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Maturinn var dýr en hins vegar mjög góður.

Maturinn var dýr en hins vegar mjög góður.
The food was expensive but on the other hand very good.
From Lesson 215:Skoðanir og rök — opinions and arguments·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Maturinn var dýr en hins vegar mjög góður.

What does hins vegar literally mean?
It literally translates to "of the other way" or "of the other road". It is made up of the genitive (possessive) forms of hinn (the other) and vegur (way or road). In practice, it is the standard Icelandic way to say "however" or "on the other hand".
Is it mandatory to use hins vegar right after en (but) like in this sentence?
No, you have a lot of flexibility. While en hins vegar naturally translates to "but on the other hand", you can also use hins vegar entirely on its own to start a new sentence or clause, exactly like "However,..." in English.
Why do the adjectives dýr and góður end like that?
They both describe maturinn (the food). Because matur is a masculine noun and serves as the subject of the sentence, any adjectives describing it must be in the masculine nominative (subject) form. They stay in this form even when separated by a conjunction like en.
Could I drop hins vegar and just use en?
Absolutely. You could just say ... en mjög góður to mean "... but very good". Adding hins vegar just puts a bit more emphasis on the contrast, exactly like choosing to say "but on the other hand" instead of a simple "but".

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