Each small or large in servings and I took the suggested route of one small soup and one small nut stew. Both where very tasty. My wife went for a large soup and chocolate cake after.
In short the stew was very flavoursome, the soup also, the chocolate cake was amazing.
Soups are served with bread you choose butter or homous as a spread.
Hot chocolate and coffee was great also.
This totted up to 5000 krona. Great value, especially in Iceland where everything is comparatively expensive to us brits.
This is perfect for a meal or even just a coffee and a cake.
Definitely on the list to try whilst staying locally.
We found this café by chance after visiting Hallgrimskirkja church… and are so glad we did!
The menu for the week – a soup and one main course each day – is displayed in the window (and on line), and, as we liked the sound of Friday’s meal, it seemed a good choice. We both ordered red lentil soup which came with a wonderful bread that contained nuts and was served with hommus. It was so filling and tasty that we didn’t have room for a slice of the delicious-looking carrot cake. Tea and coffee were served in very big cups.
We knew that Saturday’s menu was Madras soup and zucchini risotto, so we hurried back at lunchtime. It was a tough choice, but we each decided on a small portion of the risotto which was served with a garnish of green salad on the side.
Today we determined to try the cakes; my husband ate every crumb of his carrot cake, while I felt guilty with every mouthful of my caramel cake with dates, mint and caramel topping. But we loved them!
We would have returned on Sunday, but the owners need a well-deserved break.
What made our visits to this this café memorable?
Firstly, the very gentle owner and servers, who are quietly efficient. (They remembered our drinks order from the day before!)
Secondly, the obviously home-cooked food, bursting with flavour, which was also reasonably priced.
Thirdly, the peaceful atmosphere in the small room – there is also seating out the back – which is a welcome respite from the busy pace outside.
I’d love to have this café in my suburb!
Visited June 2016
This restaurant was right down the street from our hotel and we had a amazing meal there. The meal options are limited and change daily and the food is home made in the kitchen but it is REALLY good. If you are looking for good vegan food in Reykjavik, give this a try.
Visited July 2016
Nice lunch in this small veggie cafe. A simple concept of 1 soup and 1 main course which changes on a daily basis. You can either have just the soup, the main course or both together in small or large portions. It was Borscht and Spinach Lasagne when we visited. Nice coffee too.
The food at Cafe Gardurinn is so lovely. It’s like stopping by a friend’s house to have lunch. The two different dishes each day is also such a great concept… I visited multiple times during my time in Reykjavik and am looking forward to stopping by again during future visits.
Though it has limited hours, this cozy shop offered delicious vegetarian and vegan options for lunch and early dinner; hours end early on Wednesday. Imaginative substitutions and wonderful use of spices and herbs. Eat in service available.
Visited June 2016
We came across this by chance and we were so pleased we did. Quality food at a reasonable price .Very good value by Reykjavik standards.
They have a selection for each day and a small soup and main for us was perfect
Warm and friendly service in a cosy room
“Delicious and reasonably priced vegetarian food. And amazing cakes!”
We discovered this small vegetarian cafe by accident, and were so impressed that we returned again the next day. Open from about 11 to 6 Monday to Saturday and close to the centre, this cafe usually offers one daily changing choice of starter (eg soup) and main course, both of which in our experience consisted of truly delicious, home cooked vegetarian food, accompanied with good coffee and an irresistible range of superb home baked cakes.
It’s a small, clean cafe with friendly staff and a tranquil, stress free atmosphere – a real oasis from the nearby bustling streets. Perhaps because of this, it seemed very popular with local people as well as visiting tourists like us.
Very highly recommended, and all at (especially by Reykjavik standards) a very reasonable price.
Our family of six ,arriving cold and tired just as they were closing were made most welcome; staff stayed late to serve us and we were not hurried in any way, we returned for lunch the following day, busy as they were, we all had a good lunch,” warning the portions of cake they serve are gigantic! ”
Visited February 2016
This place was quite a find. The only vegetarian restaurant in Reykjavik, and serving exclusively vegetarian and vegan food.There are two menu options each day. One the day I went there was a wonderful soup and gorgeous lentil patties. Highly recommended for veggie and vegan diners, gluten free, healthy eating or just anyone who likes good food. Not bad value…
Wonderful little place. All vegetarian. Vegan choices. Two specials each day. No general menu. The day I went both options were vegan. Very friendly, cozy place.
Only two dishes per day but my goodness, are they well thought-out. Balanced, generous, very tasty, imaginative and overall gorgeous vegetarian & vegan food. Friendly staff with, needless to say, perfect English. Plain and welcoming decor.
Last week we stumbled back upon Cafe Garðurinn as we were looking for coffee and remembered how good that soup was. Nothing had changed and that was a good thing. Don’t expect a full menu as they make one entrée and one soup. When it’s out, it’s out and you won’t be able to order anything different. Well, you could always order dessert so definitely make room for some delicious cakes or “snickers.” Everyone, including me, raves about the carrot cake so don’t pass up on your chance to try a piece.
I ordered the Portuguese Cabbage Soup with hummus and bread and fully expected it to not live up to the hype I had given the rutabaga soup. But it ended up being so incredibly good. If they ever decide to sell a cookbook of their recipes, I’d be first in line to buy it. How did they turn that lowly cabbage into a decadent, rich, perfectly seasoned, and luscious soup? Who knows, but damn — was it good!
There’s no way you can go wrong with either the entree or the soup, but if you’re a vegetarian and visiting Reykjavik, you’d be silly to pass up a visit to Gardurinn. This is a place where you go to chat (no WiFi here) and reflect upon how good vegetables and vegetarianism truly are. Even if you bring a meat eater with you, the food is delicious and will turn any vegetable hater into a vegetable lover. Simple is best and by offering a limited, but delicious menu, Gardurinn knows how to attract everyone inside and not just vegetarians. Maybe this is the way more vegetarian restaurants need to position themselves for success, both here and abroad.
Gardurinn
Ecstasy’s Heart-Garden
Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurant Reykjavik
Address: Klapparstigur 37 101 Reykjavik Iceland
Tel.: +354 56 12345
Email: gardurinn@islandia.is
Website: http://heart-garden.is/
CAFE GARÐURINN: A VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT IN REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND
Hunger was on my mind on a cold October day in Reykjavík recently. After arriving early in the morning and only sleeping about 90 minutes before heading out to ride Icelandic horses, then scaling Hellgrimskirkja church, I was so hungry I couldn’t stand it. I am pleased to report that finding a vegetarian restaurant in Reykjavík was fairly simple. Reykjavik has more vegetarian and vegan restaurants in its 106 square mile city than I have back home in Boston and as such, I had a few choices that day. First on my list was Cafe Garðurinn or Ecstasy’s Heart Garden, depending on who is telling you the name, a vegetarian restaurant located at Klapparstígur 37 in Reykjavík, Iceland.
You might miss the restaurant altogether while walking by it because of its small and unassuming appearance on this street. If there’s a line or a wait for tables, be patient as it’ll absolutely be worth it.
Cafe Garðurinn has less than ten tables, which only adds to its charm and is decorated with local artwork. Go up to the counter, look over the items in the baked goods case, and order. There were only two employees working during my visit and both spoke English far better than my extremely limited Icelandic so all was well with the world. Since they only have one entree and one soup per day, deciding on your meal should be easy and fast. For me it was super fast as they had run out of the entree for the day. Pay at the counter, find a seat, and your food is brought to your table.
We grabbed a seat by the window under what was a sign to me that clearly meant I was supposed to be there.
My rutabaga soup with bread and hummus arrived and although I was slightly hesitant to try it, I dove right into the large tureen of soup. Why was I hesitant? Some veggies are somewhat foreign to me like rutabaga, which isn’t so much of an excuse, but more of an explanation.
The soup was velvety, super hot just the way I like it, and unbelievably delicious. Considering I hadn’t eaten all day, I wanted to dive right into it and bathe in that rutabaga goodness. In fact, it was so good that I’ll never say another bad word about rutabaga again. I’ll reserve all my negative vegetable comments for beets alone. Soups come with bread and butter or bread and hummus and I think the hummus was definitely the way to go. So good! Whether or not you exist on vegetables alone, everyone will enjoy the soup at this vegetarian restaurant in Reykjavik
Remember the baked goods case I mentioned earlier? After you finish your entree or soup, you might have a little room left for dessert. Be it a vegan coffee bite, vegan brownie, vegan snickers, carrot cake, or caramel cake, these desserts are super popular and were flying off the shelves. Grab a hot cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!
All ingredients are listed on their baked goods and the carrot cake contains carrots, spelt flour, oil, eggs, cane sugar, icing sugar, butter, and cream cheese. While not necessarily the healthiest thing I could’ve eaten, I can’t tell you how delicious it was! It was moist, light, and full of flavor. The frosting was sweet, but not sickly sweet like you find on cakes most times. I had a cup of tea with it and then I was ready to roll back to my flat to sleep off my sugar high.
Other desserts included the Caramel Cake, a dense cake with what appeared to be a strip of caramel over the top. Unlike a Sunshine Cake, which has a sponge cake for a base, this cake has eggs, cane sugar, spelt flour, dates, coconut, cream, butter, peppermint, chocolate, and agave. It was like no other cake I’ve ever had so definitely worth trying.
As for price, it’s important not to compare prices from home with what you will pay in Iceland. Accept the fact that everything is more expensive in Iceland and move on. You can do what I do and simply forget the exchange rate, which will allow you to shop and dine to your heart’s content. Well, maybe I don’t forget entirely, but sometimes I like to pretend that I do.
Overall, I had a delicious meal in a comfortable little cafe. Finding this vegetarian restaurant in Reykjavík more than met my expectations. I highly recommend paying a visit to Cafe Garðurinn whether or not you’re a vegetarian. If you’re looking for a quick and tasty lunch or dinner, Cafe Garðurinn can’t be beat.
From Tripadvisor:
“The BEST caramel cake I have ever had”
Reviewed October 28, 2015
I first visited this cafe in Jan 2013 on my first trip to Iceland. I was so glad to see it still there when I returned in September. I immediately dragged my friends inside where we had great food followed by the BEST cake in memory. This place has an awesome vibe and if I lived in Reykjavik I’d be in there all the time.
“Good vibes, surprisingly delicious food”
Reviewed October 25, 2015
I am a lifelong vegetarian, now over 60. To make matters worse, I am a PICKY vegetarian. It took me decades to find at least some vegetables that I liked. Some of us become vegetarians for ethical reasons, not because we love vegetables. So, I am not much fun to travel with. Needless to say, during our 8 day stay in Iceland, I knew that my only possibility of finding a sit-down restaurant (rather than eat the packed nuts, dried fruits and protein bars weighing down my luggage) was to scout out Reykjavik.
Based on guidebooks, this place was our second choice, because I knew that they had a daily limited selection of a single main course or soup. When we couldn’t find restaurant choice #1, we stumbled on Cafe Gardurinn, choice#2.
Just as I feared…Peanut stew with root vegetables (I hate peanuts) or Sweet and Sour Texas soup (I hate sweet and sour). Hmmm…nice vibes…relaxing in here…maybe we should stay despite the food…hmmm? Choosing the lesser of the two apparently evil-tasting vegetarian dishes, I chose the peanut stew. At least it came with a salad….Well, now, this doesn’t look too bad, I’ll try it…Wow, this is DELICIOUS! Best meal I can remember having in a long time. This anti-foodie was almost ready to turn foodie and take a photo of my meal with my phone.
As the meal concluded, I was feeling good and looking at photos on the wall. Say, that guru looks familiar. Is that Sri Chinmoy? Looks the same as he did when I saw him 25 years ago, that amazing guru. I found out later that the guru shed his earthly form in 2007. I have been wrong about so much, especially peanut stew.
Don’t make the same mistake. Eat Here Now.
“Great veggie cafe. Only open for lunch. ”
Reviewed September 24, 2015
Both main course (veg and coconut curry) and soup were great. Relaxed atmosphere with great art and good for a quiet read.
Visited September 2015
Reviewed September 15, 2015
A small, quiet place, a haven in the bustling city center. Soft meditation music, mandalas and high-quality vegetarian fare. To keep things simple, there is no traditional menu, just the day’s soup, main course and dessert. Beautiful, nourishing, and essential. Namasté.
“The best vegan brownies I’ve ever tasted”
Reviewed September 4, 2015
Meal of the day was delicious spinach lasagne served with carrots and salad, the service was very friendly and the food wasn’t too expensive (for Iceland). I bought a few vegan brownies for dessert and they were so good, my meat-and dairy-eating family even said they were the best brownies they’d ever tasted. I highly recommend Garðurinn if you’re looking for a good, healthy lunch!
“Delicious vegetarian meal!! ”
Reviewed August 23, 2015
We ate soup, main course and amazing desserts . The service was great . They welcomed as with a big smile .
If you keep the shabbes you can pay in advance and come eat your meal when you want.
We sat there for two hours and enjoyed every second of it.
Reviewed August 22, 2015
Small, friendly cafe serving vegetarian meals. We sampled the homemade soup which was delicious and was served with homemade bread and hoummus.
“The food heaven of Reykjavik”
Reviewed August 13, 2015
They simply have the most tasteful food in Reykjavik!
Staff is top and it’s always a pleasure to come back to this gem !!
“Delicious food, amazing vegan cakes!”
Reviewed August 11, 2015
My husband and I both had the soup and main combo, which was delicious. The soup came with bread and hummus for vegans, as opposed to dairy, and we had a curry for the main. The cafe is small but a really nice atmosphere and the staff were friendly and helpful. They only have one soup and one main choice per day, and when I looked at that weeks full menu there was only one day that the main was not vegan friendly – the soup was so you could be sure you were always getting something. Maybe worth a check online to make sure if you were set on getting a main before you go… Prices were reasonable, but the best bit were the home made vegan cakes we bought to eat later on – delicious!
Reviewed 24 July 2014Was delighted to find this small vegetarian cafe. The menu is simple, so you have to surrender and go with the daily specials but my curry was delicious. Excellent cappuccino too. Only sorry I didn’t go back for a second visit which I had fully intended to do. I got distracted by whale-watching however and therefore didn’t get back to try the carrot cake 🙁 Next time!
Reviewed 10 July 2014I had by far the best carrot cake I have ever tasted there, I tried my mum’s chokolate cake as well and it was delicious. Can’t wait to go back and try their food.
Very nice and reasonable café.
Reviewed 8 July 2014Finding a good vegetarian restaurant in a country as carnivorous as Iceland can be a daunting task. Imagine our delight, then, when our Lonely Planet guidebook steered us to Cafe Gardurinn, near the heart of Reykjavik. Upon entering, a number of things seemed oddly familiar–the sky blue walls, the soft, barely audible music, the posters in the window for meditation classes. When we noticed “Neatloaf” on the menu, we put it all together. “Neatloaf” has long been our favorite menu item at Jiyoti Bihanga, a very nice vegetarian restaurant run by followers of the late Sri Chinmoy in our home city of San Diego. It turns out that Cafe Gardurinn in Reykjavik is also run by followers of Sri Chinmoy, a couple of whom spent time at the San Diego site and brought the Neatloaf recipe with them! Small world . . . Needless to say, if you like Jiyoti Bihanga in San Diego, you’ll love Cafe Gardurinn in Reykjavik–same polite service, same reasonable prices, and same delicious, homemade food. If you are there on a day when the Neatloaf is on the menu, be sure to order it!
Reviewed 6 June 2014Good quality food served in a buzzy cafe atmosphere. Price is about average for the city but the quality was excellent!
Reviewed 5 April 2014Cosy and friendly. The food was delicious and reasonably priced for rejkyavik. My partner, a strict vegetarian was able to choose from several desserts…..a rare treat. We had soup bread & houmus followed by vegan cheesecake and chocolate torte (divine!) & delicious coffees!
Reviewed 18 March 2014We loved this place! Good vegetarian food, friendly service, so much like a home-cooked meal that my daughter kept asking if we were going to eat dinner “at that lady’s house” again. It was a lot like eating a dinner prepared by Grandma: no frills, good, healthful food, you eat what’s on the menu that night (the night we went was a vegan “vegetable goulash,” a bean/peanut paste [my daughter absolutely loved this], and a creamy [vegan] soup, served with a salad on the side). Definitely would recommend to anyone wanting a comfortable, friendly dining experience in Reykjavik.
Reviewed 28 January 2014the food was perfect, tasty, fresh, filling… I went twice and chose the menu, 2 plates for 1180 ISK. there are jars of water and you can just chill inside. The cakes are all amazing and I had a hot chocolate with soy milk,,,,very very good. I loved the place and it is central, parallel to the main street, near the church.
Reviewed 13 January 2014“A lovely vegetarian spot in the center of town”
Reviewed 16 August 2013
It seems that the food here is made and served with great care, and this may account for the delicate taste and the nice, smiling staff. Best carrot cake we ate in Iceland (and we ate quite a few…)
“A great vegan find in Reykjavik”
Reviewed 30 July 2013
My husband and I are vegan, so we’d searched out several possible restaurants for our 10-day stay in Reykjavik for the world Esperanto conference. We didn’t get to this one until late in the trip, and wish we’d gone sooner. Our meal was superb, and the weather was nice enough to eat in the small courtyard. We weren’t hungry for dessert, but looking at those of other customers caused us to come back later in the day to see what we’d missed; we were glad we did. Oh, in honor of the Esperanto conference, they’d translated the menu into Esperanto during that period, which I think was a wonderful gesture for those of the thousand-plus participants who spoke neither Icelandic nor English.
“Unexpected traditional style veggie fare in an interesting city”
Reviewed 19 March 2013
Great value traditional (for Britain) style veggie fare in a calm but very busy little cafe close to the centre of the city. Set menu only, but very good, even for my non veggie friend. Option to have half portions was welcome at lunch time.
Vegetarian food with reasonable prices, what’s not to like? The cafe-like atmosphere is not for candlelight dates, but for a quick eat. The food is like your mum made – nothing fancy, but fills you up.
“Only place I enjoyed eating with my vegan friends”
I am not a vegetarian, but I really enjoyed the meal here. Dessert was also wonderful. I had meatless loaf, lentils and a salad. Meatless loaf had a wonderful gravy. Nice bright atmosphere.
Reviewed 4 November 2012
Yum, this place had a vegan Snickers dessert that was amazing. It seems like the menu changes daily and although we didn’t have a chance to eat a full meal here, we sure enjoyed the dessert.
“Great food in a cozy atmosphere”
I got lost and found this place by accident but I sure was glad to have found this place. The food is amazing. They have different menus throughout the week and constantly changes.
The place is small, about 6 tables, and very comfortable and relaxing. It’s a nice place to take a break from all the tourist targeted restaurant and get more of a local feel.
Reviewed 8 May 2012
A good, unpretentious cafe, one street back from the main street up to Hallgrímskirkja (but still very easy to find); the only nod to any ‘right-on’ vegetarian stereotypes would be the photos and posters of Tibetan Buddhism 😉
The menu couldn’t be more straightforward, either: a soup of the day and/or one dish of the day. And that’s it. One could have a half portion of the main dish, a full portion, the soup, or both. Don’t fancy either? Come back tomorrow (the schedule’s posted for the coming week).
A half-portion of that day’s vegetable lasagne, served with salad, was tasty and more than adequate for lunch; the soup looked good too. I might recommend the full portions for a main meal, but I ought to also qualify that: at least on the day we visited (a Friday), the cafe closed at about 18:30.
“Peaceful vegetarian oasis in the city”
Reviewed 24 February 2012
We had a very pleasant lunch here – really good value for Iceland, and that rarity – great tasting vegetarian food! They offer a very simple menu which changes daily, comprising a soup and a main course, but also have lots of excellent cakes. The nice thing was being able to have half-portions, even of the cakes – I had a lovely chocolate cake which was so rich I only needed a little. The calming music and eastern prints add to the atmosphere – we lingered over tea, reading and relaxing, never being made to feel we should leave.
Reviewed 16 November 2011
This cafe was our favourite place to eat in Reykyavik and we went back there several times. They do a great, veggie main course every day which was a nice change from fish plus their chocolate fridge cake was the best I have ever tasted. The service was fantastic and the people who worked there always seemed pleased to serve tourists, unlike a lot of places we went to in Reykjavik. Our only complaint about the cafe is that they aren’t open on Sundays so we weren’t able to go for one last piece of cake!
Review of Cafe Gardurinn
Cuisines: Vegetarian
“Top spot”
Reviewed December 21, 2013
Very simple menu – one choice, plus soup – and simple, un-fussy fare. However, every dessert option is a winner, baby, and that’s no lie – seriously, if there’s a better carrot cake anywhere else, I really want to know about it.
The coffee is excellent.
Staff very friendly and laid-back.
Reasonably priced, too.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
“Great location, vegan options available”
Reviewed November 30, 2013
Cafe Gardurinn was recommended to us by our landlord, as well as by the travel book Eyewitness Top 10 Iceland (we also recommend this book).
2 of us enjoyed a quiet meal here, sitting by the window. It was a grey day in Reykjavik, but somehow the restaurant’s simple clean décor felt bright and peaceful.
The service was excellent.
Café Gardurinn provided us with a heary vegan soup – the server said they have either a vegan soup or vegan special daily. The soup was nicely spiced – enough to add interest and still allow us to taste the other vegetable flavours.
The soup was served with hummus and bread – free refills on the bread (which was tasty).
They make great coffee. Try an espresso with a bit of boiling water added to it (less water than an americano). This restaurant has their own name for coffee served this way – but I forget the name.
I’m giving this restaurant 5 stars – because of the food, the service, and the atmospehre. Not fancy, but a good place for a meal.
Visited November 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Great food, friendly atmosphere
4 Posted on 05 / 25 / 2013
Visited here in May 2013 and the food was lovely. There is a limited choice on offer – every day there is one soup and one main course in addition to the cakes and coffees served. The list for the week is posted in the window, so if you don’t fancy what’s on offer that day you can move on without embarassment. And if you’re in town for a few days you can choose which day’s food you like the look of best, and go on that day! You can have soup, main, or both, each in a large or small serving. The small soup plus main was about right for me, my partner (who generally eats more than I do) found the large portions filled him up. Soup is served with bread and either butter or hummus, and mains come with a vegetable side plus green salad. Some previous reviewers mention a lack of English – we found that all the staff spoke excellent English. The chocolate cake (gluten-free!) was to die for!
Cute vegetarian cafe
4 Posted on 07 / 21 / 2013
Ecstasy’s Heart Garden is an all-vegetarian cafe run by the followers of Sri Chinmoy. His followers run vegetarian restaurants all over the world and this was actually one of the better ones I’ve been to. The food was healthful and tasty. They had multiple vegan options that day and a few vegan desserts. They also had great coffee and soy milk.
Lovely
5 Posted on 10 / 23 / 2010
Lovely small place close to the centre of town. Tranquil atmosphere and the staff were well aware of what was vegan. Food was good and the menu seems to vary daily. More cafe than upmarket restaurant but the food was top-notch.
Pros: Vegan-friendly, Food, Atmosphere
The Best vegetarian place in Iceland
5 Posted on 06 / 18 / 2008
This family-runned vegetarian bisness opened in 2000. It’s located in the heart of Reykjavik, on Klapparstígur. Here you can enjoy the best soups in Iceland. The soup comes with speltbread and hummus or butter. There is also the dish of the day. They also have cakes, and I recommend the caramel cake, it’s so delicous!! It’s cozy, relaxing, cheap, has good service, and the soups..mmm.. the cake…try it!
Pros: Excellent soups, good value, friendly staff
Friday 29 November 2013 23.54 GMT
The American singer-songwriter, 45, on his adopted home’s best restaurants, coffee and hostel.
There is a lot going on in the city but you can find your own space. I love the fact that there are small shops to explore and cosy cafes to relax in.
Try a carrot cake break. You can find it all over the place but I won’t eat it anywhere but from Garðurinn (Klapparstígur 37), a vegetarian cafe off Laugavegur in the middle of town.
Food in Reykjavik
Friday, January 23, 2009
Kaffihúsið Garðurinn
Full of good intentions….but getting off to a very slow start here!
I have been thinking about “reviewing” the places I go for coffee, in a very haphazard sort of way. I am not a professional foodie but I do like good coffee and I love good food.
My intended first entry was for a small coffee place which I went to earlier in the month but I had no time then to write anything about it so it will have to wait until I go there again (I did say this would be haphazard!).
This week, on Wednesday, I went to Kaffihúsið Garðurinn which is also called Ecstasy’s Heart Garden. This is a small vegetarian place at Klapparstígur 37 in central Reykjavík. They post a menu for the week in the window and offer a soup of the day and a dish of the day.
When I went there the soup was “Old fashioned lentil soup” and dish of the day was “Persian ratatouille of fruit and vegetables”.
The soup came with two slices of home-made bread and a choice of butter or hummus. The soup was delicious, as was the hummus. The hummus tasted of lemon but I have had it before when sesame was the main flavour.
Dish of the day was lovely too. Crisp salad, chickpeas with wilted spinach, and the promised “ratatouille” which included potato, tomato, onion, and dried apricots, seasoned with cinnamon and other spices.
I chose to buy soup with a small, or half portion of the dish of the day. This was very filling. So filling that when my husband suggested coffee and cake I had to decline the cake! The cappuccino was very good, lots of flavour, hot, and not too much froth. My husband had a small slice of a caramel cake too and seemed very happy with that.
The place is small and a place to go, eat, and leave. There are about 7 tables so it probably seats 15-20 people. The walls are painted blue and stencilled. Door chimes ring nicely. the service is friendly and good, with dirty dishes cleared away and the next lot of food arriving just when it should. I was not overly fond of the music (sounded like relaxing yoga-type to me) but it was not loud so didn’t bother me either.
Verdict: a good place to eat if you like vegetarian food, or are on a budget, or just like home-cooked food that makes you feel good.
