Take Another Pylsa My Heart: Icelandic Hot Dogs

via Bæjarins Beztu’s Facebook Page

When you think of the “national food of Iceland”, you may be thinking of cod, skyr, or lamb…but you’d be wrong. Turns out, the ultimate Icelandic food is the pylsa, or hot dog.

Icelanders really, REALLY love hot dogs.

…and for good reason! Pylsur are fantastic and super cheap, maybe even the cheapest cooked food you can buy in Iceland. A pylsa comes with ketchup, raw onions, crispy onions, a sweet Icelandic mustard, and a remulade. You can make them at home (ingredients are widely available at grocery stores in Iceland…you may even want to bring some back with you for when the pylsa craving takes over at home. It will.), and they’re available at a lot of different places, but the very best hot dogs come from the famous Bæjarins Beztu stands, the most popular of which is right by the harbor, and conveniently located next to several downtown bars for optimal drunk munching.

Open since 1937, Bæjarins Beztu often has a line around the block. At just 380 kronur a piece, it’s easy to see why drunk and sober alike are willing to wait for this delicious treat. There are several theories about what makes their hot dogs so good: I’ve heard from several people that there’s beer in the water they use to cook the hot dogs, some say there’s lamb in the hot dogs…all unconfirmed by BBP, but you don’t really need to know the secret to enjoy it.

Be sure to order eina með öllu or “One with everything” (thanks to I Heart Reykjavik for giving this important vocab lesson on her walking tour). Or if you’re feeling like a simpler dog, order “The Bill Clinton,” a plain hot dog with ketchup, which Clinton apparently ordered when he visited the stand on a trip to Iceland during his presidency.

They’re open quite late, so you will have plenty of chances to go. You may even be interviewed by The Reykjavik Grapevine on your visit.

Don’t leave Reykjavík without trying a delicious pylsa!