- Sjavarkjallarinn (Seafood Cellar) (Reykjavik; tel. 511-1212): Culinary conservatives may distrust this restaurant's radical experimentation and splashy presentation -- lobster with truffles served in a Mason jar? But the Seafood Cellar would be Iceland's best restaurant even if the food came in Styrofoam containers at a drive-thru window.
- Fjalakotturinn (Reykjavik; tel. 514-6000): Traditional yet worldly (for an appetizer, think smoked lamb carpaccio with chutney and celery root salad), this stellar restaurant has a plain white dining room with a few photos of old Reykjavik on the wall. No glam appeal, but the cooking -- and the country's most refined wine list -- speak for themselves.
- Salt (Reykjavik; tel. 599-1020): Housed in the minimalist-chic Radisson SAS 1919 Hotel, this recent entry has a prize-winning celebrity chef, but the menu -- emphasizing natural flavors and traditional crowd-pleasers like trout with lemon and capers, or tenderloin with crispy potatoes and bearnaise sauce -- is anything but an ego trip.
- Vi? Tjornina (Reykjavik; tel. 551-8666): If smoked lamb's heart, fermented shark, and salt-cod mousse can be made palatable, leave it to the maverick chefs at this offbeat Reykjavik institution. (Don't worry: The lamb fillet in port wine sauce is just as exceptional.) Check the wall for the chefs' "band photo," and ask for a bag of leftover bread to feed the ducks in the pond outside.
- T?rir Frakkar (Reykjavik; tel. 552-3939): The hallmarks of a "real Icelandic restaurant" are all here: nautical decor; a wide selection of fresh seafood and seabirds, always complemented by potatoes, familiar vegetables, and rich sauces; and there's nothing dainty about the portions or presentation.
- Fjorubor?i? (Stokkseyri; tel. 483-1550): Icelanders drive long distances -- and sometimes even drop in by helicopter from Reykjavik -- to butter their bibs at this famed lobster house on Iceland's southwestern coast.
- Tjoruhusi? (Isafjor?ur; tel. 456-4419): Tucked away in an 18th-century fish warehouse, this no-nonsense Westfjords restaurant serves up amazingly fresh and tasty pan-fried fish without the slightest fuss or pretense. Ask the cook if the fish is ever frozen and you'll get a look of utter horror.
- Fri?rik V (Akureyri; tel. 461-5775): This family-run affair, offering an impressive variety of modern European preparations, is the best restaurant outside the capital -- and it's written all over the faces of the waitstaff, who deliver lectures on each dish with well-earned, unconcealed pride.
