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Eat It, Or Frame It? Slippurinn Eatery Pops Up At Apotek
The family-run Slippurinn Eatery in the Westman Islands is one of Iceland’s beloved regional restaurants. Open only during the summer, and with a focus on slow cooking, wild herbs, and top-quality local ingredients, the 150km journey doesn’t discourage capital city foodies, who…
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Pets Now Allowed In Icelandic Restaurants
I have a dream that one day I can walk into a coffeeshop where all the baristas are corgis. I have a dream that a Mexican restaurant will open up on Laugavegur where all the servers are Norwegian Forest cats. I have…
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Mai Thai Bistro: The Rookie of the “Thai Triangle”
The Hlemmur area in downtown Reykjavík has for recent years been the supreme destination of Thai food lovers. It has been the home of the “Boonchang-empire,” with the best Thai place in Iceland, Ban Thai, and its younger sibling, Yummi Yummi. Hlemmur…
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Heeeeere’s Jamie: A Visit To Jamie’s Italian
When ‘The Naked Chef’ first aired on the telly, the intention was that it’d encourage ‘blokes’ to step up in the kitchen. Whether that worked or not, Jamie Oliver did become an international sensation with a wild following (possibly due to that…
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Jamie Oliver Sourcing Salmon From Controversial Farm
Famous TV chef, Jamie Oliver is being inundated with comments from angry Icelanders on his Facebook page after posting a photo of controversial Arnarlax salmon farm – where the chef intends to source fish – and claiming they are sustainable and responsible. Oliver,…
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Rok Review: A Big-Ass Celery Near Everyone’s Favourite Church
Rok is a beautiful building. It’s understated and unobtrusive, and its architecture references the turf-roofed houses that once dominated Iceland, done in a contemporary style. The interior is similarly a nice balance of sharper geometric forms and softer, organic materials. And you…
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DILL Becomes First Icelandic Restaurant To Earn Michelin Star
The restaurant DILL, lauded by Grapevine on numerous occasions, has now earned the distinction of being the first Icelandic restaurant to ever earn a Michelin star. Vísir reports that the restaurant was given the prestigious rating in Stockholm this morning. Ragnar Eiríksson,…
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Merry Orange-Malted Salmon: A Visit To The Latest In A Long Line Of Basements
Matarkjallarinn sits nestled in the cosy basement of Aðalstræti 2, a 160-year-old building in the heart of downtown Reykjavík. Prior to Matarkjallarinn, it housed a branch of the Akureyri-based steak and sushi joint Rub 23, but is most readily associated with Sjávarkjallarinn,…
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Let Them Eat Lobster & Stuff
It’s technically langoustine, not lobster, but Langoustine & Stuff doesn’t sound right. It misses the fricative soft rhyme of “ster” and “stuff.” That’s the type of linguistic gymnastics marketing wordsmiths simply die for–and, if their product is a living creature, it’s what…
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Grapevine’s Best Of 2016: The Best Goddamn Restaurant
Best Goddamn Restaurant Snaps Þórsgata 1 Snaps is an atmospheric bistro beloved by Icelanders. It’s where locals have birthdays, anniversaries, ninth dates and family dinners. The food is constantly getting better, with arguably the best gin & tonic menu on this whole…
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New Restaurant In Town: ROK Restaurant
What’s more Icelandic than enjoying Icelandic food under a turf roof across the street from Hallgrímskirkja? ROK offers classics from beef pancakes and seafood to fish pie and cured lamp. As this restaurant is very busy, reservations are recommended. ROK is located…
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Something For Everyone: Bike Cave
Located in the Skerjafjörður neighbourhood behind the domestic airport, the Bike Cave is somewhat out of the way for travellers and locals alike. However, given its fleet of rental scooters—parked jauntily outside like Harleys in front of a leather bar—and its proximity…
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Johansen Deli adds Flavour To Downtown’s Industrial Neighbourhood
Inspired by the idea of take-away restaurants found on the street corners in Denmark, three generations of the Johansen family have established the Johansen Deli, a restaurant that has something for each and every gourmet. In the middle of the industrial neighbourhood,…
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Reykjavík’s Newest Gastropub, Sæta Svínið, Just Opened
We were lucky to be among the first customers at today’s opening of Reykjavík’s newest Gastropub, Sæta svínið, because after having visited the friendly joint, we are convinced it’ll be fully packed soon. It doubles as a restaurant and bar, making it…
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Iceland’s Most Pöpulår Reståurånt!
The IKEA restaurant in Garðabær has only 18 reviews on TripAdvisor. Mainly, these focus on the economic value of the meals—especially compared to how notoriously expensive food in Reykjavík is. One calls it a “great value” while another chirpily describes it as…
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Restaurant Review: Teni – An African Affair to Remember
I was an Ethiopian food virgin until Teni. Reykjavík may boast of many restaurants serving authentic regional cuisine but true culinary maturity is seldom achieved these days unless your town has an Ethiopian joint. So I suppose we are heading in the…
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Book Review: ‘North’, by Chef Gunnar Karl Gíslason & Jody Eddy
When I was in high school, a group of us went on an ice fishing trip at our friend’s family cabin. It had the usual itinerary of binge drinking, homoeroticism, and deep discussions on the meaning of life and the beauty of…
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Dill Chef Gunnar Karl Makes His Own Salt, Is Inspiring: We Observed
Chef Gunnar Gíslason drives nearly an hour out of Reykjavík to a small bay on Hvalfjörður. As he puts on his fishing hip waders, they crinkle and crack in the cold. The snow falls sideways through the air due to the wind…
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We All Need More Thai
Krua Thai was one of those places that really saved the culinary landscape in Iceland at the turn of the century. From the early 90s there had been a growing number of new restaurants offering dishes from the Far East, but to…
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SHELLSHOCKED
Eating a large portion of dark, heavy food on a dark, wooden table in a bright teal building by the marina. We have been here before. Höfnin offers a moderately priced cocktail of the month (1,770 ISK) and we ordered an excellent…
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Matur Og Drykkur Dusts Off Some Recipe Books
Matur og Drykkur is a brand spanking new restaurant from the people who gave us renowned Westmann Islands restaurant Slippurinn. The restaurant opened for business in mid-January at Grandagarður 2 in the old Allianz house, a 90-year-old building where they used to…
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STEP INTO THE LIGHT: 2014
A Shit Sandwich Of Gloom Lorded over by the most bumblingly inefficient government in recent memory, people found it increasingly harder to feed themselves. For instance: at the start of 2015, Icelanders saw rising food prices, along with a tiny drop in…
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Humble Brag
There’s a great scene in the movie ‘Office Space’ where Jennifer Aniston’s character, who works at a tacky restaurant, is passive aggressively reprimanded by her boss for only wearing the minimum required pieces of flair on her work vest, while he expects…