Amazing view onto the glacier, but tiny portions: Restaurant Gunna á Leiti @ Hótel Jökulsarlon – Glacier Lagoon Hotel (20. August 2024)

After hours and hours of driving with a speed limit of 90km/h through Iceland, I finally arrived to the Jökulsarlon glacier area, and I was happy that the hotel had only opened about 1.5 months ago, since things were new, pretty, and overall functional. The Gunna á Leiti is a nice restaurant with a view onto the glacier, and you get to see the sunset, which is lovely. The staff is friendly, but a bit disorganised still. You can feel that they are still in the phase of getting routines and procedures organised.

I went for the “fresh summer salad (kale, rucola, orange leaves, pomegranate, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, and mango vinaigrette)” (2’900 ISK) as a starter, which was nice and diverse in terms of ingredients, but also here, the dressing was too thick for my personal gusto.

The “arctic char (mashed potatoes, julienne vegetables, and beurre blanc)” (5’700 ISK), which was the main course, was incredibly small. Good from a taste perspective, but definitely not a main course in terms of size. Feedback I also provided to the restaurant when leaving it.

Hence, I was still hungry for something savoury, and decided to go for the “langoustine soup (creamy soup with white wine, langoustine, anise foam, and parsley oil)” (3’200 ISK), which was quite okay, but also nothing spectacular. Personally, I found the experience overall quite okay – nothing exciting, nothing special, but a beautiful view.

The inside is modern, and sorted out.

But the view is truly breathtaking – and once they have finished building the porch below – and you don’t get to see them building it, it will be even prettier.

So, all in all, the Gunna á Leiti is not a restaurant I would drive far for, but given you’re staying at the hotel anyway, it’s definitely okay to dine here. On top of that, to be honest, it is also a bit a lack of options as there isn’t too much around the area where you could dine alternatively.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Gunna á Leiti @ Hótel Jökulsarlon – Glacier Lagoon Hotel

Efribær, Reynivellir

781 Suðursveit (IS)

Tel.: +354 449 70 00

E-Mail: reception@glhotel.is

Homepage: http://hoteljokulsarlon.is/restaurant/

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.