In August we were invited to dinner at "Fröken Selfoss", an Icelandic menu that really contains almost everything that is associated with Icelandic cuisine. An absolutely great culinary experience that entirely delighted us.
In the "
New City Center" of Selfoss, 13 historic, but now destroyed, residential and commercial buildings from all over Iceland were recreated in the first construction phase. I think the place has really gained a lot from the new city center! And I personally think the replicas of the old houses are very beautiful.
One of the houses is Smjörhúsið, or the butter house. The original butter house was built in 1797 by the Icelandic merchant Bjarni Sívertsen (1763 - 1833) at Hafnarstræri 22 in Reykjavík, who opened a branch here. The house later belonged to the Icelandic entrepreneur and politician Tryggvi Gunnarsson (1835 - 1917), whose commitment led to the construction of the first bridge over the Ölfusá - without this bridge, Selfoss would certainly not have become the economic center of southern Iceland. The house on Hafnarstræti was then bought by the Danish company IRMA, which ran a shop here until 1943, mainly selling butter and margarine. The name “Smjörhúsið” was emblazoned in large letters on the front of the house back then, giving it its name. The house in Reykjavík was demolished in 1977 and brought back to life in the New Center of Selfoss in 2021. The restaurant “Fröken Selfoss” is now located in the basement at Brúartorg.
The “Fröken Selfoss” opened in autumn 2023. "Miss Selfoss" offers great food and cocktails. According to the company, it is a moderately fine dining restaurant that offers friendly service and appetizing and tasty dishes. The focus is on Icelandic ingredients.
There are many agricultural producers in South Iceland in particular, so "Fröken Selfoss" can make full use here and buy fresh, high-quality products from their neighbors in the region, fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables every day, but also fresh fish and fresh meat or liqueurs from a regional distillery.
These high-quality ingredients are then processed in the kitchen at “Fröken” and put together in an exciting, innovative way to create a modern, sometimes completely new taste experience. The focus here is always on freshness, wholesomeness and taste .
The ambience of the restaurant is very beautiful and elegant and you notice how carefully all the details are coordinated so that everything forms a perfectly harmonious whole - just like with the dishes.
The full Icelandic menu
The owners invited us as food bloggers to eat at "Fröken Selfoss" and served us "Stóri Íslenski seðillinn" as a special house specialty, i.e. the "Full Icelandic Menu".
The appetizers
We are traditionally served this small appetizer platter -
Hákarl,
harðfiskur,
smjör and
brennivín as well as
þurrkað ærfillet. So small cubes of fermented
fermented shark,
dried fish with butter and, to wash it down, Icelandic schnapps (
Brennivín). And dried sheep fillet, more precisely ewe fillet (
ærfillet).
All are classic Icelandic specialties and really all of very good quality. The dried fish was nice and floury and was easy to eat, also well buttered. But the cold-smoked, dried meat from the ewe was an absolute surprise - so far I have only ever experienced dried meat completely dried out and relatively hard. But this one was dry on the outside and wonderfully soft on the inside, just a perfect treat! Never eaten like this before - and so incredibly delicious!
The waitress gave us a short introduction, told us a bit about the individual components and also pointed out that it was a good idea not to touch the rotten shark with your fingers, but only with a toothpick - otherwise you'll have the smell for days on the fingers!
In addition to the menu, we got two liqueurs (líkjör) - the dark red one was Wild Berries and was almost reminiscent of port wine, the light one was a very tasty rhubarb liqueur. By the way, the liqueurs also come from a local distillery.
This was the second part of the starters - I immediately fell in love with the way the food was served! And then the taste...an absolute highlight for me!
We were served three different delicacies on very crusty, thin flatbread (
flatbrauð):
There was smoked, slow-cooked char, with an oriental-inspired ginger sauce - an absolute highlight for both of us, interesting, crispy and soft at the same time, different flavors perfectly put together and simply incredibly delicious!
There was also cured, slow-cooked goose, served with wild Icelandic blueberries (aðalbláber) and horseradish mayonnaise. Also very tasty.
The third was ceviche, actually a fish dish from South American cuisine, with chopped seafood, onions and limes. Served here on crispy Icelandic flatbread, with tomatoes, parsley and chili mayonnaise. My husband isn't necessarily a big fan of seafood, but we both really liked this, especially with the slight chili flavor.
The first main course consisted, very traditionally, of typical Icelandic meat soup (kjötsúpa), also served in the classic way with Icelandic rye bread (rúgbrauð) and butter - very traditional food, also traditionally prepared, and really perfect. A pleasure all around!
The second main course was
hægelduð lambamjöðm, ofnbakað grænmeti og kartöflur, pikklaður rauðlaukur og brún sósa, i.e. roasted lamb sirloin, oven-baked vegetables and potatoes, with pickled red onions and brown sauce.
Lamb with potatoes, vegetables and brown sauce - that sounds like typical, perhaps somewhat boring home cooking, right? In fact, the dish couldn't have been further from boring home cooking! The lamb sirloin was absolutely perfect, crispy on the outside and very soft on the inside. Plus potatoes in four different versions, from small potatoes in the skins to potato gratin. The cold, sourish onions were the perfect counterpoint to the warm, sweet gratin. And the intense dark sauce... just a real pleasure all around!
Since the "Fröken Selfoss" is not only known for its perfect Icelandic food, but also for its cocktails, my husband was allowed to choose a "signature cocktail" - he chose a Rabarbararúna after the delicious rhubarb liqueur. With rhubarb, violet liqueur, hibiscus tea, wine foam and dried rose petals.
 |
| Slurping bath water... |
I fell in love just by looking at the "bathtub" in which this cocktail is served - this cute bathtub with its little feet, the light foam and the dried flowers. The illusion of foamy bath water with a bath bomb in it was just perfect! And my husband was also very impressed with the taste - simply brilliant, visually and taste-wise!
The dessert
The menu also includes skyr as a dessert, namely traditional Icelandic skyr, served with liquid cream, blueberries and plenty of sugar. Add a small glass of sugar, which you can use to sweeten if necessary. That's something!
If you buy blueberry skyr in an Icelandic supermarket, it will basically contain these ingredients, but all mixed together and in a uniform mass. Here everything is separate and you can consciously taste the individual components with every bite, the sour skyr, the sweet, liquid cream, the fresh berries, plus the sugar that crunches between your teeth... an absolute pleasure!
For us as food bloggers, instead of the second skyr dessert that is actually part of the menu, we had a rabbarbara baka. This is a type of pie with rhubarb and apple pieces, baked with oatmeal crumbles and berries and served with a scoop of ice cream.
Another traditional Icelandic dish, and once again perfectly prepared, warm and cold at the same time, soft and crispy, sour and sweet... everything put together perfectly! Even though we were almost too full by now to be able to appreciate this delicious dessert as much as the dish deserved.
Let's talk about the price... The “stóri Íslenski seðillinn”, i.e. the “full Icelandic menu”, costs 13,990 ISK per person, or around € 90. It is only served for two people or more. The rhubarb cocktail in the bathtub costs 2,990 ISK, the equivalent of just under € 20. And the Rabbarbara baka alone costs 2,590 ISK, just under € 17. Plus the two liqueurs... definitely not a cheap treat. But that's actually never what eating out in Iceland is like - and the meal at "Fröken Selfoss" was first-class Icelandic food, definitely worth the money.
If you don't want to treat yourself to the full Icelandic menu on special occasions, you can also enjoy really good food for lunch or dinner at "Fröken" at a fair price.
On the lunch menu you will find, for example, hamburgers with bacon, cheese and salad as well as fries and garlic sauce for 3,890 ISK (approx. € 25), Plokkfiskur with rye bread and butter for 3,490 ISK (currently around € 22) or the fish of the day for 3,590 ISK (a good € 23).
On the evening menu you can choose between salad, two meat and two fish dishes as well as meat soup and hamburger for the main courses. Prices range between 3,690 ISK (around € 24) and up to 6,690 ISK (just under € 44). By the way, the delicious grilled lamb rump with all the ingredients that was part of our Icelandic menu is also on the menu here.
As a dessert you can then choose between the traditional Skyr for 1,790 ISK (a good € 11.50), chocolate cake with Skyr cream and berries or the rhubarb cake for 2,590 ISK each (just under € 17).
The signature cocktails are priced between 1,790 ISK and 3,490 ISK, i.e. between around € 11.50 and just under € 23). The non-alcoholic cocktail is also priced at 1,790 ISK.
If you compare what you pay for average Icelandic food in an average Icelandic restaurant, the prices are similar - but at "Fröken Selfoss" you don't get average food, you get really exciting, top quality food.
The people behind “Fröken Selfoss”
Behind "Fröken Selfoss" are Árni B. Hafdal Bjarnason and Guðný Sif Jóhannsdóttir .
Árni is a trained chef and has worked for years in many different positions in the catering and hotel industry, from catering for large events (e.g. at Þorrablót) to cooking events at home. Guðý Sif is a trained paramedic and worked, among other things, in the Landspítali and in a home for the disabled. Today she is responsible for marketing for the joint company. The couple has been living in Selfoss with their two daughters since the end of 2022.
In June 2021, the couple opened their first restaurant, Samúelsson Matbar in the new Mjólkurbú Food Hall in Selfoss. The restaurant is named after Guðjón Samúelsson (1887 - 1950), the "húsameistari ríksins", who, as Iceland's state architect, designed, among other things, the Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík and the church in Akureyri, the Hotel Borg in Reykjavík, the swimming pool in the Barónsstígur, but also in 1929 the former company building of the dairy cooperative in Selfoss, the Mjólkurbú.
Groovís - Ice Cream and Donuts In spring 2023, Árni and Guðný Sif also took over the operation of the ice cream parlor in the new city center. Since April 2023, “Groovís” has been offering unusual, colorful desserts, creative mixtures of ice cream, mini donuts and cotton candy.
Another special feature of Groovís is that orders are generally placed online or via an on-site operating terminal, so that employees can concentrate efficiently on processing the various orders.
“Fröken Selfoss” was added in November 2023. The “Fröken” was originally designed as a tapas bar, with many different small delicacies on many different small plates. However, the many plates turned out to be a problem - too many dirty dishes, they couldn't keep up with the washing in the small kitchen, and too staff-intensive, both in service and in the kitchen.
So in June 2024, Árni and Guðný Sif revised the concept and consciously focused on Icelandic food, classic Icelandic cuisine made from high-quality Icelandic ingredients for Icelanders and visitors, many traditional dishes, but with a very individual twist they have become something very special - fine kitchen in perfection!
As part of the reorganization, the prices were reduced so that visitors not only come every few months, but can also afford good food at a fair price more often. Instead of many small dishes, there are now a few large dishes on the menu which you can also eat your fill.
In a conversation at the counter, Árni told us that his goal is to earn a Michelin recommendation in the next years with his typical Icelandic dishes, far from simple home cooking. We're keeping our fingers crossed for him - if you ask us, Árni's food and his love for food down to the last detail really deserve it.
Thank you once again for the invitation to an absolutely perfect Icelandic meal, we couldn't have imagined the meal to be better or more exciting!
So the next time you're in Selfoss and want to eat something really special, Icelandic cuisine to perfection, we can only recommend "Fröken Selfoss" to you.
Formally this article can be graded as advertisement, since we had been invited for the meal. Anyhow, we have chosen only restaurants, which we had heard good things about and which we estimated as interesting. Accordingly we're really delighted, and if we fall into words of praise, these are meant honestly.
[Translated from
here.]
The small Black Forest Café in Helluland
