RFK Rankings · Reykjavik
Best Restaurants for Brunch in Reykjavik (2026)
Weekend brunch · Reykjavik · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published February 24, 2026 · Updated June 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
Reykjavik does brunch the way it does everything: small rooms, long mornings and a queue out the door by half eleven on a Saturday. The good ones cluster in the 101 postcode and out on the Grandi harbour, and almost none of them take a booking. These six, ranked, are where to land before the line forms.
1.Coocoo's Nest
The Grandi harbour cafe whose weekend brunch is a city institution; arrive before eleven to beat the Saturday line.
Coocoo's Nest sits at Grandagardur 23 on the Grandi harbour, a Californian-Italian cafe and wine bar founded by chef Lucas Keller. The weekend brunch is the draw: green eggs and ham, a breakfast burrito and a daily-changing omelette, with plates roughly 2,500 to 3,500 ISK. It has been a fixture of every Reykjavik brunch guide, from the Grapevine to Vogue Scandinavia.
There are no brunch reservations, and by half eleven on a Saturday you will be waiting on the harbour wall. Come before eleven, and note it closes Mondays.
2.ROK
A black-timber small-plates room across from Hallgrimskirkja for the city's tastiest brunch; reserve a weekend table to skip the wait.
ROK occupies a striking black-stained timber house at Frakkastigur 26a, directly across from Hallgrimskirkja, and runs brunch as small plates rather than big plates. The blue-cheese eggs florentine and the chestnut-mushroom toast are the orders, with a rhubarb lemonade alongside; most plates land between 2,000 and 3,000 ISK.
It sits near the top of Reykjavik's Tripadvisor rankings on more than a thousand reviews and, unusually for this list, takes a booking through Dineout. Weekend service runs from noon; reserve ahead and you can walk past the queue at the cafes nearby.
3.Sandholt
Iceland's century-old family bakery on the main street for sourdough and a leisurely breakfast plate; walk in early on a weekday.
The Sandholt family has baked on Laugavegur since 1920, and the cafe at number 36 is the place to start a slow Reykjavik morning over the country's best sourdough. The breakfast plate, the pastries and the croissants are the order, served until eleven, with plates roughly 2,500 to 3,500 ISK.
It is walk-in only and one of the oldest operating bakeries in Iceland, so the mornings fill fast with locals. Come early, take a window seat on the main shopping street and watch Laugavegur wake up over a second coffee.
4.Grai Kotturinn
The cellar breakfast room since 1997 and its all-in 'Truck' plate; walk in for a snug downtown morning before two.
Grai Kotturinn, the Grey Cat, has run since October 1997 from a snug cellar on Hverfisgata 16a, across from the National Theatre, founded by the artists Jon Oskar and Hulda Hakon and now family-run. The signature is The Truck, a full American breakfast of pancakes, bacon, potatoes, fried eggs and toast, with most plates between 2,500 and 3,500 ISK.
It is tiny, it takes no bookings and it stops serving at half two. Walk in early for one of the handful of tables; this is the downtown breakfast room locals send visitors to first.
5.Bergsson Mathus
A bright, locally-sourced breakfast room by Austurvollur with a second Grandi branch; walk in for a calmer weekend plate.
Bergsson Mathus runs a fresh, locally-sourced breakfast and brunch from Templarasund 3, just off Austurvollur square, with a second room out on Grandagardur in Grandi. Frommer's keeps it on its short list of Reykjavik breakfast favourites, and the menu leans toward simple, well-sourced plates rather than the loaded American spread down the street.
Weekend hours run nine to four, and the room is calmer than the Grandi cafes, which makes it the pick when you want a brunch without the queue. Walk in; the Grandi branch is the easier table on a packed Saturday.
6.Cafe Babalu
The quirky two-floor cafe on the church street for grilled cheese, crepes and skyr cake; walk in for a low-key bite.
Cafe Babalu spreads over two floors of a wonky house at Skolavordustigur 22a, on the street that climbs to Hallgrimskirkja, and it is the most relaxed brunch on this list. The kitchen leans vegetarian: grilled-cheese toasts, chocolate crepes, a much-loved skyr cake and soups, all at cafe prices.
It is walk-in only and open daily from half eight, a long-running local favourite listed by Visit Reykjavik. Take the upstairs nook for the quieter side of the room and a window over the church street.
Not for everyone
Famous, but not actually a Reykjavik brunch
Dill. Iceland's only Michelin-starred restaurant, on Hverfisgata, runs a seven-to-ten-course tasting dinner from Wednesday to Saturday under chef Gunnar Karl Gislason at around 30,000 ISK, and it serves no brunch. It is a superb dinner booked weeks ahead, but it is the wrong meal for a Saturday morning.
Mokka Kaffi. Reykjavik's oldest cafe, on Skolavordustigur since 1958, is iconic for its espresso and house waffles with jam and cream, but it is a coffee-and-waffle gallery cafe rather than a sit-down brunch kitchen. Stop for an afternoon waffle, not a morning plate.
How to brunch well in Reykjavik
Reykjavik's brunch lives in two postcodes. The 101 downtown core holds the small rooms, ROK by the church, Sandholt and Grai Kotturinn on the main streets, and Bergsson and Babalu a short walk apart, while the Grandi harbour out west is Coocoo's Nest territory. Everything here is walkable in the compact centre, so weather aside you can hop between them on foot.
The single rule is timing. Most of these rooms take no reservation, and the Saturday queues form by half eleven, so land before eleven or aim for a weekday. ROK is the exception that books through Dineout, which makes it the safe weekend table. Kitchens here close early, with Grai Kotturinn done by half two, so brunch is a morning affair, not an afternoon one.
Frequently asked
Where is the best brunch in Reykjavik?
Coocoo's Nest on the Grandi harbour is the marquee pick, a Californian-Italian cafe whose weekend brunch of green eggs and ham draws a queue by late morning. For the tastiest plates downtown, ROK across from Hallgrimskirkja is the destination; for sourdough and pastries, the century-old Sandholt bakery on Laugavegur.
Do you need a reservation for brunch in Reykjavik?
Mostly no, and that is the catch. Coocoo's Nest, Sandholt, Grai Kotturinn, Bergsson Mathus and Cafe Babalu are all walk-in only, and the Saturday lines build fast after eleven. ROK across from Hallgrimskirkja is the one room here that takes a booking through Dineout, so reserve it for a guaranteed weekend table.
What time is brunch in Reykjavik?
Early. Most rooms open between half eight and ten and the kitchens close in the early afternoon, with Grai Kotturinn done by half two. The queues at the no-reservation cafes such as Coocoo's Nest and Sandholt form by half eleven on a Saturday, so the trick is to arrive before eleven or to come on a quieter weekday morning.
Is there a good vegetarian brunch in Reykjavik?
Yes. Cafe Babalu on Skolavordustigur leans strongly vegetarian, with grilled-cheese toasts, chocolate crepes, a skyr cake and a rotating soup, in a quirky two-floor room near the church. ROK's small-plates brunch, built on eggs florentine and mushroom toast, is the other easy meat-light table downtown.
How much does brunch cost in Reykjavik?
Reykjavik is not cheap, and a brunch plate at the downtown cafes typically runs 2,500 to 3,500 ISK, roughly the same across Coocoo's Nest, Sandholt and Grai Kotturinn. A coffee adds several hundred krona, and the small-plates format at ROK can add up if you order a few, so budget for it.
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More from RFK
Browse the full Reykjavik dining guide, read the Dill profile on Hverfisgata, compare the city's counters in the Reykjavik solo-dining ranking and its business tables in the Reykjavik impress-clients ranking, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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