Private Food Walking Tour in Reykjavik

The most memorable bite here may be the one you hesitate to try: a small piece of fermented shark, followed by Icelandic schnapps or beer. Along the way, you get shellfish soup by the harbor, a lamb hot dog at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, supermarket treats, and several local specialties.

I like the private format, since your guide can shape the talk around your interests, children, or food comfort level. I also like the mix of everyday eating and traditional fare, especially the supermarket visit and the weekend market stop. The main drawback is price: at $249.23 per person, you are paying a large premium for guidance and access, not just the food.

Key points

• Fermented shark finale: Try hákarl at Dass Reykjavik, with an Icelandic drink to follow.
• Private, three-hour walk: Your own group takes part, with English-speaking guides including Einar, Gardar, Ester, Stefan, and others.
• Everyday and historic food: The route mixes a harbor soup, hot dog stand, supermarket, flea market, and sit-down tasting.
• Weekend bonus: Kolaportið Market is included only on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Useful first-day orientation: Guides often add local history, museum tips, neighborhood details, and practical advice.
• A costly choice: The tour suits food-focused visitors who value a personal guide more than bargain dining.

A Food Tour That Begins With Reykjavik’s Founding Story

Meet at Ingólfstorg, in the old center of Reykjavik, near the two tall stone pillars that mark the place associated with Iceland’s first settler, Ingólfur Arnarson. The meeting point is outside Hlöllabátar, facing the square, with CenterHotel Plaza on your right.

That opening gives the walk a useful sense of place. You are not simply moving from restaurant to restaurant. Your guide can explain how Reykjavik began, then connect Icelandic food to the country’s history, climate, fishing, farming, and isolation.

The walk is private, so the tone can vary. Guides such as Einar, Gardar, Magnus, Bo, Stefan, Ester, Bjarni, Palli, and Guoni have each been praised for making the outing personal and easy to follow. The best guides adjust their conversation to your interests. One may focus on food culture, another on history, local music, museums, or daily life.

Your guide wears a light blue jacket. Pickup is offered from accommodations within the specified area, but if you are outside the central zone, you should meet at the square. The organizers recommend using Google Maps, a sensible tip in a city where similarly named streets and businesses can cause confusion.

Shellfish Soup by the Harbor

The first food stop is down by Reykjavik harbor, where you begin with Icelandic shellfish soup. The tasting lasts about 25 minutes, giving you time to eat and hear about the dish rather than swallow it while marching to the next stop.

This is a good opening course. Soup is approachable after a flight, and the harbor setting helps explain why seafood has such a strong place in Icelandic cooking. You get a taste of something familiar, but with a clear local connection.

The portion sizes are important to understand. This is a tasting walk, not a series of full restaurant meals. A negative experience described small servings, including broth in a paper cup and food on paper plates. If you expect a long sit-down lunch, you may feel shortchanged. If you see the tour as a guided sampler with stories and several stops, the structure makes more sense.

The Lamb Hot Dog at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur

Next comes Reykjavik’s famous hot dog stand, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. The tour includes a lamb hot dog, and the stop takes about 20 minutes.

The appeal is not fancy dining. It is a quick, distinctly Icelandic example of popular food in the city center. The tour description gives a playful warning to beware of copycats, which tells you this particular stand matters to the experience.

The hot dog also helps balance the more unusual dishes later. You may be willing to try fermented shark after having eaten something as familiar as a sausage in a bun. It is the kind of stop you can easily make on your own, so part of the value comes from having a guide explain why it became such a local institution and how it fits into Reykjavik’s food scene.

Still, keep your expectations in check. This is street food, not a grand meal, and the stop is short. The tour’s price cannot be justified by the hot dog alone.

A Supermarket Window Into Daily Icelandic Eating

The supermarket stop is one of the more useful parts of the walk. You spend about 10 minutes looking at Icelandic snacks, candy, and foods that local people buy for ordinary meals.

I especially like this kind of stop because it shows you food beyond the polished restaurant menu. A guide can point out unfamiliar labels, packaged fish, sweets, and local ingredients you may want to buy later. Guoni was praised for adding this visit and explaining how Iceland’s food supply and eating habits were shaped by geography and past limits on food access.

You should not expect a full shopping trip. Ten minutes goes quickly, and the exact selection will vary. But it gives you a practical way to continue exploring Icelandic food after the tour. You may leave with a better idea of what to look for in a store, instead of buying the first expensive snack you see at a tourist shop.

Kolaportið Market, Only on Weekend Afternoons

If your tour runs during the right hours, you visit Kolaportið Market inside the Reykjavik Flea Market. This stop is available on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., so it is not part of every departure.

The market adds a more traditional, less polished feel to the route. You can look at Icelandic foods and local products in a setting that feels different from a restaurant tasting. Your guide helps identify what you are seeing and may explain how the foods are used.

This is one reason to check the schedule before booking. If the market matters to you, select a weekend time that falls within its opening hours. Do not assume the market is included simply because it appears in the route. Outside those hours, the tour uses other food stops, and the experience may feel more restaurant focused.

Icelandic Delicacies at Dass Reykjavik

The final stop is Dass Reykjavik, near Hallgrimskirkja church. You spend about 40 minutes here, sampling several Icelandic delicacies and finishing with a non-alcoholic or alcoholic Icelandic drink.

This is where the tour gets adventurous. The tasting includes hákarl, or fermented shark. The portion is small, which is probably wise. The flavor is famously strong, and even enthusiastic eaters may prefer to treat it as a cultural challenge rather than a new favorite food.

Your guide can make a real difference here. Stefan was specifically praised for explaining how to eat the shark in a way that made the experience more pleasant. Another guide may encourage you to try it with a drink afterward. You can choose a special beer, a non-alcoholic option, or Black Death, the Icelandic schnapps mentioned in the tour details.

The alcohol choice deserves attention. If you do not drink, you can select a non-alcoholic Icelandic drink. If you do drink, the schnapps is part of the local food ritual, but you should pace yourself. This is a tasting, not a drinking tour, and you still need to make your way back through town afterward.

The advertised highlights also mention smoked puffin, but the detailed route does not clearly assign it to a specific stop. One dissatisfied participant specifically complained that puffin and whale were not served. If those foods are important to you, ask the operator what is included on your departure rather than assuming every listed specialty appears every time.

Why the Private Guide Matters

The private setup is the tour’s strongest feature. You are not sharing the walk with a large mixed group, so the guide can slow down for questions, adjust the pace, and change the conversation to fit your group.

That flexibility matters for families. Bjarni was praised for answering children’s random questions, and another guide was criticized for failing to engage children. The experience can work well for families, but the individual guide matters. If you are booking with children, tell the operator in advance and ask that the guide be prepared to keep younger walkers involved.

It also helps if your group has different food limits. One person may be ready for shark, another may prefer soup, candy, or a hot dog. Because the tour is private, you can ask questions without holding up strangers or feeling pressured to perform for a group.

The guide can also add value beyond the scheduled food. Guides have shared local history, building details, museum suggestions, neighborhood stories, and even Icelandic music interests. One guide showed additional city sights not directly connected with the food route. That kind of personal orientation is especially useful on your first day in Reykjavik.

The risk is uneven delivery. Most of the supplied feedback praises guides for warmth, humor, and strong local knowledge, but one serious complaint described poor English, little engagement, and inappropriate political talk. That appears to be an exception, but it is worth remembering that a private tour depends heavily on the person assigned to you.

The Real Question: Is $249.23 Per Person Worth It?

At $249.23 per person, this is an expensive food walk. You can buy a hot dog, browse a supermarket, and find some central Reykjavik foods on your own for much less.

The tour earns its price only if you value the guide, the planning, the private setting, and the chance to sample several foods without doing the research yourself. A good guide turns each bite into a lesson about Icelandic life. You are also paying for the route, timing, local explanations, and the ease of moving between stops.

The value is weaker if you mainly want a large meal. Portions are tasting sized, and some food may arrive in casual settings rather than polished restaurants. One especially negative account felt that the food alone did not come close to matching the price. That criticism is fair if your priority is quantity or restaurant quality.

I would compare this tour with the cost of a private city guide plus your own meals. If you are already comfortable ordering unfamiliar dishes, navigating Reykjavik, and researching local specialties, self-guided eating will save money. If you want someone to explain the food, answer questions, and take the guesswork out of your first afternoon, the premium may be worthwhile.

Pace, Walking, and Practical Details

The tour lasts about three hours and uses a walking route through central Reykjavik. One person with walking difficulties found the pace manageable, but you should still expect to walk between several stops and stand during tastings.

The route begins at Ingólfstorg and ends at Dass Reykjavik on Vegamótastígur 7, near Hallgrimskirkja. That start and finish are not the same place, so plan your onward route accordingly. The experience is near public transportation, and most people can participate.

It is offered in English and comes with a mobile ticket. Group discounts may be available, though the supplied details do not state the discount amount. Confirmation arrives at booking, and free cancellation is available if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start time. Changes or cancellations inside that window are not accepted for a refund.

Because the tour is often booked well ahead, with an average booking lead time of 71 days, you should reserve early if your Iceland dates are fixed. This matters even more if you want a weekend departure for Kolaportið Market.

Who Will Enjoy This Reykjavik Walk?

You are a good match for this experience if you like trying unfamiliar food, want a private guide, and would enjoy hearing about Icelandic culture while walking between bites.

It is especially useful for:

• First-time visitors who want an introduction to central Reykjavik
• Adventurous eaters curious about hákarl and other traditional foods
• Families who prefer a private guide and can request a child-friendly approach
• Couples or small groups who want conversation tailored to their interests
• Visitors arriving early in their trip who want museum and food suggestions
• People who enjoy everyday food culture, not only restaurant dining

You may want to skip it if you are looking for a full lunch, a low-cost food crawl, or a guaranteed menu of puffin and whale. You should also ask about substitutions if you have major dietary restrictions, since the supplied information does not specify available alternatives.

Should You Book This Private Food Tour?

Book it if your ideal Reykjavik introduction combines local history, small food tastings, and a guide who can talk with your group rather than recite a fixed script. The hot dog and shellfish soup are easy starts, the supermarket and weekend market add useful local context, and the fermented shark gives the walk a memorable finish.

Before paying, confirm the current tasting list, especially if smoked puffin matters to you. Check the day and time if you want Kolaportið Market, and decide if the private-guide premium fits your budget.

My practical verdict: this is a good choice for curious eaters who value personal attention and cultural explanation. It is not the best choice for anyone judging value by the amount of food alone.

FAQ

How long does the private Reykjavik food tour last?

The tour lasts approximately three hours.

What foods are included?

The route includes Icelandic shellfish soup, a lamb hot dog, Icelandic snacks and candy from a supermarket, market foods when the weekend market stop is available, several Icelandic delicacies, and fermented shark at Dass Reykjavik.

Is smoked puffin guaranteed?

The experience highlights mention smoked puffin, but the detailed route does not specify where it is served. Ask the operator to confirm the current menu before booking if puffin is important to you.

Is the tour private?

Yes. Only your group participates in the private tour.

What language is the tour offered in?

The tour is offered in English.

Where does the tour begin?

It begins outside Hlöllabátar at Ingólfstorgi 1, facing Ingólfstorg Square and the two tall stone pillars in central Reykjavik.

Where does the tour end?

It ends at Dass Reykjavik, Vegamótastígur 7, near Hallgrimskirkja church.

Is Kolaportið Market included on every tour?

No. The market stop is included when the tour runs during its opening hours, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes, if you cancel at least 24 hours before the experience start time. Cancellations or changes made less than 24 hours before the start time are not accepted for a refund.