Iceland has no McDonald's and hasn't since 2009. It has no Burger King and no Wendy's either. What it does have is a national hot dog that costs less than an airport coffee, gas station burgers locals genuinely rate, and two grocery chains that cut your food budget in half. Here is how fast, cheap food works on the Ring Road.
McDonald's opened its first Reykjavík location in 1993. Sixteen years later, in late October 2009, all three Icelandic restaurants closed within a week. The chain never returned, and there are no plans for it to.
The reason was not a boycott. It was arithmetic. The 2008 financial crash cut the króna's value roughly in half, and the franchise agreement required importing nearly everything — beef, cheese, packaging, even onions — from approved suppliers in Germany. The Icelandic franchisee, Jón Garðar Ögmundsson, said a kilo of imported onions cost him the same as a bottle of good whiskey. Keeping the doors open would have meant raising the price of a Big Mac by at least 20 percent, which would have made it one of the most expensive in the world.
The restaurants were busy to the end. They just could not make money. The day after closing, the same buildings reopened as Metro, a local chain with a similar menu built on Icelandic ingredients. Metro still operates in Reykjavík and Akureyri.
On the final day of trading, a man named Hjörtur Smárason bought one last cheeseburger and fries to see what would happen to them. Seventeen years later, the answer is: almost nothing. The burger has shrunk and hardened, but it has never molded.
The meal now sits under a glass dome at Snotra House, a guesthouse in the village of Þykkvibær in South Iceland, a short detour off Route 1 near Hella. A webcam streams it 24 hours a day, and people around the world genuinely watch. It has become one of the longest-running live streams on the internet, and the guesthouse gets visitors who come just for the burger.
The science is less dramatic than it looks. A thin patty in a dry room loses its moisture before mold can take hold. It is not preservatives. It is dehydration.
Iceland is not chain-free. As of 2026, this is the roster:
Dunkin' came in 2015 and closed its last shop in early 2019; operating costs were too high. There is no Burger King and no Wendy's. Chain prices run well above US levels — expect $15–22 for a combo meal that costs $10–12 at home.
The pylsa is Iceland's actual national fast food. It is made mostly from Icelandic lamb, blended with pork and beef, in a natural casing that snaps. The most famous place to eat one is Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur — "the town's best hot dogs" — a small stand near the old harbor in Reykjavík that has been selling them since 1937. Bill Clinton ate one there in 2004 and ordered it with mustard only; the stand still calls that order "the Clinton." Locals do not order it that way.
A hot dog runs $5–7 anywhere in the country, which makes it the cheapest hot meal in Iceland by a wide margin. You do not need the famous stand. Every N1, Olís, and Orkan gas station sells the same sausage, and it tastes nearly as good at 11 p.m. in the rain outside Blönduós.
Gas station food in Iceland is real food. N1 stations along Route 1 run proper grills — burgers, fried fish, sometimes soup of the day — and in many small towns the N1 is the main restaurant. A burger, fries, and drink runs $14–19. That matters on a budget, because gas stations are where you will actually be; our Ring Road cost breakdown shows how food fits into the full trip.
In Reykjavík, the local sub shops predate Subway and outdo it. Hlöllabátar has been serving hot filled "boats" on Ingólfstorg square since 1986, and Nonnabiti is its long-standing rival; loyalties split households. A loaded hot sub runs $10–16. Bakeries are the cheapest morning stop: a kleina (twisted fried dough) or snúður (glazed cinnamon roll) costs $2–5, with drip coffee for a few dollars more.
For a warm meal that is not fried, order kjötsúpa — Icelandic lamb soup with root vegetables — for $14–19 at cafés around the country; it usually comes with bread and often a free refill. Fish and chips runs $18–25 and is reliably good in harbor towns. Reykjavík's food halls — Hlemmur Mathöll in the old bus station on Laugavegur, Grandi Mathöll by the harbor — put a dozen vendors under one roof with mains at $15–25.
| Cheap eat | Typical price (USD) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Hot dog, eina með öllu | $5–7 | Any gas station; Bæjarins Beztu, Reykjavík |
| Bakery kleina or snúður | $2–5 | Bakeries nationwide |
| Grocery picnic lunch | $6–10 | Bónus, Krónan, Nettó |
| Hot sub sandwich | $10–16 | Hlöllabátar, Nonnabiti (Reykjavík) |
| Gas station burger combo | $14–19 | N1 grills on Route 1 |
| Lamb soup (kjötsúpa) | $14–19 | Cafés and grills nationwide |
| Food hall main | $15–25 | Hlemmur Mathöll, Grandi Mathöll |
| Fish and chips | $18–25 | Reykjavík harbor, coastal towns |
Everything here is counter service, so there is no tipping decision to make — details in our tipping guide — and every stand, truck, and grill takes cards; see paying in Iceland with US cards.
The cheapest way to eat in Iceland is not fast food. It is the grocery store. Bónus — the one with the pink pig logo — and Krónan are the two discount chains, and between them they cover every sizable Ring Road town: Borgarnes, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Selfoss. Nettó picks up several towns the other two miss.
A grocery lunch — skyr, bread, sliced smoked lamb or cheese, fruit — runs $6–10 per person. Prepared sandwiches and wraps run $4–8. Over a week, buying breakfast and lunch this way saves a couple hundred dollars per person against eating out, even at the cheap end. Skip the 10-11 convenience stores; their prices run roughly double Bónus. Full food budgets at three spending levels are in Is Iceland expensive?
No. McDonald's closed its three Icelandic locations in October 2009 and has not returned. The former restaurants reopened as Metro, a local chain with a similar menu made from Icelandic ingredients.
The 2008 crash halved the value of the króna, and the franchise had to import its ingredients from approved suppliers in Germany. The restaurants stayed busy but could not turn a profit; staying would have required raising prices by at least 20 percent.
Under a glass dome at Snotra House, a guesthouse in Þykkvibær, South Iceland, with a 24/7 livestream. It was bought on the final day of trading in 2009 and has never visibly rotted — the cause is dehydration, not preservatives.
By US standards, yes. A chain combo runs $15–22. The exceptions are hot dogs at $5–7, bakery pastries at $2–5, and grocery stores. Eating cheap in Iceland means eating like a local, not finding a cheaper Big Mac.
No Burger King and no Wendy's, and Dunkin' left in 2019. Starbucks opened its first Icelandic store in Reykjavík in 2025. Domino's, Subway, KFC, and Taco Bell (inside KFC) are the established foreign chains.