Herring highlight at a new cafe

"It went very well. It has been a dream for a long time to open a museum cafe like this at the Síldarminjasafn, Herring museum, and then be able to primarily offer herring, which is in short supply in many parts of Iceland," says Anita Elefsen, director of the Síldarminjasafn,  in Siglufjörður. The museum opened a new cafe on Saturday.

The café, Síldarkaffi, is located in the salt house in Siglufjörður. It is an 18th-century warehouse, and Anita mentions that work has been done to restore the building over the past 10 years.

"We opened on Saturday, and it was such a small and homely ceremony. The chairman of the board said a few words, and I spoke as the museum director. Then there was our herring gang that always stand guard here on the ground, salting herring and supporting our guests. They sang for the guests as well, and we are lucky enough to have musicians working here, so the museum staff was also able to offer musical performances, which was awesome," says Anita.

The cafe is for everyone

She mentions that it is very important that the cafe is for everyone. Although the cafe is in the museum area, you do not need a ticket to have a warm cup of Síldarkaffi. The building is open to everyone, regardless of whether they are visitors to the museum or not. The cafe will be open every day of the week, in line with the museum's opening hours.

This weekend, the Herring Adventure festival took place in Siglufjörður, and Anita says she certainly didn't have any less fun.

"Of course, there were a lot of people in town and at the festival. This exceeded our wildest hopes," says Anita.