Icelandic Lamb

Icelandic lamb comes from sheep that roam free all summer across the highlands, grazing on wild grasses, berries and herbs, which gives the meat a tender, mild, subtly gamey flavour prized by chefs. It anchors the national table, from slow-roasted leg to the hearty kjotsupa, a traditional lamb and vegetable soup that warms the coldest day.

What's there

• Roast lamb - the tender slow-roasted leg or rack.
• Kjotsupa - the traditional lamb and root vegetable soup.
• Smoked lamb - hangikjot, the smoked lamb of the Christmas table.
• The free-roaming source - the sheep grazing wild highland herbs.

When to go

Year-round; autumn, after the sheep round-up, brings the freshest meat, and lamb soup is welcome in any cold weather. It is on menus everywhere.

Before you go

Good Icelandic lamb is excellent but, like all food in Iceland, expensive at a restaurant. The traditional soup is a hearty, homely dish rather than fine dining. Quality is high across the board given the free-roaming source.

Nearby

Restaurants across Reykjavik and the country serve it; it belongs with the rye and skyr of the Icelandic table.