Best Of Reykjavík 2018: Best Place For Cocktails

There is one thing abundantly clear from our very scientific drinking research, Hverfisgata is one hot little street right now. After getting massive internal road surgery a couple of years ago, it has come out thriving with a great bunch of watering holes from the casual to the swanky. Reykjavík’s bar scene seems to be shifting towards the latter in general, and the formerly beloved dive-bar trend looks like it’s taking a disco nap. Some facts of life remain the same: alcohol is expensive and that doesn’t stop us from partying. Bottoms up, babe.

Best Place For Cocktails

Hverfisgata 12

Hverfisgata 12

As well as serving up damn fine pizzas, the bartenders at H12 stir and shake up fabulous concoctions that delight and inebriate the senses. With its charming yesteryear environment and truly lovely waiting staff, it’s the perfect place to raise a pinky and joyfully tilt your head back with a great cocktail, mixed to perfection. They offer standard classics and innovative takes on old favourites using items from their food menu, like the pizza-juice bloody mary—a spicy, vitamin C-rich hangover cure that’s perhaps the best in town.

Runner-Up:

Pablo Discobar

Veltusund 1

Still a relative newcomer in the local bar scene, Pablo has quickly established itself as a place with great cocktails for the dress-code loving crowd. The drinks and the décor are maximalist, lavish, and tropical, and the extra little tacky patina gives it a certain Scarface Miami Beach charm.

Runner-Up:

Mat Bar

Hverfisgata 26

Mat Bar’s cocktail list has all sorts of fancy treats, from a classic espresso martini to a sharp and zesty pisco sour, garnished with flower petals. Get a seat at the bar, watch the professional, smartly dressed bartenders shake your dreamy drink, and don’t be shy ordering some delicious tapas plates to go with it.

Previous Winners

2016: Apotek

2015: Apotek

2014: Slippbarinn

2013: Borg, Hotel Borg

2012: Kolabrautin

Other Drinking Categories

Best Bar For Live Music

Best Wine Place

Best Newcomer Bar

Best Smoking Area

Best Happy Hour

Best Place For Cocktails

Best Beer Selection

Best Place To Watch Sports

Best Place To Start The Night

Best Goddamn Bar

You can buy a copy of the full Best Of Reykjavík 2018 magazine—an essential guide to having fun in Reykjavík—here, posted worldwide. We also have a Special Offer double-pack that also includes our Best Of Iceland magazine, about places to eat, see, swim, shop and stay, all around the country, here.