Lóla: Chef Sigurður Laufdal’s Latest Venture Is Proof Of Iceland’s Enduring Love For Italian Cuisine

Local chef opens a new contender on the corner of Tryggvagata

The stately corner of Tryggvagata is an arresting moment that has seen many a restaurant come and go. In the past, it hosted Icelandic Fish and Chips; more recently, Anna Jóna, and now Lóla — a pastel oasis of high-design, warm terracotta arches and generous blush accents. Helmed by chef Sigurður Laufdal, Lóla is Reykjavik’s latest addition to the roster of Italian restaurants.

I sat down for a chat with Sigurður Laufdal at the restaurant. While I waited for him, I could see the clever use of space: the bar stretches along most of the curved space acting as separation between the kitchen and dining room that wraps around the length of the ground floor. Bookended by an open kitchen on one side, and a ‘secret theatre’ on the other, Lóla is one of the nicest looking restaurants in town, with credits to Haf Studio.

With a career spanning 20-something years, Chef Laufdal has worked across a broad spectrum of restaurants, “as an apprentice to a sous to head chef, I’ve done it all,” he smiles. From local institutions like Vox, Grillið, and Þrír frakkar, to Nordic ones like Geranium, Laufdal has been in the kitchen until recently when he opened Oto as chef-restaurateur as well. Since his departure from the latter, he has opened Lóla, an Italian restaurant that isn’t shy to borrow from global influences.

A chef’s journey

I’m curious about his shift from fine-dining to a casual format, from New Nordic to Italian. He shares that working at a place like Geranium with multiple stars, with both lunch and dinner service is, “not what you generally imagine. You think you are outdoors, picking herbs and the like, but it’s far from it; you’re under constant pressure. I respect people that do this. But after a year, it was enough for me. I travelled a little bit after that. A lot of Scandinavia, outside Scandinavia, sort of following New Nordic cuisine. But I also wanted to explore more; a kitchen in Spain or a summer in South America, just something completely different.”

“When you’re younger you don’t care about salaries and money; when you stage abroad, you are volunteering your time for the experience. That’s just how it is in most of the hardcore restaurants. When I returned to Iceland, I was 30, not as young as I was. And then it’s just a decision — do I keep going between places, or keep working in kitchens for others? But that is hard, and you cannot keep going on like that.” In search of a better balance, opening a restaurant felt like the natural next step. “Maybe one day I will open up something more fun dining, maybe not. I don’t know, like, it’s hard to say. I think at least you need to start with making… some kind of restaurant that works.”

Lóla’s Italian

On why Italian, Laufdal is candid. “To be honest, like, I’ve never had much interest in Italian food before… even though it has always been popular. Today, I’m interested in pastas, but Lóla is just maybe my imagination of Italian today, and it is not completely Italian… It has some ingredients that are Italian, but I would not hesitate tomorrow to have some starter with Middle Eastern flavours if I would be interested in that tomorrow. But it’s not inside of a box that we need to be 100 percent Italian.”

Lóla’s menu is small yet engaging. I sampled a summery crudo with Sicilian lemons and capers (although it’s called sashimi on the menu), a bitter green salad with burrata and the Instagram-friendly pistachio tiramisu. The dish I keep going back to, however, was the sublimely delicate agnolotti with blue cheese and pears that Lóla presented at their opening party. True to Laufdal’s own admission, the pastas here, like lobster tortellini, do sway over to Thailand with use of lemongrass and Thai basil.

Prices are very Reykjavik, ranging from 1.490 ISK for dips to 11.990 ISK for a 300g ribeye. Pastas are made in-house and range from 5.000 to 8.000 ISK. Desserts are around 3.000 ISK for the sweet-toothed. If you are a diner who does not want to think about what to order, then the set-menu, priced at 17.900 ISK (with a wine-pairing add-on at 12.900 ISK), may be more to your liking. The cocktails, like the menu, borrow from the world and are pretty little concoctions.

There is a communal table, away from the main seating area, for larger groups, booths for more intimate dining, and the theatre can be rented out by groups and companies for special occasions.

Italian cuisine has always been popular in Iceland. From Laugavegur’s Rossopomodoro which seems to attract tourists off the street, to local favourites like La Primavera that really bring Italian home. So where does Lóla fall in that spectrum? The restaurant is firmly perched in that casual dining spot slot with food that isn’t definitively Italian, but carries mass appeal, and is as cuisine agnostic as restaurants in Iceland generally tend to be.

Since its opening, it has attracted attention for its well-designed interiors and its desserts. Plans for brunch were quickly shelved, but the restaurant is still young, and finding its feet. The front of house is eager to please and helpful and are still learning that balance of attentiveness beyond asking ‘how do you like everything?’. With pretty plates to match the decor, Lóla has been the most anticipated opening recently.

With an enthusiastic crew backing him, Sigurður Laufdal is hopeful that Lóla will continue to grow from strength to strength.