Dill
Iceland has been one of my favorite travel destinations so far. The country is so beautiful, with natural landscapes and features that, at times, made me forget I was still on Earth. My visit was during winter so the days were short and the landscape mostly covered in snow, but even then there was an amazing beauty to everything. The winter visit also gave me the chance to see the northern light for the first time.
While Iceland has some amazing things to see, it is not necessarily known as a destination for food. This might be slowly changing as Iceland has become a hotspot for tourism. In 2017, Iceland got its first Michelin-starred restaurant. Here is the tasting menu we had there for dinner on February 16, 2018:
Snacks - Rye and smoked roe, malt and wolffish, monkfish and fermented garlic
Dried roots - Parsnip, beetroot, radish, salsify
Sourdough bread and Iceland whipped butter
Mussels - Celeriac, dulse
Sunchokes - Fried, puree, skur, dill
Trout - Carrot, fennel, dung-smoked
You read that correctly: dung smoked. Smoking meat using dung is actually somewhat common in Iceland, although usually applied to cooking lamb. Honestly, other than a somewhat unique scent (not unpleasant) it’s difficult to discern the use of that method.
Cod - Cabbage, onion
Beef brisket - Parsley, whey
The flavors in this last entree were decent, but the beef was very tough. Almost inedibly so.
“Milk & Cookies”
Rutubaga - Cream, crowberries
Dinner at Dill was probably one of the best meals during my time in Iceland. Most of the courses, save for the beef, were well-prepared and had some interesting flavors. However, when stacked up against other 1-star Michelin restaurants I’ve been to in Japan and the USA, Dill doesn’t quite reach that level. I applaud the restaurant and chef for breaking new ground and putting Iceland on the Michelin map. Hopefully with time things will continue to evolve and Iceland will become a nature and food lovers’ destination.
Dill
Hverfisgata 12, 101
Reykjavik, Iceland
+354 552 1522
www.dillrestaurant.is
