If you ask Google for the best Indian restaurant in Iceland, you will find several great options. If you ask our mothers, however, they will tell you the answer is Indian Food Box.
To be fair, Indian mothers are not always the most objective restaurant critics. But our story is not really about being the biggest restaurant, the fanciest restaurant, or even the most famous restaurant.
It is about bringing a little piece of India to Iceland.
A Crazy Idea During COVID
Indian Food Box opened its first takeaway location in Reykjavík in 2020.
Looking back, opening a restaurant during a global pandemic was probably not the business advice anyone would recommend. COVID restrictions were changing constantly. Nobody knew what the next week would bring, let alone the next year.
The first three months were incredibly difficult. Every order felt important. Every customer mattered. There were days when we checked the phone every few minutes waiting for the next order notification.
Like many small businesses, we wondered whether we would survive.
Thankfully, our customers had other plans.
Today, Indian Food Box has served well over 100,000 meals, welcomed thousands of guests from Iceland and around the world, and built a reputation as one of the most highly rated Indian restaurants in the country.
Home Away From Home
The philosophy behind Indian Food Box has never changed.
Home Away From Home.
We want people to walk through our doors and feel like they are visiting family. Many of our recipes are inspired by traditional Indian home cooking and dishes passed down through generations.
We are proud to describe our food as grandma-style cooking — food prepared with patience, care, and respect for tradition.
We never wanted to become the biggest restaurant in Iceland. We wanted to become the restaurant that reminds people of home.
Whether you are from India, Iceland, Canada, Germany, the United States, Poland, or anywhere else in the world, our goal is simple: serve food with the same warmth and care you would receive at a family dinner table.
Building a Reputation One Meal at a Time
Success did not happen overnight. Indian Food Box was built one customer, one review, and one meal at a time.
The restaurant has also earned strong ratings across delivery platforms such as Wolt and thousands of returning customers every year.
Those reviews mean more to us than any marketing campaign ever could.
European Street Food Awards Finalist – Three Years Running
One of our proudest achievements has been being selected as a finalist at the European Street Food Awards for three consecutive years.
Our famous AB Samosa Chaat became one of the dishes that helped put Indian Food Box on the map.
At the time, many Icelanders had never tried authentic Indian street food. Today, it is one of the dishes customers travel across town to order.
Not bad for a humble samosa.
Our Five Most Popular Dishes
Every restaurant has its stars. These are ours:
1. Butter Chicken
Our best-selling dish for years. Rich, creamy, comforting, and often the gateway dish that introduces guests to Indian cuisine.
2. Chicken Biryani
Slow-cooked, fragrant, and packed with flavour. Since expanding our menu and takeaway operation, biryani has become one of our fastest-growing dishes.
3. AB Samosa Chaat
The European Street Food Awards finalist. A perfect combination of sweet, spicy, tangy, and crunchy flavours.
4. Dal Makhani
A traditional North Indian lentil dish slow-cooked for deep flavour and comfort.
5. IFB Dhaba Chicken
Inspired by the roadside dhabas of India, where flavour always comes before appearance.
The Secret Behind Dal Makhani's Success
Many people assume restaurants create demand through advertising. Our experience has been different.
We created demand through sharing.
When we introduced Dal Makhani, many customers had never heard of it before. So instead of asking people to spend money on something unfamiliar, we started giving away tasting portions.
Hundreds of them.
More than 400–500 guests received complimentary samples so they could take them home and try them. The same thing happened with Nihari. We wanted people to understand the dish before they ordered it.
Over time, customers fell in love with these traditional recipes.
Sometimes the best way to sell food is simply to let people taste it.
Not Every Idea Was a Winner
Restaurants love talking about their successes. We think failures deserve some credit too.
One of our biggest experiments was a healthy Makhana Salad. Makhana, also known as fox nuts, is a popular ingredient in India and packed with nutritional benefits.
We thought customers would love it.
Unfortunately, the dish never became popular. It was expensive to produce, difficult to explain, and never found its audience.
But that experience taught us something important. Not every idea succeeds. The key is learning, improving, and continuing to move forward. Without failures, there are no success stories.
Nihari – A Dish Worth Fighting For
Another dish close to our hearts is Nihari.
This traditional slow-cooked dish requires time, patience, and special spice blends. In fact, some of the spices used for our Nihari are imported specifically for that purpose.
Nihari is not fast food. It is not trendy food. It is traditional food.
And that is exactly why we love it.
A Proud Moment for Indian Food Box
One of the biggest milestones in our journey came with the opening of our restaurant in Kópavogur.
The occasion became even more special when His Excellency R. Ravindra, Ambassador of India to Iceland, officially opened the restaurant and offered his best wishes to the team.
As a regular guest of Indian Food Box, his support meant a great deal to us.
For a small takeaway that started during COVID, it was a moment that reminded us how far we had come.
More Than Just a Restaurant
Food has always been our main passion. But community matters too.
Indian Food Box has proudly supported Iceland Cricket and Kópavogur Cricket through sponsorship, meals, and financial support.
We believe restaurants should not only serve communities. They should be part of them.
Questions We Hear Almost Every Day
Running an Indian restaurant in Iceland leads to some interesting conversations.
One of our favourites comes from tourists visiting in the middle of summer.
We gently explain that the Northern Lights are currently on their summer holiday.
If that does not work, we recommend the Northern Lights Museum. Or enough whisky to create your own personal aurora.
Please note: the museum is probably the safer option.
So, Is Indian Food Box the Best Indian Restaurant in Iceland?
That decision belongs to our guests.
What we do know is this:
We opened during COVID. We served more than 100,000 meals. We earned hundreds of five-star reviews. We became European Street Food Awards finalists three years in a row.
We introduced thousands of people to dishes such as Dal Makhani, Nihari, and AB Samosa Chaat. We built a restaurant around home-cooked food and genuine hospitality.
Most importantly, we never forgot why we started.
Indian Food Box was created to be a home away from home. A place where food is cooked with care. A place where guests feel welcome. A place where a family recipe from India can find a new home in Iceland.
And if you leave feeling like you have just eaten at a friend's house rather than a restaurant, then we have done our job.
Welcome to Indian Food Box.
Visit Indian Food Box Today
Whether you are craving authentic Butter Chicken, fragrant Chicken Biryani, slow-cooked Dal Makhani, traditional Nihari or award-winning AB Samosa Chaat, we would love to welcome you.
Indian Food Box – Reykjavík Takeaway
Langirimi 21, 112 Reykjavík, Iceland
Indian Food Box – Kópavogur Restaurant
Hamraborg 11, Kópavogur, Iceland
