The Laundromat Cafe

A Different Kind of Reykjavik Morning

Austurstræti cuts through the oldest part of central Reykjavik, a short street that connects the harbour-facing streets to the pedestrian core. At number nine, The Laundromat Cafe occupies a double-purpose premise that says something about how Reykjavik's daytime dining scene has evolved: this is a cafe-restaurant that also runs a self-service laundry in the basement, a combination that reads as eccentric from the outside but functions, in practice, as a neighbourhood anchor for locals and a low-pressure entry point for visitors who want something more lived-in than the tourist strip.

Cities from Copenhagen to Oslo have seen the boundary between cafe, brunch room, and community hub soften considerably. The Laundromat Cafe belongs to that tradition, where the emphasis falls on approachable, sustained hospitality rather than the tighter, more choreographed dining that defines Reykjavik's higher end.

The Arc of the Visit

The Laundromat Cafe functions differently at different hours, and the sequence of a visit matters. Early arrivals find the space quieter, the coffee reliable, and the menu weighted toward brunch: egg dishes, open-faced constructions, the kind of food that rewards slow eating. The room itself is book-lined and worn in, with mismatched furniture and the deliberately informal feel that Reykjavik's mid-market cafes have refined into something that feels authentically undesigned rather than stylised.

As the day moves toward lunch and early afternoon, the dining rhythm shifts. The menu expands to carry burger-format plates and more substantial mains alongside the all-day brunch offer, a progression that gives the visit a genuine arc rather than a single fixed register. The Laundromat Cafe's format accommodates that reality rather than working against it.

In the evening, the room takes on a different character. The bar component activates more fully, and the food transitions toward comfort-led plates that carry enough weight for a proper dinner without requiring the formality of a booking-heavy tasting counter. This three-phase structure, morning through evening, helps the cafe work as a reliable stop rather than a single-purpose venue.

Where It Sits in the Reykjavik Dining Picture

Reykjavik's dining scene has stratified sharply over the past several years. At one end, restaurants like Bon Restaurant and Brút operate in the premium, produce-driven tier where Icelandic sourcing and technique are the central editorial statement. At the other end, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur occupies the near-mythological fast-food position that no Reykjavik visit escapes. The Laundromat Cafe operates in the substantial middle ground: accessible pricing, a menu broad enough to suit groups with different appetites, and a format that doesn't require the visitor to have planned much in advance.

Bergsson Mathús occupies a comparable tier with a cleaner, more ingredient-forward brunch program, while Amma Don sits slightly closer to the comfort-food register. The Laundromat Cafe's distinguishing characteristic within this peer group is the breadth of its format: the book-lined room, the laundry in the basement, the menu that runs from breakfast through to dinner, and the bar that functions independently from the dining floor.

For visitors mapping a wider trip through Iceland, the contrast with out-of-city dining is worth noting. Places like Moss in Grindavík or Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri serve experiences rooted in landscape and specific local product. The Laundromat Cafe's value is almost the inverse: it's emphatically urban, social, and designed for extended stays rather than destination dining.

Planning a Visit

Austurstræti 9 sits within easy walking distance of the city's central hotels, parliament building, and the main shopping street, making it a logical stop during a day of exploration rather than a dedicated dining excursion. The cafe's format means that walk-in visits are realistic for most of the day, though weekend brunches in Reykjavik's small central core tend to fill tables quickly among locals, particularly through the late morning window. Arriving before midday or after the peak brunch rush gives the most comfortable experience. The all-day menu structure means there is no risk of arriving between services and finding the kitchen closed.

Internationally, the Laundromat Cafe model draws comparison to the kind of all-day cafe-bar format that cities like New York and San Francisco have developed, where the distinction between a meal and a session blurs deliberately. The sustained communal dining format at Lazy Bear in San Francisco represents a more structured version of this impulse, while the event-dining model at Emeril's in New Orleans shows how different a city's casual-end social dining can look when built around different culinary traditions. Reykjavik's version, and the Laundromat Cafe specifically, leans into informality and duration rather than occasion or ceremony.