Gate-side tables near the Schengen area make Nord the default sit-down option when you want a real plate instead of fast food at KEF.
Nord sits airside in Terminal 1 by the Schengen gates and runs as a full-service restaurant with a bar, not a grab-and-go counter. Expect a generic brasserie lineup: pasta dishes, burgers, and salads all show up in recent Google reviews. It’s the kind of place you wander into during a 2‑hour layover when the sandwich stands at KEF just aren’t doing it.
Prices sit firmly in the $$$ range and regularly shock people who just paid normal Reykjavik city prices the night before. One reviewer mentions wine by the glass costing more than their whole dinner in town, and others call the food “okay but insanely expensive, even for Iceland.” Think standard airport mains, but at a premium that feels high even for KEF.
Service gets mixed but human reviews: staff often described as friendly, yet one traveler clocked 25 minutes for a simple pasta dish. That kind of timing can ruin a 70‑minute layover connection. The kitchen pace fits a normal restaurant, not an airport sprint, so Nord makes more sense if you have at least 90 minutes from sit-down to boarding.
There’s a full bar with beer and wine by the glass, plus spirits, but multiple people single out alcohol pricing as the worst part of the bill. Regulars who pass through KEF often handle the sticker shock by ordering one main each and skipping starters and dessert entirely to keep the total below what they’d pay for a whole night out downtown.
On the plus side, several reviews mention contactless ordering and paying at the table, which shaves a few minutes off the end of the meal when you’re eyeing a gate change on the screens. Tip: if you sit down at Nord, set a hard “order by” time on your phone about 60 minutes before departure and walk if the server hasn’t appeared by then.