Fresh salads and soups near Gate C beat another burger stop
Hjá Höllu sits in Terminal 1 by gate C, open daily from 05:00 to 17:00, and leans hard into salads, soups, and lighter plates instead of fried fast food. It is one of the few Icelandic café brands inside KEF, so you see locals and regulars making a beeline here while others line up at international chains.
Menu basics: expect salads, a soup of the day, sandwiches, and at least one vegetarian main, all in the $$ range by Iceland standards. Google reviews call out a chicken salad and vegetarian dish as “tasty and quickly served,” which tracks with the prep-you-see setup behind the counter. Portions run on the smaller side for the price, especially if you are used to mainland Europe servings.
Hours are 05:00-17:00, which means good coverage for the morning and mid-afternoon transatlantic banks, but nothing for late-night departures out of KEF Terminal 1. If your Schengen flight out of the C-gates leaves after 17:00, plan to eat here on the early side or you will end up grabbing something pre-packaged elsewhere.
Vegetarians and lighter eaters do well here: reviews mention clearly labeled options and staff who will walk you through ingredients if you flag allergies. Regulars say they head to Hjá Höllu right after security to lock in a table before the 07:00–09:00 rush, when queues form and seating near gate C can disappear fast.
Watch out for sticker shock: multiple travelers compare prices unfavorably with Hjá Höllu’s city locations, and note that a salad and soup combo can creep over the equivalent of $25 once you add a drink. On the flip side, service pace is solid; several reviews mention getting hot soup and a shared chicken salad out in under 10 minutes, even with a small line.
Practical move: if your flight from gate C boards within an hour, grab a salad or soup here to eat at the table, then carry a pastry or sandwich to the gate as backup in case boarding drags.