Bezt í Heimi:Ostabúðin
Bookstore employees in the city centre complain about the bothersome tourists that bump in from the rain, one after the other, wet, confused, with a map in their hands, asking [&he
SALT,Hotel 1919
Described as “chic, upscale and casual” on its website, the hotel restaurant, Salt, actually is. Each table is decorated with a small porcelain bowl with pink, white and black
Hrói Höttur
This cheesy fast-food pizzeria offers a no-nonsense buffet, soup, steak, pizza, vegetables, pasta courses … the whole lot – English-Italian cuisine the Icelandic way. The name
Maru
It seems to be common practice when one restaurant files for bankruptcy to start another one in its place. In this tradition, Maru is a sushi place by Aðalstræti, where […
Bezt í heimi: Lobster Soup at Sægreifinn
Sitting on a barrel inside the Sægreifinn fish shop, staring up at the stuffed seal and stuffed ram’s head, having owner Kjartan shuffle by to serve another customer and repeati
RAUÐARÁ STEAKHOUSE
Heavily romantic. Huge candlesticks. Accompanied by my sister, we were quite pleased, after a drink in the upstairs parlour, to be relocated by the waitress to a table more suitabl
the bagel house
The Bagel House only arrived on Laugavegur two or three weeks ago. They serve bagels. The bagels are good, the raw material fresh, the guy who was working there when […]
el racó
El Racó is a new Mexican place by Tryggvagata, where there used to be a … Mexican place. Unfortunately my knowledge of Mexican food is quite limited, and so when […]
ÍSBÚÐ VESTURBÆJAR
The old joke about selling ice to the Eskimos gets a dose of reality in Iceland: Icelanders love ís, or ice cream. The sheer quantity of ice cream consumed on […]
HUMARHÚSIÐ
“I saw your turnover, going to Cuba in the autumn?” “Well, you don’t jump around just anywhere, if Icelandair doesn’t fly there.” “The owners have changed …”
ELDSMIÐJAN
Eldsmiðjan was one of the country’s first pizzerias, a sensation when it opened 18 years ago in the city centre. They seem to have established a whole generation of old [&hellip
PRIKIÐ
Prikið used to be a similar place to Café Mokka, in Skólavörðustígur, where elderly stoics drank their coffee in the morning, beer in the evening, leaving the outside world t
BEZT Í HEIMI: SHALIMAR
A Whole Lot Better than They Have to Be One of the complaints I hear about dining out in Iceland is that Italian, Thai and Indian restaurants severely tone down […]
FJALAKÖTTURINN
Opened a month ago, Fjalakotturinn, which means “the cat on the boards,” (boards as in theatre), stands on the oldest street in Reykjavík. Its exterior actually spreads over t
Vegamót
Unless you have the parking god on your side you are going to have to cruise for a parking space for this wildly popular bistro bar a few steps from […]
BEST Í HEIMI: Argentína
I can say without hesitation that Argentina is the best place in the world for a red meat-loving person to have a special celebration. Reykjavík has some great chefs and […
Pizza King: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Created by the family that, by introducing the authentic and cheap pizza store DeVito’s, single-handedly remade the Hlemmur area into the cultural capital of Reykjavík, Pizza Ki
Kaffi Sólon
Location, location, location. Kaffi Sólon is a big, friendly space with a big upstairs bar and possibly the best window for people watching in Reykjavík. Originally a paint store
Angelo
This quiet modish bistro adjacent to the discreet Hotel Fron seems miles away from Reykjavík’s thumping party central while being right smack in the centre. Owner Hanna Magnúsd
Lækjarbrekka
The oldest house in Reykjavik, built in 1854 by a wealthy Danish merchant is also one of its oldest restaurants, going from house to bakery to disrepair to historical landmark [&he
Hótel Holt Offers Classic French Cuisine for Peanuts
“We don’t do fusion cooking here,” says chef Birgir Karl Ólafsson. “We have a framework for our menu. It’s alright to put one step out of the frame, but we […]