The oldest restaurant in Reykjavik, Kaffivagninn (Grandagarði 10, Reykjavík; +354 551 5932; kaffivagninn.is), began as a harborside food truck in 1935. Sound out the name and it turns out to be an Icelandic cognate for ‶coffee wagon″ in English. But it also serves delicious fish.

On a sunny summer day, Kaffivagninn’s location on the city’s gorgeous harbor is about as picturesque a place as there is to eat some of the freshest fish in the world. And fish is a lot of what Iceland is about. The fishing industry is essential to Iceland’s identity and second only to tourism in its economic impact.

The only fish on the breakfast menu at Kaffivagninn is (unsurprisingly) smoked salmon. Breakfast fare is 990-1890 krona (USD $7-$13.50). The only item that isn’t fish on the lunch menu is schnitzel. Lunch items at Kaffivagninn run 3190-3690 krona (USD $22-$26).

When it comes to Icelandic fish, cod is king. Thanks to smart fisheries management instituted in the late 20th century, Iceland has a thriving and sustainable Atlantic cod fishery. All the afternoon fish dishes at Kaffivagninn relied on codfish, so we opted for fish and chips to get the simplest version. We ordered at the counter (below) and waited on the sunny outdoor deck for our order to be called. Sweet, tender, and full of flavor, the delicately breaded pieces of cod were delicious. They also had the firm flesh characteristic of cold water cod caught with hook and line rather than by trawling nets.

We ate at a picnic table on the deck at the edge of the water (top photo), where the view did the fish proud.