After a Sunday drive through Iceland’s countryside, you would think there would be no possibility growing something removein this country. The terrain is covered in hardened lava and long grass, rocky and cold. But if you followed Kourtney Kardashian’s snap story of her birthday celebration in Iceland, you were probably wondering where she and her posse went to eat delicious dishes all made of tomatoes (well at least I did). One word: Friðheimar.
Located in the small area of Reyholt, sits the little family run, farm-to-table restaurant where it’s dishes are made solely of tomatoes grown in their hydroponic greenhouses. Friðheimar uses the natural geothermal water to heat their greenhouses. You can see the pipes below each row of vines and photosynthesis is enhanced by using carbon dioxide produced from natural geothermal steam. They have their own bumble bee pollinators imported from Holland and focus on conservative farming and green energy. These are a lot of BIG words so we will get to the good stuff, the food.
After exploring the tomato fields, we decided we had to eat something. The restaurant was absolutely packed when we arrived, so we decided to get take-away tomato soup and bread. There had to be about 35 different types of bread on the table, so naturally we decided to fill our bag with every single kind. Luckily, there was a table open outside and the sun was out.
The soup was unreal, like better than any piece of pizza I have had in New York or glass of wine in Italy. It was so fresh and on each table there is a fresh basil plant where you can trim off leaves to add to your dish. The menu was completely vegetarian and even had specialty drinks and desserts. I plan on returning and experiencing the restaurant next week, I will probably order everything because who doesn’t want tomato ice-cream or fresh Bloody Mary’s?
This is a destination to make while you are in Iceland. It is about a 45 minute drive outside of Reykjavik and the scenery is a mixture of Mars meets fairyland. This has been one of my favorite places.
XO, G
