3 Frakkar

There are restaurants in Reykjavik that chase trends, and there are restaurants that simply are what they are. 3 Frakkar -- or Thrir Frakkar, meaning "Three Overcoats" -- belongs firmly in the second category. Tucked away on a residential street west of the city centre, this small, unassuming house has been serving some of the most honest Icelandic food in the capital since 1989.

The Experience

Walking through the front door feels more like entering someone's home than a restaurant. The dining room is compact and warm, furnished with dark wood and the kind of maritime clutter that would feel contrived elsewhere but here reads as entirely genuine. Chef-owner Ulfar Eysteinsson is often visible from the kitchen, and on quieter evenings he may come out to chat. The service is friendly, relaxed, and entirely without pretension.

The Food

This is old-school Icelandic cooking at its finest. The menu does not apologise for what it is. You will find whale. You will find puffin. You will find salt cod prepared in half a dozen different ways, horse meat, and fish so fresh it was likely swimming that morning. The salted cod pan-fried in butter remains the cornerstone of the menu, a dish of extraordinary simplicity executed with the kind of confidence that only comes from making it thousands of times.

The whale steak, seared and served medium-rare with a peppery sauce, is genuinely excellent -- tender, clean-tasting, and nothing like what the uninitiated might expect. The lobster soup, rich and deeply flavoured, is a perfect starter on a cold evening, which in Reykjavik is most evenings.

Portions are generous. The fish dishes, in particular, arrive in quantities that suggest Ulfar does not want anyone leaving hungry. Vegetarian options are limited -- this is emphatically a seafood and meat restaurant.

Practical Advice

Book ahead. The dining room seats perhaps thirty people, and 3 Frakkar has the kind of loyal local following that fills tables quickly. Lunch offers excellent value, with many of the same dishes available at lower prices in a more casual setting.

The wine list is modest but adequate, leaning towards whites that complement the seafood-heavy menu. If you are after craft beer or cocktails, this is not the place.

The Verdict

3 Frakkar is not for everyone. If the idea of eating whale or puffin makes you uncomfortable, you will want to look elsewhere. But if you are interested in tasting Iceland as it has eaten for centuries -- unapologetically, generously, and without the slightest interest in what anyone else thinks -- there is nowhere better in Reykjavik. It is a restaurant with nothing to prove, and that is precisely what makes it so good.