Icelandic Food Tastes a Lot Better Than You Might Expect

Date November 13, 2017

When you think of Iceland, you likely think of blue lagoons, black sand beaches and those adorable shaggy coat mini-horses that are all over your Insta feed. What you probably don’t think of is a refined, world-class cuisine. Because unlike Italy, Japan or Mexico, when tourists visit Iceland — and a lot of them do — it’s usually not to explore the Nordic nation’s thriving foodie scene. (And that’s totally fair, considering fermented shark, sour rams testicles and whole sheep heads are among Iceland’s most popular traditional dishes.)

So when I was invited to a four course meal at Leña to kick off Toronto’s Taste of Iceland, I was a little skeptical. Would my meal experience be reminiscent of the viral video titled “Englishmen DESTROYED by Traditional Icelandic Food!!!?” I hoped not.

And thankfully, it wasn’t — the first course alone had me moving Reykjavik up on my must-see travel list. From the Arctic char through to the skyr (an Icelandic strained yogurt), Chef Viktor Örn Andrésson’s contemporary take on an Icelandic cuisine was a #foodporn tagger’s dream. For those looking to have their mouth water and their mind blown, check out the photos from the tasting menu below.