Slightly off the beaten path, or at least off the path that I tend to beat, at the corner of Vitastígur and Bergþórugata (not near anything resembling a light house, as it’s grammatical root would imply) is local burger joint/watering hole Vitabar, a greasy-spoon that is out of the way enough to go for a possibly frowned-upon midday drink but not so far that you wouldn’t haul your cookies there for one of their infamous ‘forget-me-not’ burgers.
Sitting in the decidedly no-frills, wood-panelled little bar, it didn’t take much time for my date and I to decide what to order. He didn’t even have to open the menu before ordering up a forget-me-not blue cheese burger (800 ISK) and, forcing myself not to order the same thing (it was very difficult), I opted for the bacon cheeseburger (850 ISK). Both are served with a side of fries.
As one would expect from the Grapevine-declared best blue cheese burger in Reykjavík of 2009, the forget-me-not burger my date devoured was sweaty and sloppy and covered in enough blue-cheese and garlic to taint his breath for a week. My bacon cheese-burger was really no comparison to my date’s dish (but nothing in the burger world really can compare, to be fair) but if I were comparing it to anything but the famed gleym-mér-ey I’d rightly declare ‘goddamn this is a good burger!’ It really is! Just as sweaty, just as juicy, just as drool inducing. Topped with a hearty slice of bacon and melty, gooey cheese, this thing may not be the king of burgers, but it sure could wear the prince’s crown. The fries accompanying both burgers were a little on the soggy side, though, and didn’t do either of the burgers any real justice.
- What we think: Vitastígur is the place for burgers
- Flavour: Sweaty, greasy, good
- Ambiance: Dive bar
- Service: Friendly
- Rating: 3.5/5
- Vitabar Bergþórugötu 21
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