RFK Rankings · Reykjavik
Best Restaurants for Anniversary in Reykjavik (2026)
Anniversary · Reykjavik · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published May 22, 2026 · Updated June 18, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
An anniversary in Reykjavik is shaped by the fact that this is the smallest capital with a serious fine-dining scene anywhere: three of its rooms hold MICHELIN stars, and you can walk between two of them in ten minutes. The city's best anniversary tables are not its grandest or its highest. They are the rooms where the langoustine was landed that morning, where a sommelier reads the room before pouring, and where the long summer light or the winter dark does half the work through the window. These seven, ranked, are where Reykjavik does an anniversary properly — from a New Nordic tasting counter to a copper-clad room on the Old Harbour.
1.Dill
Iceland's first Michelin star and a green star to match; the New Nordic tasting that defines a Reykjavik anniversary. Book it.
Dill on Laugavegur was the first restaurant in Iceland to win a MICHELIN star, in 2017, and chef-owner Gunnar Karl Gíslason has held it ever since, adding a green star for sustainability along the way. The kitchen runs a single seasonal New Nordic tasting menu — fermented, smoked, pickled and foraged Icelandic ingredients, from langoustine to skyr to Arctic herbs — built course by course from what the island gives that week. Reckon on around ISK 25,000 and up per person for the tasting, with an optional wine pairing on top. For an anniversary it is the city's most assured room: the lighting is low, the tables are spaced, the pacing is unhurried over a long evening, and the team will mark an occasion quietly with a written menu. Reserve three to four weeks ahead, take the pairing if you drink, and tell them the date you are marking when you book.
Book on the Dill site when the month opens; take the wine pairing and note the anniversary.
2.ÓX
Eleven seats, one surprise menu, hidden behind a curtain; Reykjavik's most intimate counter for a couple who love cooking. Reserve weeks ahead.
ÓX seats just eleven guests at a single chef's counter, hidden behind a curtain at the back of its sibling restaurant Sümac on Laugavegur, and it carries both a MICHELIN star and a green star in the 2025 guide. The format is a long surprise tasting cooked and served by the chefs in front of you, each course explained as it lands, with Icelandic produce treated with precision and a sense of theatre. The set menu runs to the higher end of the city, comfortably north of ISK 30,000 a head before drinks, and the evening is fixed rather than à la carte. For an anniversary it suits the couple who want the meal itself to be the event: the counter is close, the pace is deliberate, and the eleven seats make for a private, immersive night. Tables are scarce and go the moment booking opens, so reserve three to four weeks ahead for a weekend.
Book through the ÓX reservation page the day the month releases; there is one seating, so plan around it.
3.Moss
Aggi Sverrisson's one-star tasting over a lava field at the Blue Lagoon; the anniversary worth the drive from Reykjavik. Go for it.
Moss sits inside The Retreat hotel at the Blue Lagoon, about a forty-five-minute drive from central Reykjavik, and it was the first hotel restaurant in Iceland to win a MICHELIN star, which it has held since 2023. Chef Aggi Sverrisson — formerly of London's Texture — cooks a seven-course tasting that threads Icelandic produce through subtle Asian technique, served in a dining room with floor-to-ceiling views over the moss-covered lava field. Expect the tasting to run to the top of the city's range, with a wine pairing pushing it higher. For an anniversary it is the destination choice: pair the dinner with the lagoon and an overnight at The Retreat and the evening becomes a weekend rather than a meal. Book the table and the spa together, three to four weeks out, and arrange a car or transfer for the drive back.
Reserve through the Blue Lagoon Moss page; book a Retreat room or transfer so neither of you has to drive.
4.Grillmarkaðurinn
Dark wood, an open fire and candlelit tables in the old centre; Reykjavik's warmest a la carte anniversary room. Reserve ahead.
Grillmarkaðurinn — the Grill Market — on Lækjargata in the old centre is the city's most atmospheric à la carte room, a MICHELIN Guide listing built around an open grill, dark wood, copper and stone, and a candlelit lower floor. The kitchen works Icelandic beef, lamb and seafood over fire, with a tasting menu and a long à la carte that lets a couple share rather than commit to a fixed run of plates. A three-course dinner lands around ISK 14,000 to ISK 20,000 a head before wine, less if you stay to two. For an anniversary it is the pick when you want romance without a counter or a tasting marathon: the light is low, the tables downstairs are private, and the staff are used to celebrations. Book a downstairs table a week or two ahead and ask them to set it for two when you do.
Reserve on the Grillmarkaðurinn site or by phone; request a candlelit table on the lower floor.
5.Sümac
Beirut-by-way-of-Reykjavik small plates and a serious drinks list; the relaxed, flavour-led anniversary for an adventurous couple. Try it.
Sümac on Laugavegur 28 is the city's Levantine room, a MICHELIN Guide listing that plates Icelandic seasonal produce through the spices of Lebanon and Morocco, with a bar programme to match. The menu is built for sharing — mezze, grilled meats and fish off the open fire, bright herbs and char — which makes it the most relaxed anniversary on this list rather than a hushed tasting room. Reckon on around ISK 12,000 to ISK 18,000 a head once you have shared a spread of plates, more with cocktails or a bottle. For an anniversary it suits a couple who would rather talk over a table of food than sit through a fixed menu: the room is warm and buzzy, the lighting is soft, and the kitchen sends generous, social food. Book a few days to a week ahead and ask for a corner table away from the bar.
Reserve on the Sümac site or through Dineout; note that its sibling ÓX hides behind the back curtain.
6.Apótek
A 1917 pharmacy turned warm dining room that pours champagne for an anniversary; the classic romantic Reykjavik table. Book ahead.
Apótek occupies a former pharmacy on Austurstræti in the old town, a 1917 building by state architect Guðjón Samúelsson, now a warm, high-ceilinged dining room. The kitchen sends modern Icelandic small plates and mains — sea trout served on a Himalayan salt block, char-grilled beef tenderloin, fresh fish off the day's catch — built for sharing across a long meal. A two or three-course dinner runs around ISK 12,000 to ISK 19,000 a head before wine. For an anniversary it is the easy romantic choice: the room is handsome and softly lit, the staff will arrange a glass of champagne for the occasion, and the central location makes it a simple walk from most downtown hotels. Book a week or so ahead, flag the anniversary, and ask for a table set back from the bar for a quieter corner.
Reserve on the Apótek site or through Dineout; mention the anniversary and they will set up the champagne.
7.Kopar
A copper-clad room on the Old Harbour with the city's best langoustine soup; the quiet seafood anniversary. Pencil it in.
Kopar — the name means copper, after the building's clad exterior — sits right on Reykjavik's Old Harbour at Geirsgata, an intimate room of warm wood and soft light with the boats and the water through the windows. The kitchen leans on what is landed that week: Icelandic langoustine, or humar, in a soup widely held to be the city's best, pan-seared Arctic char, scallops and the day's fish, treated with modern technique. A two or three-course dinner lands around ISK 13,000 to ISK 19,000 a head before wine. For an anniversary it is the relaxed waterside pick: the harbour view does the romantic work, the room is small enough to feel private, and a window table at dusk in the long summer light is hard to beat. Book a week ahead and request a table by the window when you do.
Reserve on the Kopar site; ask for a window table over the harbour and start with the langoustine soup.
Avoid for an anniversary
Right city, wrong room
Grillið. The half-century-old room on the eighth floor of the Radisson Blu Saga Hotel has the panoramic view over Faxaflói bay and genuinely good cooking, and many couples will love it for exactly that. It is left off the top seven only because the dining room is large and formal rather than intimate, and the view, not the table, becomes the event — book it if a 360-degree outlook matters more to you than a private corner.
Fiskmarkaðurinn (Fish Market). Hrefna Sætran's seafood-and-Japanese room on Aðalstræti is one of the city's most accomplished kitchens, but the two-floor space runs busy and loud on a weekend, which works against a quiet anniversary. Keep it for a livelier celebration; for a hushed table, redirect to Kopar on the Old Harbour or Dill for the tasting.
Reservation strategy for a Reykjavik anniversary
The Michelin rooms set the lead time. Dill, ÓX and Moss each release a small number of seats and the weekend tables go within days of the calendar opening, so reserve three to four weeks ahead and treat the booking as the first gift. ÓX has only eleven seats and a single nightly seating, which makes it the hardest table in the city; Moss out at the Blue Lagoon wants the same lead time plus a plan for the drive or an overnight at The Retreat. The à la carte rooms — Grillmarkaðurinn, Sümac, Apótek, Kopar — are easier, a week or two enough for most nights.
Say the word anniversary when you book, not when you arrive. Reykjavik's better rooms will quietly hold a window seat, a downstairs corner or a quieter banquette if they know in advance, and Apótek will arrange a glass of champagne to mark the date. Tipping is not expected in Iceland; service is included and rounding up is enough. Smart-casual carries every room here. The one budget warning is wine: alcohol is heavily taxed in Iceland, so a celebration bottle is the single biggest line on any of these bills — the pairing flights at Dill, ÓX and Moss are often the better-value way to drink well.
Frequently asked
What is the best restaurant for an anniversary in Reykjavik?
Dill is the top pick for a milestone anniversary. Gunnar Karl Gislason's New Nordic tasting room on Laugavegur was the first restaurant in Iceland to win a Michelin star and now holds both a star and a green star, run as a single seasonal tasting built on fermented, smoked and foraged ingredients. For something more intimate and theatrical, OX seats just eleven at a counter behind Sumac and is the most personal room in the city. Both want booking three to four weeks out, and both reward a couple who flag the occasion when reserving.
What is the most romantic restaurant in Reykjavik?
Apotek is the most classically romantic choice. The room occupies a 1917 former pharmacy on Austurstraeti with high ceilings, warm light and a kitchen that will send a glass of champagne for an anniversary. Grillmarkadurinn runs it close with its dark wood, open fire and candlelit lower floor a short walk away on Laekjargata. Both keep the tables well spaced and the service quiet enough to talk across a long evening, which is most of the job for a celebration dinner.
How much does an anniversary dinner cost in Reykjavik?
Plan on roughly ISK 18,000 to ISK 45,000 a head before wine, depending on the room. The a la carte tables, Grillmarkadurinn, Sumac, Apotek and Kopar, sit around ISK 12,000 to ISK 20,000 for two or three courses, while the Michelin tasting menus run higher: Dill from about ISK 25,000 and OX and Moss higher again with their longer counter menus. Wine pushes any of these up fast in Iceland, where alcohol is heavily taxed, so a celebration bottle is the single biggest line on the bill.
Is Dill still open in Reykjavik?
Yes. Dill is open and holds one Michelin star plus a green star in the 2025 Michelin Guide Iceland, the same room on Laugavegur 59 that chef-owner Gunnar Karl Gislason has run since 2009. It serves a single multi-course New Nordic tasting menu and books up well ahead, especially for weekends in summer and around the Northern Lights season. For an anniversary, reserve three to four weeks out and note the occasion; the kitchen will pace the evening accordingly.
How far ahead should I book an anniversary restaurant in Reykjavik?
Three to four weeks for the Michelin rooms, one to two weeks for the rest. Dill, OX and Moss release a limited number of seats and the weekend tables go within days of opening, so book the moment the calendar allows. Grillmarkadurinn, Sumac, Apotek and Kopar are easier, though weekends and the peak Northern Lights months from September to March tighten quickly. Always say the word anniversary when you book, not when you arrive, so the room can hold a quiet table.
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