 - a team of Icelandic foodies on a mission to help travellers experience Iceland like a local. Since 2014, we’ve been sharing the best food, stories, and hidden gems through our award-winning 

. Join us and discover why it’s been named the 

If you want a bite of Icelandic culture, connect with fun locals, and make the most of your trip to Iceland, you’re in the right place. Join us and see why thousands of guests have called their Wake Up Reykjavik experience one the highlight of their trip.

How it started: Experience Iceland Like a Local

, my best friend and I started noticing something that didn’t sit right with us.

Reykjavik was welcoming more and more travellers - but we had a feeling many of them weren’t 

 the city the way we did. We’d see visitors dining at tourist-trap restaurants, showing up too early to the bars we worked at, or missing the cosy local spots that make our little capital so special.

they can’t go home after this and say they truly fell in love with Reykjavik.

If only they could see the version of Reykjavik we know - visit the best spots, have the local dishes and experience the real charm of Reykjavik.
And that thought became an idea.

What if we could help travellers experience Reykjavik 

? Through great food, our favourite places, beautiful streets, and, most importantly, in the company of a friendly Icelander.

to show travellers how awesome our hometown really is.

From the Perfect Night to the Perfect Day

In the very beginning, our focus wasn’t food - it was nightlife.
I was working as a cocktail bartender in one of Reykjavik’s busiest nightclubs, and every evening I watched travellers make the same mistake: finding the right places, but at the wrong time - or stumbling into the tourist bars across the street.

 if someone only had one night out in Reykjavik, we wanted it to be perfect.

The perfect mix of each of the highlights of Reykjavik nightlife - starting with world-class cocktails and easy-going conversation, bar-hopping to sample the best Icelandic beers, tasting weird local snacks (hello, fermented shark), finding the city’s best “drunk food,” and finishing the night dancing with locals.

Those first nights were pure fun. We met incredible people from all over the world, made new friends every weekend, and loved hearing travellers say that their night out with us was the highlight of their entire Iceland trip (wow).

Then came a nudge from someone who knows me best - 


She’s a passionate foodie and probably the best chef I know. After trying food tours abroad, she said:

“You two should do a food tour in Reykjavik. You’d be great at it - and it’s the best way to experience a new city.”

At first, we laughed it off. But eventually, we realised she was right.
We’d both spent years working in kitchens, loved Icelandic food, and had a deep passion for showing travellers the best of our city. So we started planning what a food tour in Reykjavik could look like - carefully choosing the must-have dishes, the best restaurants, mapping out the most scenic route, and adding little details that would make it fun and unforgettable.
We wanted it to feel like 

 - the one we’d create for our own family visiting from abroad.

Two amazing girls from Canada joined us. The tour lasted nearly six hours (we were a little ambitious on that first one), but it was an incredible day. We celebrated by sitting by the ocean, sharing a local beer, and talking about how to make the next tour even better.
From that day on, the 

to create unforgettable memories in Reykjavik for travellers - to help people experience Reykjavik like true locals, make new friends, and fall in love with Icelandic cuisine.

How a Local Idea Became a Worldwide Favourite

For the first few years, we guided every single tour ourselves - we didn’t think anyone else could do it quite like we did.

After a few years, local chefs, bartenders, and friends started helping us - and that’s when Wake Up Reykjavik truly came alive. Our small operation grew into a family of 

 some of the coolest, most passionate people you’ll meet: students, actors, chefs, entrepreneurs, even a national bodybuilding champion.

Each guide brings their own humour, stories, and love for Reykjavik. They’re the kind of people who can make you laugh, feed you amazing food, and share local tips that even Icelanders don’t know.

the #1-rated tour in Iceland on TripAdvisor

, and soon after, TripAdvisor started featuring us in their annual “Top 20 Experiences in the World.” That blew our minds.
Then, in 

That was surreal - and it gave us even more motivation to keep improving and to never forget why we started.

Today, not much has changed in spirit. We’re still living here in Reykjavik, doing what we love - helping guests from all over the world experience our city like locals. We host multiple Food Walks 360 days a year, and we’re still just as excited for each one as we were for that very first tour.
We never imagined it would grow into something this special - or that some people would travel across the globe just to join our little food tour in Iceland.

2014 - Wake Up Reykjavik founded by two local friends. The Reykjavik Bar Crawl is born.

2016 - Launch of the Reykjavik Food Walk.

2018 - Featured in major international media.

Want to Experience Reykjavik Like a Local?

Meet up with one of our local legends and let us guide you through the beautiful streets of Reykjavik, taste authentic Icelandic dishes, and visit our favourite restaurants in town.

Let’s have a perfect day in Reykjavik together.

📍 Klapparstígur 25, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland

Wake Up Reykjavik

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS

WAKE UP REYKJAVIK?

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