THE ICELANDIC HOT DOG
This blog is dedicated to one of our most beloved spots in Iceland.
The spot is no bigger than 5 square meters and hasn’t moved an inch since 1937.
It has filled our bellies with an outstanding and simple cuisine since childhood and we hope it will stay with us forever.
I am of course talking about our famous Hot Dog stand in downtown Reykjavik, or Bæjarins Beztu (Translated to The bezt in Town!)
Note: Another Hot Dog vendor has recently opened on Austurstraeti and many visitors have confused that one to be the one and only. It’s not. Check the picture to make sure to visit the right one!
WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE ICELANDIC HOT DOG?
The famous Icelandic hot dog stand has been in continuous operation since day one.
It’s been open in all weather and crazy storms every single day of the year for almost 80 years!
If you visit it today, you might notice unbearable constructions all around it. But the stand won’t move, and I think it never will!
The ingredient of the hot dog are interesting.
While most hot dogs in the world are made out of pork or beef, the hot dogs here are made from lamb meat.
The sauces and sides are also something to shout bravo for!
You can have a hot dog with homemade crispy onions and sweet mustard, along with raw onion, ketchup and remoulade.
The ketchup is actually made from apples instead of glucose, which makes it so nice and kinda sweet!
Crazt fact:
They used to use Skyr (similar to Greek Yogurt) as a sauce before mustard made its way to our culture!
Thank god that’s over now!
LONG LINE? NO PROBLEM!
Moving on to their staff.
You may notice that the vendor only fits two humans at the time and there is always a long queue waiting outside (Even if it’s below zero outside) but the queue still moves very fast.
That’s because the employee gets paid by the hot dog. The more hot dogs, the more cash money in the bank. That explains the super fast (But very friendly) service!
A QUICK MESSAGE FROM ME TO TO ALL THE FOODIES!
I of course have to mention our Reykjavik Food Tour!
Which is currently rated as the #1 food & drink activity in all of Iceland on Tripadvisor.
We not only visits the famous Icelandic hot dog stand but also a variety of other hidden gems & local restaurants where we explore Reykjavik and enjoy some of the most delicious food found in Iceland!
If you're a foodie like me, then it's a must to check out.
You can read more about our Reykjavik Food Walk here.
Next, I would like to pop in a little myth on the cooking method.
It’s true that they are super careful on how long they boil the hot dogs- the ones that are too long in the water are never served.
In other words...
You will never ever ever get a bad hot dog!
But there is another myth lurking around on why they are so good, and that is that they boil them with beer.
We don’t know if its true or not, and we have asked many times without getting a straight answer!
So it remains a myth.
...Why don’t they just tell us!
HOW TO ORDER YOUR HOT DOG LIKE A CHAMPION
I feel this is the most important part of the blog.
When you order your hot dog - I can't recommend highly enough to have "One with everything" or as we say in Icelandic: "Ein með öllu".
Every local in Iceland knows that this is the best way to have it.
Icelandic Hot Dog 'One with everything':
- Lamb Hot Dog
- Icelandic Mustard
- Remolaði sauce
- Fried Onions
- Raw Onions
- Iceland Style Ketchup (with apples instead of sugar to sweeten the flavor)
So in other words ...
Don't order your hot dog, Bill Clinton Style (with mustard only)
He seemed to enjoy it though, when Bill visited Iceland back in 2004, he made a total of 3 visits to the hot dog stand.
Always ordering the hot dog, with mustard only (Bill apparently doesn't read my blog.)
Where is the famous hot dog stand in Reykjavik?
The Bæjarins beztu hot dog stand is located on Tryggvagata 1, 101 Reykjavík.
They open at 10:00am but close at 1:00am.
As you can image, this is a very popular beverage for Icelanders after a long night of beer.
They are located right here:
But you can simply just follow these directions as well.
Click the picture to the right to get google maps directions directly to the Hot Dog stand on Tryggvagata!
Thanks for reading!
I hope you guys enjoyed my hot dog blog!
My question of the day to YOU:
Will you be trying the Icelandic hot dog on your next visit to Iceland?
Let me know in the comments below!
I hope you'll have a blast on your upcoming trip to Iceland.
I hope to see you soon on our delicious Reykjavik Food Walk!