Reykjavik, by the cup
Iceland · 14 hand-picked cafés
Reykjavik punches far above its size as a coffee city. The specialty movement here traces a clear lineage: Kaffitar began roasting in 1990, Mokka Kaffi had already been pulling espresso since 1958, and Reykjavik Roasters arrived in 2008 to anchor a fully third-wave culture of single-origin sourcing, in-house roasting, and filter brewing. Today the city supports multiple independent roasters, a nationally prominent chain with its own Micro Roast lab, and a cluster of standalone cafes where baristas compete internationally. Icelandic coffee culture values long, unhurried stays, strong community ties between cafes and their neighborhoods, and an unpretentious seriousness about the cup.
The specialty cafe geography clusters tightly. Laugavegur and the streets feeding off it -- Skolavordustigur, Bankastræti, Hverfisgata, Frakkastigur -- account for the majority of the city's best-known cafes, within comfortable walking distance of each other. The Midborg/City Centre covers the western end of this strip around Ingolfstorg and the old harbor streets. A short trip west into Vesturbaer surfaces Kaffihus Vesturbaejar, the city's best neighborhood-cafe exemplar, while the Hlemmur bus square anchors the eastern edge of the corridor. The compact geography means a serious coffee crawl can cover six or seven stops on foot in an afternoon.
What distinguishes Reykjavik is the absence of pretension alongside genuine quality. A cafe that has served waffles and espresso since 1958 sits two minutes' walk from a barista-competition training ground that is also a fine-art gallery. Artisan bakeries that reset the city's standard for laminated pastry share roaster suppliers with neighborhood institutions housed in former pharmacies. The city is small enough that most roasters and cafe owners know each other, and that collaborative proximity shows up in the consistency of the cup across the scene.
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14 cafés
Braud & Co (Frakkastigur)
Braud & Co opened its original bakery at Frakkastigur 16 in 2016 and reset the standard for artisan baking in…
Kaffi Loki
Kaffi Loki sits directly across Skolavordustigur from Hallgrimskirkja, offering one of the most photogenic views of…
Kaffi O-le
Pouring Kaffibrugghusid
Kaffi O-le opened in 2021 on Hafnarstraeti 11 with a focused mission: bring single-origin specialty coffee sourced…
Kaffibrennslan
Set inside a historic timber house on Laugavegur 21, Kaffibrennslan has been one of the main stops on the street's…
Kaffihus Vesturbaejar
Pouring Reykjavik Roasters
Kaffihus Vesturbaejar occupies a former pharmacy at Melhagi 20 in the quiet residential Vesturbaer district,…
Kaffitar (Bankastræti)
Pouring Kaffitar
Kaffitar was founded in 1990 when Adalheidur Hedinssdottir sold the family car to start importing and roasting beans,…
Mokka Kaffi
Founded in 1958 by Gudny Gudjónsdóttir and Gudmundur Baldvinsson, Mokka Kaffi was the first cafe in Iceland to serve…
Prikid
Prikid on Bankastræti has been continuously serving coffee since 1951, making it the oldest coffee house in Reykjavik…
Reykjavik Roasters (Asmunarsal)
Pouring Reykjavik Roasters
Opened in late 2018 inside the Asmundarsalur sculpture museum and gallery on Freyjugata, this is the most…
Reykjavik Roasters (Brautarholt)
Pouring Reykjavik Roasters
The second Reykjavik Roasters location opened in August 2015 near the Hlemmur bus terminal, offering the same…
Reykjavik Roasters (Karastígur)
Pouring Reykjavik Roasters
The original Reykjavik Roasters location opened in 2008 inside a 1929 building that was once a skyr and milk shop,…
Sandholt
Pouring Reykjavik Roasters
Sandholt has operated as a family-run bakery since 1920 and now into its fourth generation, with the flagship at…
Stofan Cafe
Stofan, meaning 'the living room' in Icelandic, operates out of one of the oldest surviving buildings in central…
Te og Kaffi Micro Roast
Pouring Te og Kaffi
Te og Kaffi has roasted its own beans since 1984 and the Micro Roast flagship at Adalstraeti 12 is the network's most…
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Reykjavik coffee, answered
- Where is the best specialty coffee in Reykjavik?
- Remembrew lists 14 hand-picked specialty cafés in Reykjavik, Iceland. Standouts include Braud & Co (Frakkastigur), Kaffi Loki, Kaffi O-le, Kaffibrennslan. The densest neighborhoods for coffee are Midborg/City Centre, Laugavegur. Every café is chosen for the quality of its coffee, never for payment, so the list reflects the scene rather than who paid to appear.
- How many specialty cafés does Reykjavik have?
- Remembrew tracks 14 specialty cafés in Reykjavik that clear our bar for coffee quality. The count reflects the real depth of the local scene rather than a fixed quota, and we add cafés as we verify them.
- Which Reykjavik neighborhoods are best for coffee?
- In Reykjavik, the neighborhoods with the most hand-picked specialty cafés are Midborg/City Centre (8), Laugavegur (4). Each has its own page on Remembrew with the full list and a map.
- Does Remembrew take payment to list a café in Reykjavik?
- No. Remembrew is an independent directory and never accepts payment for a listing or for placement. Cafés appear only because they clear our specialty-coffee bar, and you can read the full criteria on our directory standards page.
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