Not worth the visit in the middle of nowhere: Restaurant SVO @ Hótel Hvolsvöllur (21. August 2024)

If I had a choice to rebook my hotels during my trip, I probably would only rebook this one – the Hótel Hvolsvöllur is about as basic as it gets, and that comes with the selection of food. To be fair, though, the staff is friendly and generally attentive, which is nice. The “grilled whale (grilled whale tenderloin, served only rare)” (3’390 ISK) looked a bit like beef and in terms of texture it was a mixture between beef and tuna – a bit smoother from a bite perspective than beef, but a bit more strainy like beef compared to tuna. And it turned out to be quite good actually – it doesn’t have a strong taste, but it was interesting to experience.

As a main, I went for the “tuna steak (180gr, with sesame seeds, potatoes, grilled vegetables)” (5’990 ISK), which was a bit of a disappointment. The tuna was cooked the way it is supposed to be cooked (so almost rare inside), but the coverage of sesame seeds was definitely too much. You wouldn’t be able to taste much of the tuna steak itself due to the sesame. The potatoes were okay if you bathed them in the soy sauce, but other than that, they seemed quite a bit undercooked. So, yeah, not the greatest of all main courses.

However, the “Skyr Cake (our special cheesecake is made from Icelandic Skyr)” (2’290 ISK) turned out to be surprisingly delicious. Personally, I wasn’t really feeling it, but given I hadn’t tried it and it seemed to be a very local thing, I decided to give this a try – and it turned out to be quite tasty. A bit grainy in terms of texture, but other than that truly tasty.

So, yeah, not sure what to say about the whole experience. The place is definitely nothing appealing (it’s clean, it’s functional, but that’s about it), the waitress was superbly friendly and attentive, though. They have a few interesting food items on the menu, which are interesting to try, but it is definitely not a place I would visit intentionally.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant SVO @ Hótel Hvolsvöllur

Hlíðarvegur 9

860 Hvolsvöllur (IS)

Tel.: +354 487 80 50

E-Mail: info@hotelhvolsvollur.is

Homepage: https://www.hotelhvolsvollur.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.