Tales of the Table · Family farm · Golden Circle
From two greenhouses to Iceland's favourite tomato lunch
When Knútur Rafn Ármann and Helena Hermundardóttir bought Friðheimar in 1995 it had two greenhouses and one employee – Helena. Today around 250,000 guests a year eat lunch among the tomato plants.
Year-round growing came first, in the early 2000s, and from 2007 the family began inviting guests to eat right there in the greenhouse. The tomato soup became famous, and the farm kept growing: a 5,600 m² greenhouse in 2020, a wine bar in 2023 and, in 2025, the strawberry farm Jarðarberjaland – by then with more than a hundred staff in a village of about a hundred people.
All five of the couple's children are involved, and the next generation now works in the daily running of the farm. In 2024 Knútur received the Icelandic Order of the Falcon.
It is one of the best lunch stops on a Golden Circle day – just remember to book ahead.
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