The Sea-Baron Restaurant

The Sea-Baron Restaurant by Reykjavík’s old harbour

Reykjavík’s freshest fish and the world’s best lobster soup

Sægreifinn Restaurant – Sea-Baron Restaurant – is a harbourside restaurant that serves the freshest fish in Reykjavík and world’s best lobstersoup in a cosy atmosphere. The restaurant features a simple menu of signature dishes; lobster soup and grilled fish on spears. Guests can enjoy king prawn shrimp, scallops, salmon, blue-ling, tusk, redfish, sea trout, halibut, whale steaks, whale samples, vegetable skewers and potato skewers, among other dishes. This famous local eatery is a favourite among tourists and locals alike.

The late Kjartan, the Sea-Baron

A true legend and a trailblazer in Reykjavik harbour was the late Kjartan Halldórsson, the Sea-Baron, who passed away in 2015. A fisherman and Coast Guard chef, he came up with the recipe for what has been called the “world’s greatest lobster-soup”. It all started in 2003, as a fish-shop for the locals.

Kjartan’s transition from fishmonger to restaurant owner was based more on coincidence than anything else. One day, standing by his boxes of fish packed in ice, a group of foreign visitors asked if it were possible to prepare fish for them. Quick to respond, Kjartan ran to the nearest shop, purchased a grill, cooked and invited the visitors to dine on fish barrels inside his fish-shop that is the Sea-Baron restaurant today. Word spread quickly and more people asked for his grilled seafood, so Kjartan became a restaurant owner.

Elísabet’s Promise

The Sea-Baron is now owned by Elísabet Jean Skúladóttir, who joined Kjartan in 2005. Kjartan invited her to buy the business back in 2011. She made a promise to not stray away from the original idea of simplicity, fresh fish and friendly atmosphere. Thus, she became the proud owner, along with her husband Daði Steinn Sigurðsson.

The Sea-Baron, down by the old harbour, is in a green-painted fisherman’s hut, where the seamen used to sleep, built during the Great Depression in 1936. There one gets a glimpse into their hardship all those years ago. -HH

Sea-Baron Restaurant

Geirsgata 8, 101 Reykjavík +354 553 1500