Vegan Iceland – Veganæs
We recently went on holiday to Iceland and traveled the south west corner from Reykjavík, around the Golden Circle, across to Vík and then back to Keflavík. I had done a lot of research about what foods I could eat and where to get them from as I was worried Iceland would not be very Vegan friendly. When you think of Iceland you think of Skyr yoghurt, fermented shark and puffin meat and I thought I was going to live of snacks for the whole trip. Boy was I wrong. On our first night we visited Veganæs in Reykjavík. It was a bit hard to find because it is inside another place called Gaukurinn but we saw the sign eventually. Gaukurinn is an event space so the is a stage for live music, comedy etc. and then there is Veganæs and a bar. You can check out the website to see when they have events on.
We went around 7pm so we missed the music that was on at 10pm (we were definitely asleep by then). I’m one of those people who know what they’re having before they even step foot in a restaurant so I went in wanting the fish ish with mashed potatoes but I changed my mind to have the fish ish burger instead. I’m so glad I did because I loved the fries! They’re possibly the best fries I’ve ever tasted and I’ve eaten a lot of fries in my time! They had a seasoning on but I don’t know what it was and they came with a sauce which was very tasty too. The fish is burger was also full of flavour with a sauce that tasted curried with a bit of salad all in a seeded bun. I loved that the flavours were so different to each other as being vegan you often get a plate of stuff that all tastes the same. Billy had the Seitanik Steik (with no sauce of course) which came with a salad that I ate most of because I loved the dressing they put on it and also with wedges. The wedges tasted similar but not exactly the same as the fries and they were little so they were really crispy. The Seitanik Steik reminded him of a nut roast, not the texture but the seasonings used.
The portions were absolutely massive which was exactly what we needed after a day of travelling. Our tummy’s were very satisfied! The staff were great and friendly and the food came out quite fast. It was not expensive in Icelandic terms coming in at about 4919 kr (£31.05) although we didn’t have drinks.
One last think I will say is don’t be put off by the venue. When you turn up you think ‘it can’t be in here, we must have got the wrong place’ because it does just look like a bar and event space from the outside but there were lots of couples and even a large family of all generations booked in who arrived just after us. I would definitely recommend Veganæs to any vegans, vegetarians or just any food lover who visits Reykjavík.
If you love vegan burgers then you will love Neat Burger in London!