Thorvaldsen has divided its new menu up into the four points of the compass, which in theory is a nice idea but in reality turned out to be a shocker. The north section includes a Nordic perspective, including my smoked salmon starter. This was such a huge portion, it was the size of a main dish. It was satisfying though and the mustard vinaigrette was a decent touch. Then from the east was my guest’s appetizer of Indian Curry Soup which was medium to spicy and a bit too heavy on the Turmeric. With a little more saffron it would have been less bitter. The heavy inclusion of rice meant too many carbohydrates to start a three course meal with.
The main bellyache though came with the main course. From the western region I ordered an Alabama Burger. The bacon was singed and the burger tasted like it contained barely any pure beef. The thickly cut chips lacked any real bite as if they had been deep fried in oil that had been reused many times. My guest was not able to order a vegetarian dish from any of the four regions, meaning a choice of the ‘Middle Eastern Salad’ without the meat. They could have used avocado or cheese as a replacement at least for some texture, but instead the main was just like a huge bowl of side salad. Incredible. For dessert we both ordered American Apple Pie with Ice Cream. The cinnamon was barely traceable and they didn’t even peel the fruit leaving apple skin that got stuck between the teeth. To make matters worse, the Red Delicious variety of apples were simply not suitable for the dish, especially when they’re not baked through properly.
Thorvaldsen has a plush décor and at first sight seems a cosy venue. Beyond the surface however, our table rocked a little and wasn’t clean in the first place. The music was way too loud and the 50 Cent tracks didn’t help matters an awful lot. We wouldn’t have wanted to listen to his shit at the best of times, let alone while we were eating

WHERE Austurstræti 8, 101 Reykjavik Tel: 551 1413

HOW MUCH 1000 – 3000 ISK

WHAT WE THINK Fake style and no substance in a shocker of a meal