I’ve already published a post about the how and why we went to Iceland for the birthday/proposal trip G surprised me with - if you cba to read it, basically G is a show off. I’d got as far as a review of our dinner (and marriage proposal, heh) at The Perlan on our first night (again, for the lazy among us, it’s a beautiful revolving restaurant overlooking Reykjavík, super posh, super romantic, etc. etc.). If I still haven’t enticed you to read that first post, here’s a sneaky peek of The Rock before I get on with what we got up to for the rest of the holiday, and reviews of the two other top restaurants in Reykjavik.

The rest of our Icelandic holiday

The morning after G popped the question, he told me the real reason he’d bought a call plan for the trip was so that I could call all my family and let them know (assuming!) I’d said yes, not so he could keep up with clients while we were away. So organised. Then with the tears and thank you’s with the family out the way, we got up and ready and hopped on the transfer bus to the main bus station and from there got a coach to The Blue Lagoon. Fun fact: all the buses and coaches had free on-board WiFi. So of course me and G were taking advantage to check on the flurry of Likes and comments on Facebook following The Announcement. Question: why do the guys who like all my profile photos not Like this? Was it something I said?

The Blue Lagoon

I had no idea what to expect going to The Blue Lagoon. G had spoken to a lot of people while planning the trip and apparently the lagoon is a must; he admitted he had originally planned to propose there, but had visions of the ring slipping out of his swim shorts. Probably all worked out for the best really. The lagoon itself is stunning, I only managed to get a few snaps on my iPhone but I was pleasantly surprised with the quality.

By the time we got there we were ravenous, so while everyone else from our coach was scrambling for the changing rooms, we head straight to the restaurant. In pretty much every restaurant we went to in Iceland they served bread before your food came, but what was interesting about it was the butter, which was always whipped with milk or cream, and had a rich but different taste everywhere we went. And the amount of flavours on every plate we had - we couldn’t even identify half the food we were eating. At the lagoon we had a lamb main, which was easily the best meat I’ve ever had, but honestly I couldn’t tell you what else was on my plate besides carrots. And the pudding was a crazy mix of textures and flavours - smooth, crunchy, spongy, sweet, sour, cold - you name it, the dish had it. Amazing.

Afterwards we went and got changed, joined the other Brits ignoring the signs telling you to wash naked in the public shower, and shimmied quickly out of the cold and into the water. It was a really interesting experience. The water is a bit hum ding from all the minerals, and the floor ranges from either slimy and slippery to sharp and spiky. G had his fair share of issues navigating his way through the opaque waters, smacking his toes and knees into anything that got in his way. Every now and then you find a hot patch of water, which is glorious, and there are loads of nooks, crannies and caves to explore. We got a drink and face mask with our tickets, which you get from the pool bar - just look for the concentrated numbers of people wearing mud on their faces taking selfies, you can’t miss it. The mask was definitely an experience - the bar is ice cold, I think G lasted a full minute before he got brain freeze and washed it all off.

Grillmarkaðinn (or, The Grill Market)

We didn’t stay that long at the lagoon as we were still feeling sleepy from all the travel and excitement from the day before, but it was a great experience, I’d definitely do it again. G had mostly booked us dinners at the top-rated restaurants on TripAdvisor (we’re big fans on planning our surprise birthday trips on good old TripAdvisor!) as we love food and dining out, and the second stop on the list for that evening was Grillmarkaðinn, or in English, The Grill Market. We sat downstairs in a dark, cozy booth, next to a… mossy wall? Alright then.

More whipped butter, with what I assumed was volcanic rock dust, for the bread this time. G went with a steak - we were in a Grill Market, after all - so I of course went with the lobster tails. We were blown away by the attention to detail at The Grill Market - just look at that cocktail garnish! And again, I have no idea what was in my salad. But. It. Was. Delicious. Favourite part of the meal though was the chocolate bomb we shared at the end - they poured hot chocolate sauce over it and the whole thing imploded - almost every meal we had in Iceland had some sort of theatre, from the soup at The Perlan to the pud at The Fish Market (more on that in a bit, ooh hoo hoo).

Northern Lights Boat Tour

That night we went on a boat tour to see the Northern Lights. All you’s need to know is that it was cloudy and I’m not known for my sea legs. What a waste of some good lobster tails and chocolate bomb.

A wander around Reykjavík

The next day, both with shaky sea legs, we decided to go for a wander around Reykjavík. We’d spent a lot of time chatting to the Australian barman at our hotel, who had told us about all the best souvenir shops and other things to do in the centre, including the gourmet hot dog stand which apparently attracts great big queues in the summer. So after inhaling a quick hot dog from Baejarins Bestu (spicier mustard, please!), we had a good nose around, bought a few souvenirs, and on the way back made sure to pop into at the penis museum. But of course.

The weird thing was that none of the local taxi drivers had any idea what we were on about whenever we asked where we could find The Icelandic Phallological Museum; maybe they’re just less impressed by willies there, who knows. A few penis key rings for the girls and an “indoor” t-shirt for my dad later, we grabbed some snacks from the mini-mart next door and went back to our hotel for a nap.

Fiskmarkadurinn (or, The Fish Market)

The third and final stop in our culinary adventure that night was at the sister restaurant to The Grill Market, Fiskmarkadurinn - The Fish Market.

From the welcome book showcasing their menu…

…to the cocktails…

…to the tasting menu…

I mean, I just can’t even with G’s choice for our final night. The mussels came in an eerie, smoking dish, they poured hot sauce into a chocolate bomb that smoked and oozed like a mini volcano, the sushi and the cocktails were the best I have ever had in my life. The Fish Market has officially ruined me for eating out in the UK.

A perfect end to a perfect trip.