A coffee and cake crawl through Reykjavik

Six independent Reykjavik stops from the old town to Hallgrímskirkja, with the roaster and the machine behind the bar at each one.

This is a walkable coffee and cake crawl through the compact centre of Reykjavik, running from the oldest cafe in Iceland on Skólavörðustígur west to the old town, then east through Laugavegur and north to the specialty roastery below Hallgrímskirkja. Six independent stops, with the roaster and machine noted at each one where they are publicly known. No chains, no hotel cafes.

1. Mokka Kaffi, Skólavörðustígur

Begin at the bottom of Skólavörðustígur, where Mokka Kaffi has occupied the same small room since 1958 and is credited with bringing Italian espresso to Iceland. The cafe is still run by the founding family. The walls change monthly with art exhibitions, the coffee is simple and well made, and the house waffles with rhubarb jam are one of the city's most-repeated pleasures. A quiet, unhurried place to start the morning.

2. Stofan Cafe, Vesturgata

Walk west through the old town towards Tjörnin lake to Vesturgata 3, where Stofan Cafe operates as a two-floor cafe and bar in a house near the city hall. It won Best Coffeehouse in the Reykjavik Grapevine's Best of Reykjavik awards in 2016. Homemade cakes and vegetarian soups sit alongside the coffee, and the atmosphere is reliably warm and relaxed for both locals and visitors.

3. Sandholt, Laugavegur

Head back east along Laugavegur, the city's main shopping street, to number 36, where Sandholt has been baking since around 1920 and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership. The bakery shares a room with the cafe, so the sourdough, croissants and laminated pastries arrive as fresh as they get. Take a seat on the veranda if the weather allows.

4. Kaktus Espressobar, Vitastígur

A short walk brings you to Vitastígur 12, where Kaktus Espressobar keeps a small, focused room built around Italian espresso technique using beans from Caffè Italia. The bar is independently run by the two friends who opened it. A second branch opened at the National Gallery of Iceland in 2025. Kaktus is a pause-and-enjoy stop rather than a linger-and-work one.

5. 280 Bakarí, Klapparstígur

Continue to Klapparstígur 37, where baker Ari Hermannsson opened 280 Bakarí in October 2025 alongside the HAF Studio design team. Everything is baked from scratch in house: sourdough, croissants and pastries alongside a specialty coffee programme. The interior carries the austere Nordic clarity of HAF Studio's design practice. The newest stop on the crawl and already one of the most discussed.

6. Reykjavik Roasters, Kárastígur

Finish by walking north up Skólavörðustígur towards Hallgrímskirkja and turning onto Kárastígur, where the original Reykjavik Roasters has been in a 1929 house since 2008, when it opened as Iceland's first third-wave coffee shop. The cafe won Best Coffeehouse in Reykjavik in both 2023 and 2024, and espresso is pulled on a La Marzocco GB/5 from beans roasted at the Brautarholt branch, which also runs a full pour-over brew bar. Retail bags are available to take home.

All six stops are independent and the route covers a manageable stretch of the compact city centre. Allow a full afternoon with coffee and cake at each.

Common questions

Where is the oldest cafe in Reykjavik?

Mokka Kaffi on Skólavörðustígur 3A has been open since 1958 and is credited with introducing Italian espresso to Iceland. It has been run by the same family since it opened, and the art exhibitions on the walls change every month.

Which Reykjavik cafe has won the most awards?

Reykjavik Roasters on Kárastígur won Best Coffeehouse in the Reykjavik Grapevine's annual awards in both 2023 and 2024, making it the most consistently decorated specialty coffee shop in the city.

Where should I go for cake and pastries in Reykjavik?

Sandholt on Laugavegur bakes sourdough, croissants and laminated pastries in house every morning and has done so for over a century. 280 Bakarí on Klapparstígur is the newest serious in-house baking operation, opened in October 2025 with a daily programme of sourdough and croissants.

Is this Reykjavik coffee crawl walkable?

Mostly. The six stops are spread across the compact city centre, roughly between Vesturgata in the old town and Kárastígur below Hallgrímskirkja. The whole route is walkable in an afternoon, and no stop is more than fifteen minutes from the last.