Reykjavík: 7-Course Teppanyaki Tasting Menu with Fire Show

The fire show is the main event here. A chef cooks inches from your table, spinning utensils, working the open flame, and turning a seven-course Icelandic menu into dinner theater. Fresh local ingredients include lamb, langoustine, salmon, and Arctic char.

I like the mix of Icelandic produce and Japanese technique, and I like that the welcome sake cocktail gives the meal a proper opening rather than sending you straight to the grill. The central location, only about 200 meters from Höfði House, also makes this easy to fit into a Reykjavík evening.

The main consideration is price. At $120 per person, this is a special-occasion meal, not a quick dinner. The show is fun, but the experience can vary with the chef and the mood of the room, and a small number of diners had a rocky start with reservations.

Key points at a glance

• Seven courses in 90 minutes: The meal moves from beef carpaccio and langoustine to fish, lamb, vegetables, rice, and blueberry skyr.
• A real fire performance: Expect open flames, utensil spinning, and cooking at the teppanyaki table.
• Icelandic ingredients lead: The menu features langoustine, salmon, Arctic char, free-range lamb, beef, and local blueberries.
• One of Reykjavík’s most unusual dinners: Flame Restaurant and Bar is described as Iceland’s only teppanyaki restaurant.
• A drink is included: You receive a welcome sake cocktail or an equivalent beverage.
• Easy central setting: The modern glass building is near Höfði House and the ocean, with a nearby lighthouse that can be a winter northern-lights stop.

A fiery dinner in central Reykjavík

Teppanyaki is built around proximity. You do not watch a distant kitchen team send plates across a room. The food is prepared directly in front of you, with the hot iron grill serving as both cooking surface and stage.

At Flame Restaurant and Bar, that format is paired with Icelandic ingredients. The idea is simple and appealing: use Japanese grill technique, then let the local menu do the talking. You might know Iceland for fish and lamb, but here those ingredients share the table with beef carpaccio, langoustine, rice, vegetables, and blueberry skyr.

The restaurant sits in a modern glass building in central Reykjavík, close to Höfði House and Fosshotel Reykjavík. Since transportation is not included, you will need to make your own way there, but the central setting should make this easier than an out-of-town dinner.

The experience lasts about one and a half hours. That is long enough for a full tasting menu without taking over your entire evening. I would schedule it as a planned dinner rather than something to squeeze between major sightseeing stops.

Opening with a sake cocktail

The meal begins with a welcome sake cocktail, or a similar drink if that option is not available. This is a small detail, but it helps set the tone. You get a proper welcome before the main cooking begins, and the drink gives the dinner a Japanese touch from the start.

The cocktail has also been a memorable part of the meal for several diners, who found it flavorful and well presented. If you do not drink sake, check with the staff about the equivalent beverage offered on the night.

This opening course is not the reason to pay $120, but it adds polish to the experience. You are buying more than seven plates of food. You are also paying for a paced meal, a drink, table-side preparation, and the chef’s performance.

The first courses: beef, langoustine, and Icelandic flavor

The sample menu starts with Icelandic beef carpaccio. This is a cool, delicate opening before the heat of the grill takes over. Carpaccio also gives the meal a change of texture, so the dinner does not become a parade of similarly cooked items.

Next comes tempura Icelandic langoustine with homemade lava sauce. The langoustine, often described for visitors as Icelandic lobster, is one of the menu’s strongest local touches. It connects the meal to Iceland’s cold coastal waters while the tempura preparation brings in a Japanese influence.

The lava sauce is a playful name for a dish served in the land of fire and ice. More important, it gives the shellfish a stronger flavor and keeps the early courses from feeling too plain.

I would pay attention to the pacing here. The first courses are served before the main grill performance reaches its peak, so you can focus on the flavors as well as the show. The menu is designed to build toward the courses cooked directly in front of you.

Watching the chef turn dinner into a show

The fire performance is the heart of the experience. The chef works with open flame, spinning utensils and handling the grill with practiced movements. The cooking happens close enough for you to see the technique clearly, not from a stage across the restaurant.

Some evenings feature chef Wilson, who has been praised for being personal, friendly, and entertaining. One smaller sitting also included a chance to speak with sous chef Kai. Those names are useful to know, but they should not be treated as a guarantee for every booking. Staff and chefs can change.

The best part of the performance is that it is tied to the food. You are not watching a separate show and then eating a meal prepared elsewhere. The flame work happens while the main courses are cooked, so the spectacle has a practical purpose.

That said, this is dinner theater, not a quiet tasting menu. If you want a hushed meal with careful, uninterrupted conversation, the fire tricks and table-side action may feel like a distraction. If you enjoy a social meal with movement and personality, the format should suit you well.

One sitting had a slightly nervous chef and an awkward start, but the food and service still recovered. That is a useful reminder to keep expectations sensible. The experience depends partly on the chef’s style and how full or busy the room is.

The grilled courses: fish, lamb, rice, and vegetables

The menu includes premium Japanese rice and mixed fresh vegetables alongside the main grilled dishes. These supporting courses matter because they turn the tasting into a complete dinner rather than a string of small samples.

The fish course may be Icelandic Arctic char with teriyaki sauce. Arctic char is a particularly fitting choice here: it is familiar to Icelandic menus but works naturally with the sweet and savory character of teriyaki.

The lamb course is Icelandic free-range lamb with pepper sauce. Lamb is one of the country’s signature foods, and this is where the local side of the menu comes through most clearly. You are not simply eating generic teppanyaki steak and seafood. The ingredients reflect the place.

The chef prepares the main food on the teppanyaki table, using flame work and utensil movements as part of the presentation. Several diners found the food both satisfying and more generous than expected, leaving them full at the end.

Still, menu details can change. The advertised menu is a sample, so treat the exact fish, sauce, and order as subject to adjustment. If you have dietary restrictions, ask the restaurant before booking rather than relying on the standard menu.

Finishing with blueberry skyr

Dessert is traditional blueberry skyr yogurt. Skyr is one of Iceland’s best-known dairy foods, and the blueberries give the final course a simple local accent.

After several savory dishes, this is a sensible finish. It is lighter than a rich pastry or elaborate dessert, which helps the meal end cleanly after lamb, fish, rice, and shellfish.

The skyr also keeps the menu connected to Iceland through the last bite. That matters in a tasting menu built around local ingredients. The food is not only Japanese-style cooking with a few Icelandic labels added afterward. The fish, lamb, seafood, dairy, and berries all help shape the meal.

What $120 buys you

The price is $120 per person. That is expensive for a Reykjavík dinner, but it is not simply the cost of food. Your ticket includes seven courses, a welcome sake cocktail or similar drink, and the chef’s live preparation and fire show.

I see the value most clearly if you want one memorable dinner during a short Iceland visit. You get a full meal and an activity in the same booking. It can work well for a birthday, date night, or final-evening treat when you want something more distinctive than a standard restaurant meal.

The value is weaker if your main goal is a quiet dinner or if you are mainly looking for the largest amount of food for your money. Reykjavík has many ways to spend $120, and teppanyaki charges partly for performance.

The duration helps the calculation. At 90 minutes, the meal is substantial but not an all-night event. You can still walk through central Reykjavík afterward, visit the waterfront, or make another evening plan.

The setting near Höfði House and the sea

Flame Restaurant and Bar is around 200 meters from Höfði House, a well-known Reykjavík landmark. It is also not far from the ocean, so the dinner can fit into a short central walk.

In winter, you may be able to continue toward the nearby lighthouse and look for the northern lights. This is a useful pairing, but keep your expectations realistic. The lights are a natural event, and no restaurant dinner can promise that they will appear.

The lighthouse idea works best as an optional after-dinner plan. Do not book this experience solely because you expect an aurora view. Weather, darkness, cloud cover, and solar activity all matter, and the activity information specifically warns that the northern lights cannot be guaranteed.

Who will enjoy this experience most

I would recommend this dinner to you if you like food with a performance attached. It is especially suitable for couples, families with older children, and first-time visitors who want a distinctly Icelandic meal in a Japanese format.

It is also a good choice if you want to sample several local ingredients in one sitting. The menu gives you beef, langoustine, fish, lamb, skyr, and vegetables rather than asking you to choose only one main dish.

You may want to choose another restaurant if you dislike open-flame cooking, table-side entertainment, or fixed tasting menus. This is not the best fit for someone who wants to order freely from a menu or control the pace of every course.

The restaurant is wheelchair accessible. The instructor and service are in English, so you should be able to follow the cooking presentation and ask questions during the meal.

How reliable is the service?

Most of the available feedback is strongly positive about the food, show, cocktails, and staff. Chef Wilson receives particular praise for his humor and personal approach, while the wider team is often described as welcoming.

There were also two reports of a reservation problem at the start of the evening. Staff worked to correct it, and the owner offered complimentary wine after the delay. That response was considerate, but the experience shows why you should arrive with your booking details ready and allow a little flexibility before a tightly timed evening plan.

One dinner also began with a chef who seemed nervous or out of rhythm. The food was still good, and the evening improved. I would treat this as a live restaurant experience rather than a perfectly choreographed theater production.

The overall rating is 4.1 from 50 reviews, which suggests a very good experience with a few uneven moments. The strongest praise centers on three things: the chef’s entertainment, the quality of the food, and the friendly staff.

Booking and timing tips

You can cancel up to 24 hours before the experience for a full refund, and the reserve-now, pay-later option keeps your plans flexible. Starting times vary, so check availability when choosing your date.

Plan to arrive at Flame Restaurant and Bar for check-in. Transportation is not included, so allow enough time to reach the central Reykjavík location on your own.

I would avoid scheduling a major attraction immediately afterward. The meal is listed at 90 minutes, but a friendly chef, a reservation question, or a slower service period can stretch the evening. Give yourself room to enjoy the food and the show without watching the clock.

Should you book the Reykjavík teppanyaki dinner?

Book it if you want a full Icelandic tasting menu with live cooking, and you are happy to pay extra for the performance. The combination of langoustine, Arctic char, free-range lamb, skyr, a sake cocktail, and open-flame technique gives you something more memorable than a routine dinner.

Skip it if you are focused only on low cost, a quiet room, or complete control over what and when you eat. The $120 price makes the most sense for a special evening, and the northern-lights possibility should be treated as a bonus rather than a reason to book.

For the right diner, this is an entertaining way to taste Iceland in central Reykjavík, with the chef’s grill work providing the spark.

FAQ

Where does the teppanyaki experience take place?

It takes place at Flame Restaurant and Bar in Reykjavík’s Capital Region, in a modern glass building about 200 meters from Höfði House.

How long does the dinner last?

The experience lasts approximately 1.5 hours.

What food is included?

The seven-course sample menu includes Icelandic beef carpaccio, tempura Icelandic langoustine with homemade lava sauce, premium Japanese rice, mixed fresh vegetables, Icelandic Arctic char with teriyaki sauce, Icelandic free-range lamb with pepper sauce, and blueberry skyr yogurt.

Is a drink included?

Yes. The experience includes a welcome sake cocktail or a similar beverage.

Is transportation included?

No. You need to make your own way to Flame Restaurant and Bar.

Can I see the northern lights during the experience?

You may have a chance to see them from the nearby lighthouse by the ocean in winter, but the northern lights are a natural phenomenon and cannot be guaranteed.

Is the experience wheelchair accessible?

Yes. The activity is listed as wheelchair accessible, and the instruction is provided in English.