This quiet modish bistro adjacent to the discreet Hotel Fron seems miles away from Reykjavík’s thumping party central while being right smack in the centre. Owner Hanna Magnúsdóttir is intent on making the Angelo Mediterranean in feeling while relying on good Icelandic…

The oldest house in Reykjavik, built in 1854 by a wealthy Danish merchant is also one of its oldest restaurants, going from house to bakery to disrepair to historical landmark when it opened its doors as a restaurant in 1981. Inside the…

“We don’t do fusion cooking here,” says chef Birgir Karl Ólafsson. “We have a framework for our menu. It’s alright to put one step out of the frame, but we don’t leave the frame. Classical French cuisine is what we do.” Birgir…

Television crews from Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands recorded the event and journalists from the Washington Post, New York Times and specialty food magazines wrote about it. “The chefs were more eager to win this year than ever. This proves the competition…

“Why Not Sell Coffee?” Helena, another of the owners, informs me that the original idea was to open up a culture/art-centre where all kinds of art could blossom. “But a centre like that needs a cash flow to keep it going so…

Desperate Middle-Aged People and Large Tuxedo-Clad Birds So it was with some trepidation that Grapevine’s correspondents entered Café Victor, situated close to Ingólfstorg square in downtown Reykjavík, one stormy night in January 2005. But we were soon put at ease by the…

Beware the jocks and yuppies None of these Austurstræti landmarks was the destination of Grapevines´correspondents, as we headed towards the restaurant/bar Thorvaldsen on a chilly evening in late December back in ‘04. Outside, we ran into the guitarist of the Icelandic punk…

The bars’ name is actually derived from the street it stands on, Pósthússtræti (Post Office Street). The first post office in Iceland is rumoured to have stood on this lot, although this was more likely located next door, where Hótel Borg now…

Tveir fiskar is not particularly conspicuous in the Reykjavik restaurant flora. It almost reminds one of a mythical place that everyone has heard of but no one has actually seen, like Valhalla or Legoland. We were therefore pleasantly surprised when an almost…

They compete in two categories. The first is a cold buffet, which consists of appetisers as well as various main courses along with desserts and confectioneries. The decor, lighting, and place settings are also a part of the Olympic contest. The second…

Grapevine’s correspondents arrived early in the evening so we were practically the only guests there, but that would change soon. The first things that greeted us when we came up the stairs boded well for the evening ahead: A life-size statue of…

On a hot and sultry day like this it is particularly appropriate to enjoy a round of Tapas. The only restaurant in Reykjavik specialising in this Spanish culinary delight is Tapas Bar, located in the cellar of Vesturgata 3b. The central location…

Grapevine’s correspondents arrived at Við tjörnina at ten o’clock one summer evening in June. The late hour was due to the fact that one of us felt compelled to attend an allegedly important football match (his team, KR, won, by the way).…

We may be in Reykjavík but if you go to Hafnarstræti you´ll find a place called Hornið which would have pleased my uncle Roberto. It is as plain as a good slice of Mozzarella with thick slice of tomato on top, and…

The late John S. Wilson, who wrote about music for the New York Times for half a century, used an interesting test procedure for measuring the quality of restaurants. His “Before and After System” is simple and effective. Have an extra dry…

The average person living in Reykjavík is really a very special breed. Not the pure, patriotic Icelander whose values are nearly always measured by ancient customs and tales that could easily be a part of the Old Testament or even the Talmud.…

Like so many of my fellow countrymen I hold coffee dear, it is the source of my powers and without it I’m useless. For the last few years coffee has been the constant that the rest of my world revolves around. A…

Iceland’s relationship with sweets has long been a strange one. For the most part it seems we tend to think of blatantly commercial, 100% American brands of sweets and cereals as somehow distinctively Icelandic. General Mills´ Coco Puffs (or Kókó Pöffs, as…

Those who have travelled a lot will know what I am talking about when I moan about the fact that there isn’t a decent coffee shop with small snacks available in the particular town we have been discussing. Small, good looking, clean…