Words by

Catharine Fulton

Seriously, I just want a decent salad in this city

Working outside the home is enormously difficult for someone as inconsistent with planning as myself. I’d love to be the kind of person who meal preps. I’d love to open my fridge in the morning and be greeted by neatly stacked Tupperware containers, labelled by day. I’d pick out a container and venture off to the office knowing that I’d have a healthy, homemade lunch to enjoy a few hours later.

That is not my reality. Instead, upon trading in my glorious working from home set-up for this gruelling office gig at the Grapevine, I’ve turned to the eateries of 101 Reykjavík for midday sustenance. Let me tell you, it gets old. Fast.

It’s burgers and french fries for as far as the eye can see. Deep fried this, mayo-slathered that. Bread and batter and blech. Enough, already. I just want a fucking salad.

Here are some spots I’ve checked out in my search for some afternoon greenery.

Vegan World Peace
Aðalstræti 2

After an extended closure for repairs, Vegan World Peace is open once again – it’s particularly convenient since it’s directly below Grapevine HQ – and serving up a selection of salads. I’m partial to the Bean Salad (1.950 ISK), a nice base of mixed greens, topped with lightly roasted crispy bell pepper, carrots, cucumber, tomato, avocado, cashews, edamame, green beans and tofu. A bean curd dressing is served on the side so the diner can dictate how much they want to add to their veg. In short, it’s a delightful lunch.

Laundromat Café
Austurstræti 9

The Quinoa Salad (2.899 ISK) at Laundromat is a heartier take on a salad, with the greens mixed in with red quinoa, seeds and rye bread croutons. It’s lightened up by the added greed veggies and avocado. The cranberry and hibiscus dressing is delicious, but the last bites of the salad are sometimes swimming in it, so ask for a sparing amount of you want your salad crisp to the last bite.

Gló
Austurstræti 17

It was a happy day when Gló reopened a 101 outpost in mid-May. Though it’s a takeaway spot tacked on to the 10-11 convenience store, I’ll take it! In fact, I’ll take a Vegan Bowl (2.231 ISK), with mixed greens, crispy broccoli, roasted sweet potato, quinoa, hummus, and roasted coconut shavings, thanks.

Sólon Islandus
Bankastræti 7a

The Sólon Salad is a fine salad. At 3.990 ISK, it’s also the most expensive on this list by a fair margin. Still, a bed of baby romaine, topped with pickled tomatoes, cucumber, apples and roasted walnuts is a dependably tasty combo. The lemon dressing is nice, but, again, should be asked for on the side if you’re a control freak like me who wants a very precise dressing-to-salad ratio.