Reykjavík: 7-Course Teppanyaki Tasting Menu with Fire Show

The main event here is dinner theater with real flavor: a chef grills Icelandic ingredients inches from your seat, then sends flames up from the iron cooking surface. The fire show gives the meal a clear sense of occasion, while the seven-course format lets you try several local foods in one sitting.

I like the mix of Icelandic ingredients and Japanese technique, especially the langoustine, lamb, salmon, and blueberry skyr. I also like the welcome sake cocktail and the chance to chat with the chef about where the ingredients come from. The main consideration is price: at $120 per person, this is a special-occasion meal, not a quick or inexpensive dinner. Service can also have an occasional bumpy start, as shown by past reservation mix-ups.

Key points to know before booking

• Seven courses in 90 minutes: You get a full tasting meal rather than a single grilled entrée.
• Icelandic ingredients: Expect beef carpaccio, langoustine, arctic char, free-range lamb, vegetables, rice, and skyr.
• A proper fire performance: Open flames, utensil spinning, and cooking at the teppanyaki table are part of the show.
• The only teppanyaki restaurant in Iceland: This is a distinctive choice if you want something beyond standard Reykjavík dining.
• A sake cocktail is included: A similar drink is provided if the featured cocktail is unavailable.
• The ocean is nearby: In winter, you can try for northern lights views at the nearby lighthouse, but sightings are never guaranteed.

A theatrical dinner in Reykjavík

Flame Restaurant and Bar offers a meal designed to keep your attention from the first drink to the final dessert. You sit near the teppanyaki cooking surface while the chef prepares the courses in front of you. The setting is in a modern glass building in central Reykjavík, about 200 meters from Höfði House and Fosshotel Reykjavík.

That location makes the experience easy to add to a city evening. You do not need transportation, and the restaurant is close enough to the sea for a short walk afterward. If you are visiting in winter, the nearby lighthouse gives you an extra reason to step outside and check the sky.

I would treat the northern lights idea as a bonus, not part of the meal itself. The lights are a natural event, and the restaurant cannot promise them. The dinner remains worthwhile only if you would be happy with the food and show even under cloudy skies.

The restaurant is described as Iceland’s only teppanyaki venue. That matters because this is not simply a familiar Japanese meal transplanted to Reykjavík. The cooking style provides the format, but the ingredients give it a local identity.

The welcome drink sets the tone

Your meal begins with a sake cocktail or a similar beverage. This is included in the $120 price, so you are not paying extra for the drink as you settle in.

The cocktail serves two purposes. It gives you something to enjoy while the meal gets underway, and it signals that this is meant to be an experience rather than a standard restaurant booking. Past service has included attractive, flavorful cocktails, although the exact drink may vary.

This opening course is also a useful moment to settle into the setup. Teppanyaki dining puts the preparation directly in front of you, so you are watching, eating, and following the chef’s movements at the same time. If you prefer a quiet meal with little performance, this style may feel busy. If you like food prepared in front of you, the format makes sense from the start.

Seven courses built around Icelandic produce

The sample menu gives you a broad taste of Icelandic cooking, with Japanese sauces and teppanyaki technique tying the dishes together. The exact order or preparation can change, but the listed meal includes seven distinct parts.

Beef carpaccio

The meal opens with Icelandic beef carpaccio. This is a cool, delicate start before the heat and movement of the grill take over.

Carpaccio also gives you an early sense of how the restaurant handles local ingredients without cooking everything over the iron surface. If you prefer fully cooked meat, this course may be the least comfortable part of the menu, so it is worth keeping in mind before booking.

Tempura Icelandic langoustine

The langoustine is one of the meal’s main attractions. Iceland is known for its langoustine, often called lobster in tourist descriptions, and the sample menu serves it tempura-style with homemade lava sauce.

This course combines a crisp coating with a sweet seafood center. The lava sauce adds a playful Icelandic touch in name and presentation, while the langoustine gives you a local specialty that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. For me, this is one of the strongest reasons to choose the tasting menu over a standard steak dinner.

Premium Japanese rice and fresh vegetables

Rice and mixed fresh vegetables provide the practical center of the meal. They may sound less dramatic than the fire show or langoustine, but they help balance the richer courses.

The rice is listed as premium Japanese rice, which fits the cooking style and sauces. The vegetables add some freshness beside the meat and seafood. Since this is a seven-course menu, these supporting dishes help keep the meal from becoming a parade of heavy proteins.

Icelandic arctic char with teriyaki sauce

Arctic char appears with teriyaki sauce. It is a distinctly northern fish, and this preparation gives it a familiar Japanese flavor profile.

This course is a good example of the restaurant’s basic idea: local food, prepared through a Japanese lens. If you want to sample Icelandic fish without committing to a plain grilled fillet, the teriyaki sauce adds sweetness and depth.

Free-range Icelandic lamb

The lamb comes with pepper sauce and is one of the more substantial courses. Icelandic lamb is a useful regional choice because it connects the meal to the country’s food culture rather than relying only on imported Japanese staples.

The pepper sauce gives the dish a stronger, warmer character than the fish course. By this point, the meal feels like a full dinner rather than a tasting of tiny bites. Several past diners left feeling very full, so do not plan a large second meal afterward.

Blueberry skyr yogurt

Dessert is traditional blueberry skyr yogurt. Skyr is one of Iceland’s best-known foods, and this ending keeps the final course tied to the country.

The blueberry element adds fruit and sweetness without making the dessert feel as heavy as a cake or pastry. It is a fitting close after the lamb and seafood. You get a recognizable Icelandic ingredient in a simple form, which can be more satisfying than an elaborate dessert that has no local connection.

The fire show is part of the meal, not a side act

The chef’s performance is the experience’s biggest point of difference. You watch the meal being prepared at the teppanyaki table, with open flame, utensil spinning, and other tricks worked into the cooking.

The fire is described as a volcanic flame show, a fitting bit of theater in Iceland, the land of ice and fire. The presentation is meant to entertain, but it also gives you a direct view of the cooking process. You are not watching a distant kitchen team. You see the chef work with the food in front of you.

Chef Wilson received especially warm praise for both his cooking and his personal manner. One service also included sous chef Kai stopping by for a chat. Those details suggest that the best version of this meal includes conversation as well as performance, with room for questions about ingredients and preparation.

The quality of the show may depend on the individual service and the chef’s rhythm. One past dinner started with some nervous or uneven timing, though the food remained good. That is a fair reminder to judge this as live dinner theater. Small variations are possible, and the performance may not be identical every night.

How the $120 price measures up

At $120 per person, the meal costs more than an ordinary Reykjavík dinner. You are paying for seven courses, the included welcome cocktail, the central location, and the chef’s live cooking performance.

The value improves if you want several things at once: a full meal, Icelandic ingredients, entertainment, and a memorable setting. Buying the same combination separately could mean booking a high-end restaurant and then paying for a separate show or activity. Here, the food and performance are combined in one 90-minute sitting.

The price is harder to justify if your main goal is simply to eat lamb, fish, or langoustine. You can find other ways to sample Icelandic food, and a teppanyaki show may not matter to you. I would book this when the shared entertainment is part of what you want from the evening, not as a bargain meal.

The tasting format also helps with value because it gives you variety. Instead of choosing one main course, you sample beef, seafood, lamb, vegetables, rice, and skyr. For a first visit to Iceland, that range can make the cost feel more reasonable.

Timing, location, and practical details

The activity lasts about 1.5 hours. That is long enough for a proper meal and performance but short enough to fit around other Reykjavík plans. I would avoid scheduling a tightly timed tour immediately afterward, since live cooking can have small delays.

You check in with staff at Flame Restaurant and Bar. Transportation is not included, but the central location means you can make your own way there. The restaurant is close to Höfði House and Fosshotel Reykjavík, with the ocean and lighthouse nearby.

The experience is wheelchair accessible, and the instruction is in English. The chef or staff can explain the courses and discuss the ingredients. The available information does not specify a fixed group size, so you should not assume an intimate private dinner.

Cancellation is flexible up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund. You can also reserve and pay later, which helps if your Iceland plans depend on weather or changing schedules. These booking terms are useful, but they do not remove the need to allow enough time for the meal itself.

Who will enjoy this most

I would recommend the experience to couples, families with older children, and small groups looking for a lively dinner. The fire and utensil tricks give the meal a clear entertainment value, and the range of courses makes it easy for a group to share a memorable evening.

It also suits first-time visitors who want local ingredients presented in a less traditional way. The meal is not a classic Icelandic farmhouse dinner, but it does include several important local foods, including langoustine, arctic char, lamb, and skyr.

Food-focused visitors should appreciate the ingredient range. The chef’s explanations about sourcing can add useful context, especially if you are curious about how Icelandic products fit into a Japanese cooking format.

I would be more cautious about recommending it to anyone seeking silence, privacy, or a low-cost meal. The show is central to the experience, not an occasional extra. The price also makes this better for a special evening than for everyday dining.

What can go wrong

Most of the available feedback is strongly positive about the food, staff, cocktails, and performance. Still, two practical issues deserve attention.

First, the beginning of the meal may not always be perfectly smooth. A past reservation problem caused a delay, though staff worked to resolve it and offered complimentary wine as an apology. I would arrive with enough time and keep a little patience in reserve.

Second, the chef’s performance can vary. One service began with a chef who seemed nervous or out of rhythm, even though the food was good and the evening improved. This is not a reason to avoid the experience, but it is a reason not to expect a perfectly choreographed stage production every time.

The northern lights are another possible source of disappointment if you treat them as part of the package. You may be able to check the sky from the nearby lighthouse in winter, but no sighting can be guaranteed.

Should you book the Flame Restaurant teppanyaki dinner?

Book it if you want a full Icelandic tasting meal with live fire cooking, and if $120 fits your evening budget. The strongest parts are the variety of local ingredients, the langoustine and lamb, the included cocktail, and the chance to watch chefs such as Wilson work directly at the table.

Skip it if you want a quiet, traditional, or inexpensive dinner. Also skip it if you would be disappointed by a cloudy sky, since the nearby lighthouse is only a possible northern lights viewing spot.

For the right occasion, this is a fun Reykjavík night out with a clear local angle. You get more than a plate of food, but the food still needs to carry its share of the cost. Here, the seven-course menu and Icelandic ingredients give the fire show a solid foundation.

FAQ

Where does the teppanyaki experience take place?

It takes place at Flame Restaurant and Bar in Reykjavík’s Capital Region, Iceland.

How long does the meal last?

The experience lasts about 1.5 hours.

How much does it cost?

The listed price is $120 per person.

What is included?

The booking includes a seven-course teppanyaki tasting menu and a welcome sake cocktail or similar drink.

Is transportation included?

No. Transportation is not included, so you must make your own way to Flame Restaurant and Bar.

What food is served?

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

Is the northern lights viewing guaranteed?

No. The northern lights are a natural phenomenon and cannot be guaranteed.

Can I see the northern lights near the restaurant?

In winter, you may have a chance to view them at a nearby lighthouse by the ocean. A sighting is not guaranteed.

Is the activity wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the activity is listed as wheelchair accessible.

What language is used during the experience?

The instructor and activity information are in English.