I first visited this cafe in Jan 2013 on my first trip to Iceland. I was so glad to see it still there when I returned in September. I immediately dragged my friends inside where we had great food followed by the BEST cake in memory. This place has an awesome vibe and if I lived in Reykjavik I'd be in there all the time.

I am a lifelong vegetarian, now over 60. To make matters worse, I am a PICKY vegetarian. It took me decades to find at least some vegetables that I liked. Some of us become vegetarians for ethical reasons, not because we love vegetables. So, I am not much fun to travel with. Needless to say, during our 8 day stay in Iceland, I knew that my only possibility of finding a sit-down restaurant (rather than eat the packed nuts, dried fruits and protein bars weighing down my luggage) was to scout out Reykjavik.
Based on guidebooks, this place was our second choice, because I knew that they had a daily limited selection of a single main course or soup. When we couldn't find restaurant choice #1, we stumbled on Cafe Gardurinn, choice#2.
Just as I feared...Peanut stew with root vegetables (I hate peanuts) or Sweet and Sour Texas soup (I hate sweet and sour). Hmmm...nice vibes...relaxing in here...maybe we should stay despite the food...hmmm? Choosing the lesser of the two apparently evil-tasting vegetarian dishes, I chose the peanut stew. At least it came with a salad....Well, now, this doesn't look too bad, I'll try it...Wow, this is DELICIOUS! Best meal I can remember having in a long time. This anti-foodie was almost ready to turn foodie and take a photo of my meal with my phone.
As the meal concluded, I was feeling good and looking at photos on the wall. Say, that guru looks familiar. Is that Sri Chinmoy? Looks the same as he did when I saw him 25 years ago, that amazing guru. I found out later that the guru shed his earthly form in 2007. I have been wrong about so much, especially peanut stew.
Don't make the same mistake. Eat Here Now.

Both main course (veg and coconut curry) and soup were great. Relaxed atmosphere with great art and good for a quiet read.

A small, quiet place, a haven in the bustling city center. Soft meditation music, mandalas and high-quality vegetarian fare. To keep things simple, there is no traditional menu, just the day's soup, main course and dessert. Beautiful, nourishing, and essential. Namasté.

Meal of the day was delicious spinach lasagne served with carrots and salad, the service was very friendly and the food wasn't too expensive (for Iceland). I bought a few vegan brownies for dessert and they were so good, my meat-and dairy-eating family even said they were the best brownies they'd ever tasted. I highly recommend Garðurinn if you're looking for a good, healthy lunch!