ÓX + Amma Don

It’s almost as if you step a small town suburbia home from the 70s with a side of Michelin star excellence.

Food was incredible. Quite a few courses and each was better than the last.

Wine pairing was plentiful. Sommelier was engaging and incredibly friendly.

The staff prepare most of the food in-front of you and it was a unique cherry on top.

Fair warning: an expensive experience indeed but if able I would highly recommend

I recently experienced this restaurant right after Christmas.

The entire experience is exceptional. The restaurant has an atmosphere that is unmatched. The cocktail sitting room transported me back in time to memories of my own grandmothers home. The service was top notch. All the staff are knowledgeable and attentive. Watching the chefs create your dish while you’re seated around the island is an entertaining experience.

To discuss the food let me start by saying…..This is the best meal I have ever had. The Lamb Broth, patte cookie, the duck all tremendous dishes. My favorite of all the dishes is the icelandic wasabi desert.

Absolutely loved the speakeasy vibe. The non alcoholic pairing was such a treat and, as a lover of all things butter, I thoroughly enjoyed the food. Chef Þráinn and the team were brilliant.

The best meal of my entire life. This meal is hands down a core memory for me. This Michelin star restaraunt has a speak easy vibe starting with the unassuming door off the street you have to buzz in to. You begin at Amma Don, a cozy bar and waiting area modeled after the grandma's cozy living room where you have drinks and the first four of your twenty course meal. You meet other guests, imbibe, and get to know one another before heading through a hidden door/bookcase into Ox for a chef's table style meal. It's hard to describe the food as anything other than mind blowing, creative, complex, and tasty. The entire experience, and it was an experience not just food, was incredible from start to finish. You feel like you're having a meal with close friends where everyone is laughing, having an amazing time, sharing stories, marveling in the food, and by the time it's over you don't want the night to end. While I've said a lot, the entire 3.5 hour dining honestly can't be put into words. We left with new friends, great memories, and food we can't stop thinking about. I loved that drinks were included in the price so you don't have to worry about choosing drinks that pair well with the food as they have chosen a variety of both alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages that enhance and elevate the dishes served. Highly recommend this restaraunt for a true Icelandic tasting menu elevated beyond belief.

Of note, they are unable to accommodate dietary restrictions, vegetarian/Vegan, and the building is a historic building with stairs and I am not sure they have an elevator. While the dietary part might offend some, it's important to understand that this meal is twenty courses, intimate, the menu is preset, and part of the dining experience is talking with each other about the mutual food and flavors; therefore it would be very hard to cater to individual requests (imo). I honestly believe if multiple people had different items/flavors it would distract from the overall feeling, conversation, and vibe of the dinner. I don't find this to be non-inclusive, but rather this particular restaraunt is set up and presented in a way to make everyone eating feel part of a collective whole and making a shared memory together.

Lastly, if you have a degree of social anxiety do not worry, after the first thirty minutes and first few courses all of the nerves will ease away and you'll be excited to continue your food journey with new friends, I promise! The entire experience is set up to make you feel very comfortable and get to know each other in a laid back, non stuffy way and relax in a living room before heading to dinner. I was nervous about the set up and I shouldn't have been. It's really an amazing time and makes you feel like you're part of something.

We accidentally booked the dinner for November 30th instead of December 30th. When we showed up we realized our mistake, very bummed, Manual was so helpful in getting us in for a dinner. He was able to move our reservation to an opening they had and we got to enjoy the 17course meal. We were extremely impressed with the entire experience. Worth the visit while in town if you enjoy food!

Legitimately the best meal, and best dining experience holistically, I’ve ever had. You deserve to treat yourself to a night here.

Negative reviews describing finding the place also unwarranted, extremely easy to find though be patient if the door rings several times before being answered.

This was absolutely the highlight of our trip to Iceland. If you love really unique and intimate food experiences this is for you. We luckily snagged a reservation on a Friday for lunch because our plans changed (thanks to the volcano erupting) and we felt like we won the lottery with this experience. The entire experience was phenomenal from the moment we arrived to when we left. Highly recommend and they accommodated a shellfish allergy with grace and elegance. Non alcoholic option was fantastic as well - carefully curated and didn’t feel like you were having an “alternative”. Loved it.

Just had the most amazing & lively dinner in my whole life! And I’ve had my fair share of fine dining experience all over! This cozy restaurant is really unique with the closeness to the chef, seeing how they work in front of you, the relaxed atmosphere and all the other guests coming from all over the world really added to this special dining experience!

Wonderful dinner here to end our trip in Iceland. One of the best chef's table private experiences I have ever had. We enjoyed 16 courses paired with wine throughout the evening. The chef (and sous chef) were amazing and we loved the story of how the concept came about.

This is the absolute best restaurant I've ever been to. I'm from NYC, and I've traveled and dined at some of the best restaurants in the world such as Eleven Madison, Alinea, Momofuku Ko, etc. And none of those restaurants beat our experience at OX.
It's just the best food without compromise. It is unpretentious, sincere, and passionate cooking. It's everything that food should be. In their bathroom they have a poster board with menus from the best restaurants around the world. Some that I've been to! How many places would do that?
We were wondering how the chef profits because there was absolutely no compromise in the quality of the food. The chef told us that he opened up the restaurant and the bar that OX is in, in order to support OX. It's truly amazing. You won't regret dining here. Thank you for this experience. We will definitely be back.

OX is a true culinary gem. The food is like a masterpiece – delicious and beautifully presented. The service is excellent, and the atmosphere is just right. The wine pairings were spot-on, enhancing the entire experience. OX is easily the best Michelin restaurant I've tried.

After reading about top restaurants in Iceland, I booked Ox a month before I even had a plane ticket and it lived up to the hype. What a great team of chefs and great way to experience Icelandic food. This is within the restaurant Sumac and only seats 11 people. We had 20, yes 20, courses. Each was approximately one bite. My party included my sister and nephew, who are not always very adventurous with food, and they too were amazed by the flavors and composition of the courses. This is a meal that I will always remember. Book it when visiting Reykjavik.

Came to Amma for drinks. Incredible cocktail bar. Very intimate, comfortable, and low key. Nice space to sit indoors and/or outdoors. No crowds, creative drinks, and experienced mixologists. Can’t wait to return! Great to enjoy and relax or for date spot

If I could, i would have given 10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
We had dinner at Óx on 30th Dec 2022.
It was such an unforgettable experience for the palate!
Every dish was delicious. It was difficult to have a favourite as the courses were different and exquisite in their own way.
Chef Rúnar and the team is 💯.
It is one of the coolest Michelin experiences I've had.
I highly recommend Óx to anyone who is visiting Iceland.

Best surprise diner as we arrived in Reykjavik. Extraordinairy experience in terms of gastronomy, of course (the chef has travelled and definitely lifts local food with an open and creative spirit), the decor was also outstandingly fun and cosy and -cherry on the locally grown wasabi desert cocktails - we go to connect with great people during the 20 course meal.

We had a lovely dinner at ÓX and shared an unforgettable dining experience with nine fellow travelers from the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Venezuela. The tasting menu encompassed 16 courses with excellent wine (and beer) pairings. Most dishes were seafood-oriented, but the star of the show was definite the dry-aged beef. 3.5 hours went by in no time — we left with big smiles on our faces 😋

Just had dinner here, and can honestly say that it was one of the finest dining experiences I’ve had. The staff are engaging, the menu is thoughtfully assembled, and the service is impeccable. Michelin ought to *really* consider Ox for a “star”…these are stand out culinary professionals who deserve recognition! Well done!
Will enthusiastically recommend to friends and family.

Wow... just wow! How this place doesn't have a Michelin Star or two yet is beyond me. The food, the presentation, the atmosphere and the chef who does it are amazing! This was one of the best meals I've ever eaten my life! If you can get a seat at this table, do it! You won't regret a second you spend here.

When I sat down and heard that it would be “20 courses” I was worried that my stomach would run out of space. I’ve probably done over 25 tasting menus this year and this falls high on the list of the best. I don’t usually leave reviews, but this place earned it. I would happily visit the new location when it opens this month or next! The pictures are just a sampling.

Quite a secret, I must say.

First of all, there were only two Michelin-starred restaurants in Reykjavík, perhaps in whole of Iceland despite that it appears there seem to be a lot of amazing restaurants just in Reykjavík alone.

For my trip, I had the pleasure of making a reservation at ÓX Restaurant and the amount of excitement was building up for that dinner. However, I wasn't made aware that it would be a speakeasy style restaurant so hunting down for that elusive address was really getting on my nerve. I rang at a door in what seemed to be a private residential apartment entrance with a boring white facade so, as a reflex reaction I stepped back cautiously thinking I might disturb someone in his/her privacy. I had to ask the nearby building for directions pointing me to the same entrance I hurriedly tried to avoid. I rang again and remembering the code, "Amma Don", I was let in, still in frustration despite the fact that the chef himself actually picked me up from the entrance (of course, I didn't know him then) and still looking grumpy. But I am such a fan of speakeasies. I love the hunt and the suprise so when I saw the actual restaurant, it was so beautiful and chic and historically transporting.

I love that we started the amuse-bouche in a table with the other guests forcing us to mingle with each other (mind you, I was still throwing mentally my silent tantrums) so you cannot really comfortably escape into your own little quiet corner. And that was sneakily strategic.

My favourite of the amuse-bouche was the potato crisp as an opening, in the same breath as the chicken skin flake at the close with the desserts; both of which were orgasmic to the palate. And the rest just flowed smoothly and harmoniously giving full, bold flavours sourced locally. There was just so much character in all of that night's menu and we've had all been kept in the dark on what was to come. There was no menu to refer to until at the last part of the dinner service.

It was such an amazing night considering that we get to really know, perhaps haphazardly who we were dining with and we get the chance to have casual and easy conversations together by their in-house bar with their cute mixologist, injecting humour and occasional belly laughs that we get to meet again outside for more drinks and a spontaneous bar crawl to cap off the night. It was one of the most exciting dinners I've had so far, even a unique one.