Boston

Until recently, Boston has been known to bar hoppers in Reykjavík as a comfortable place to go for drinks and meeting friends. Now it takes a plunge into the ever growing scene of bistros and restaurants located in downtown Reykjavík. Though it opened its doors on New Year’s Eve in 2006, its location has been somewhat of a mystery to many, owing to the fact that it has no sign on the outside to lead prospective clients in. But that hasn’t stopped it from flourishing.
Once inside one realises that this is not one of those typical, over-designed modernistic places in Reykjavík. It’s obvious that a lot of effort has been made to create a unique atmosphere at Boston. The daring combination of black and golden colours, antique chairs, Victorian-style wallpaper, and modern art makes up an interior design like no other in Iceland – everything working together to create a relaxed ambiance for dinner and wine.
The menu isn’t very long, only nine courses in total, including appetizers and desserts. Hildur, co-manager and one of two owners, told me that the idea was to rotate between different menus quite frequently and that way let it reflect the seasons.
Skipping the appetizers we went straight for the main course. I decided on chicken medallions with Parma ham and salvia. Somehow the combination of chicken wrapped around Parma ham and a string of salvia perplexed my senses for a bit, not knowing what to make of the taste. But it soon came to me; it was brilliant, unlike anything I had tried before. My companion went for a more conservative dish of traditional Icelandic fish stew favoured by many Icelanders. This being a very simple dish only meant that the demands for success on the chef’s part were even greater. Much to our delight the stew was exceptionally good.
For dessert we both had the French chocolate cake. Looking like a muffin, it had a cake-like crisp on the outside but the inside was filled with warm, creamy chocolate. Now I could try to go into details for you, using words like ‘velvet’ and ‘euphoria’ and somehow try to translate the sensation it gave to me – but I won’t. The reason for this is simple: words cannot do it justice. All I can say is, try it and you’ll know what I mean.SH