A couple of months before Segurmo opened in Boston (the bar, not the city), sous chef Sigurdur “Siggi Shaker” Magnús Finnsson of the rock band Singapore Sling explained to the daily paper: “I’ve never cooked before. I am currently learning to cut onions and I can report that it is going very well.”
Perhaps thankfully, there is another chef boiling the Boston broth, as Finnsson’s onion cutting skills are gently cultivated by head chef Númi Thomasson, previously responsible for keeping Björk in bread while on tour.
Today, a bit less than a year after opening, Segurmo is the eatery among 101 hipsters. An example to illustrate: when I recently accompanied a birthday horde of 10 diners, several of the group voiced mild disappointment to see the weekly menu had not yet been updated—most had already sampled everything on it.
And why wouldn’t they have: Segurmo serves good, healthy lunch and dinner, consistently better in quality than the price tag would suggest (everything on the menu is below ISK 2.000), in a relaxed setting with moody lights, golden wallpaper, a handful of it-people and a well-stocked bar. And as the bar fills up with other members of the Reykjavik chic it also doubles as a convenient, tres-cool venue for after dinner drinks.
The simple and straight-forward menu includes the weekly portions, one each of fish, meat or vegetarian, alongside permanent offerings of meat soup (soft, hearty, not at all too salty) and plokkfiskur, the Icelandic fish stew, which comes in a portion the size of a small child’s head, accompanied—as it should be—by sweet rye bread and butter (the plokkfiskur, not the child’s head). Skip the tourist traps for Icelandic classics and try them in the urban wilderness instead.
When it comes to the consistently good weekly portions, one still hears the occasional sigh of nostalgia from the regulars for such occasional stars as risotto alla Milanese with saffron and quiche.
All in all, the choice of the street-credible team Thomasson-Finnsson to focus on good, simple food with Icelandic ingredients and influences is one worth blowing horns for.
Segurmo is like a cool school canteen for the grown up 101’ers. Only the food is better, the drinks stronger and you always sit at the cool kid’s table.
- Segurmo at Boston Laugavegur 28
- What we think: Consistently good food at bargain prices – a gem.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
