Reykjavik’s fine dining icon reveals its secret sauce to enduring success
“This is a pani puri,” Chandrika Gunnarsson says as she nimbly places shot glasses of verdant pani with a perfect sphere of puri on top. “Or golguppa,” she says, offering up another name for the popular street snack. The deep fried hollow puri is cracked open slightly, stuffed with a thimble of lightly spiced boiled potatoes. The pani is minty water, flavoured with roasted cumin and green chillies. Chandrika describes the morsels while instructing us to pour the pani into the puri before eating it in one bite. Just as the liquid filled puri explodes in your mouth, its other Indian name, “puchka,” springs to mind — the onomatopoeic word has always reminded me of water filled things being squashed.
The dance of flavours and textures as the crispy puri and spicy water meld is writ large on the bewildered and awe-tinged expressions of my fellow diners. It is a fitting start to the 30th anniversary meal at Austur-Indíafjelagið and an instant reminder of just why this institution continues to be relevant three decades after first opening its doors.
To diners (and readers) from outside of Iceland, pani puri is perhaps not the ground-breaking food barrier it is to local diners here in Iceland. And therein lies the answers to the curiosity that is Austur-Indía. Unlike the U.S. or U.K., which saw a wave of immigration from the formerly colonised that lasted well into the 70s, Iceland has been a relatively distant island when it comes to global occurrences. When Chandrika arrived here in the 80s as Chandrika Gopalpur Chandrashekhar there was, “Taj Mahal Tandoori and Sushi Bar,” she guffaws out loud. She eventually bought the place with husband Gunnar Gunnarsson.
Despite the slim pickings at the time, Icelanders were no strangers to Indian cuisine. “Most people we knew had been educated abroad,” Chandrika recalls. “So they already knew Indian food from their Indian colleagues at universities, their fellow students in classes. They knew it apart from the curry house fare.”
“But why Austur-Indía is Austur-Indía comes down to two things,” she explains. “When Gunnar came to India the first time, the food cooked at home was very different from food he had eaten in any restaurant. We knew [what we served in our restaurant] couldn’t be generic fare peddled as Indian food. For me, it was a personal thing — it was home away from home — I was not going to make anything different from what I would eat in my home.
“The focus is: would I serve this in my home? If I don’t, why would I serve it here?”
The second defining driver of Austur-Indía is about a particular hospitality. “It’s what we are taught. You give the guest that comes to your home the best that you can give, even if it means taking it away from your own plate and giving it to them.”
30 for 30
Austur-Indía’s 30th anniversary menu is chock full of their biggest hits from over the years. Today the restaurant stands in the exact same location as it did in 1994, running on the same kennitala, and has grown in foot print, even as the menu remains a tight orchestration of regional flavours.
Diners can choose from an attractively priced set menu at 14,990 ISK or choose their own adventure by ordering from the hefty selection of the restaurant’s greatest hits. The deep green Hara Bhara Kebab (2024, 3090 ISK) of minced peas and spinach will silence even the staunchest meat lover. I am particularly partial to the Seekh Kebabs (1996, 3390 ISK), a juicy, moreish lamb kebab that is hand minced, marinated in a special blend of fresh green chillies, ginger, garlic and ground whole spices. The mixture is then hand pressed onto sword-like skewers and cooked in the tandoor to delightful perfection. Pair this with a masala kulcha on the side, with a dab of the accompanying garlic sharp burrani-esque raita and I assure you will look at desi kebabs and grills in a whole new light.
The Cod Pollichathu (2008, 3190 ISK) is a readaptation of the Kerala classic, with cod subbing in for pearl spot. The fresh onion-tomato-garlic based masala is smothered over fish, wrapped in a fresh banana leaf package and griddle cooked. The singed emerald bundle arrives like a present at the table — one that you must open and devour right away to savour the steamed-in-its-own juice-heightened-by-gojju magic that renders the cod flaky and most like itself.
Kori Gassi (2008, 5890 ISK) is yet another classic South Indian curry, this time from Mangalore. It’s teeming with that unique blend of fenugreek-cumin-coconut-chillies distinct to Tuluva households. A study in balancing delicate fragrant spices with the warmth of roast ground chilli-coconut milk, I recommend trying this with simple steamed rice for the optimum enjoyment of the layered flavours.
Karrí er ekki karrí
Austur-Indíafjelagið’s anniversary menu is a taste of nostalgia for those like food critic and writer Steingrímur Sigurgeirsson, who famously catapulted the restaurant into public imagination with his 1996 review, “Karrí er ekki Karrí.” That exact “karrí” (curry) is on the anniversary menu now, honouring the restaurant’s steadfast ethos of marrying the homes of its founders. Icelandic lamb curry served as inspiration, resulting in the delicately fragrant Kaja Gosht Masala, redolent with creamy ground cashew nuts and sweet green cardamom.
It is a tightrope act of satisfying customers whilst educating them and training their palates to understand the nuances of Indian cuisine beyond generic butter chicken. Chandrika is candid in her reflections: “We did not want the challenges to make us change what we want to offer. Instead, we decided to take these challenges head on. Whether it was importing the spices, growing coriander,” she pauses. “And, of course, it helps that I come from a family of plantations where spices are freshly grown — to carry the cardamom and pepper from Coorg added that personal touch. It was about not compromising; I was already making too many other compromises. I was already dealing with, ‘Oh, you have this place on Hverfisgata? Who even goes to Hverfisgata?”
“And I honestly needed a job,” she adds with classic Chandrika candour.
For the people, by the people
What sets the success and endurance of Austur-Indía apart from other restaurants is their tenacious focus on serving Indian food the way it’s meant to be. Apart from the pantry quality, a significant way this has been achieved is by its commitment to getting the best talent from India. Is there a better testimonial to claims of Austur-Indía being a family business than the fact that their longest serving chefs have been in the kitchen for more than 29 years?
For the first year, there were three people in the kitchen: Gunnar and his two childhood friends, Jón and Karl, who had prior culinary experience by way of starting a pizzeria. Chandrika was the lone waitress. When a pregnant Chandrika had a kitchen accident, it was clear that they needed to rethink their plan and the team started an intentional search for chefs in India, often stopping to make enquiries when they encountered an especially well made dish. Which is how the first chefs, Lakshman and Madaiah were found.
Chefs Lakshman Rao and Madaiah Kalaiah have been with the restaurant ever since, though they now both split their time between Austur-Indía and Hraðlestin. Many of Austur-Indía’s early hits — like the Chicken 65, Vindaloo and Kaja Gosht — can be credited to their ingenuity of bridging customer expectation while honouring tradition and technique. Such is their expertise that Lakshman boasts of the rare privilege of having cooked for the late British monarch Queen Elizabeth.
“My first night in Iceland, in January 1995, I didn’t sleep all night because of the ‘heavy construction’ outdoors,” chef Lakshman remembers. Chandrika cannot hold her laughter, clarifying that, “it was no construction, it was a classic winter storm!”
Lakshman and Madaiah are still amused. “We had no inkling of what cold was until we got here. And after two years, we were ready to leave.”
But they didn’t. By then, Austur-Indía had grown a reputation for being a cut above the rest for its food and hospitality. In a country starved for good service, Chandrika and Gunnar vehemently stuck to their mantra that the “front of house are ambassadors of the cuisine and the kitchen.”
It isn’t just the restaurant that has grown, customers have grown alongside. Lakshman recounts a lunch incident where a lunch customer was angry and upset about being served a hollow, puffy bhatura. You can enjoy this dish at the Hradlestin Grandi brunch today, but in 1996, the customer felt “cheated.”
Chefs Sheikh Jalauddin and Mahipal Singh, who man the tandoor grill stations and curries, having worked 18 and 22 years at Austur-Indía, respectively, echo their observation that the Icelandic guest today eats spicier food, demands authenticity and is overall a more aware dinner guest than they were in those early days.
The consistency in Austur-Indía’s food and service can sometimes make expertise look effortless and easy; but the choreography of flavour, technique and timing, shines through in every dish, particularly with the tandoor, a testament to chef Johnson George’s leadership. To adapt a cuisine that eats with its hand translated to perfecting la cuisson for a cutlery-based culture speaks volumes about both customer insight, as well as dogged determination to marry seemingly opposite expectations. Notice how the Harrison Ford favourite Gosht Kalimirch is grilled to medium rare, as is the Kodava Pepper Fry, where the lamb retains a toothsome bite ideal for fork and knife dining. So while the menu may come across as traditional to the untrained eye, it is in the dining of it that such distinctions and innovations become apparent.
Accolades and Milestones
“Focus and follow through,” Chandrika asserts, stressing on each word, “and committing to the customer,” is the secret sauce.
I marvel at the formidable figure she is. Those who meet her even once, come away feeling the confidence and power she exudes. In a predominantly male industry with few immigrants at the helm, she has built Austur-Indíafjelagið into a brand that is steadfastly associated with value and quality. Maskina recently honoured sister restaurant Hraðlestin as the most customer-recommended restaurant of 2024. Their range of ready sauces were the first Icelandic brand in that category to be sold on Costco shelves.
“I want to give the Icelanders the benefit of the doubt that maybe they don’t realise how difficult this is for me,” Chandrika is open about her struggles. It is a matter of great pride for Chandrika that her chefs come from premier hospitality schools, with an enviable roster of staging and professional experiences from some of the most decorated kitchens in India.
However, challenges with both immigration and the department of labour have been a recurring woe. Local institutions often lack international know-how and systems are woefully archaic and white washed, ignoring the wealth of diverse experience that qualified chefs bring with them. Hospitality is a five-year bachelor programme in India, whereas local schools offer only 12 or 18-month studies. The paperwork alone for non-EU experts is daunting. Yet, somehow Chandrika remains enthusiastic and positive.
“It simply had to work. That’s just how my thought process has been all along. ‘The chef has to come.’ If I choose this guy, he has to come. I’m not going to let anybody (unfamiliar with Indian cuisine) decide for the Icelandic people what I should offer to them, because they don’t know it as well as we do. So it’s for me to say, okay, these people will now teach Icelanders what a specific taste is meant to be.”
When asked what centres her, Chandrika takes a deep breath and a few moments before delivering her reply. “I think the guest, the compliment, just one person to say, ‘Wow, this is the best meal we have had in a while,’ that will carry me for many more months until the next compliment. I’m like that.”
“I think when you go into the heart of a wedding, a confirmation, a Christmas dinner, then you know that you’ve done something right, those one or two people give you the hope to keep going on. That really gives me comfort, as if they’re saying, ‘Go for it! Keep doing what you’re doing.’”
“I choose to just have complete gratitude,” Chandrika says, reflecting on the journey so far and what’s to come. “And I say that from the absolute bottom of my heart because if people did not feel as special every single time, they would not come back. I’m honoured that they choose us every single time over somebody else.
“This heritage is our responsibility and I will always represent India when it comes to this cuisine. I take pride in that this is an old cuisine that is coming into a relatively new culture. I think that when we are carrying that responsibility, we carry the responsibility through and through.”
Austur-Indíafjelagið’s 30th anniversary menu will be available through November, December and January, with occasional tweaks and additions here and there. Book your table by calling 552-1630 or visiting dineout.is.
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