Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.08.2005, Síða 28

1 Café RomaLaugavegur 118
Is the closest thing you’ll find to
a New York deli in town. A lively
cross-section of artists, students
and office workers enjoy home-
baked panini and great coffee all at
low prices.
2 RáðhúskaffiCity Hall
With a view over the city pond,
Rá›húskaffi is situated inside the
City Hall. Coffee and great cakes as
you enjoy the view. Free Internet
access for customers and, in the
lobby of City Hall, you’ll find a big
80m2 model of Iceland as well as
changing exhibitions.
3 Grái KötturinnHverfisgata 16a
Grái Kötturinn(grey cat) is across
the street from the National Theatre
and is quite small and very popular
in the early hours of the day. A
good place to start a day the British
way, with eggs and bacon and other
traditional breakfasts on the menu.
The lunch menu is also inviting, but
somewhat pricey.
4 Kaffi HljómalindLaugavegur 21
A peaceful, non-smoking café
with perfect windows for people
watching and a lot of daylight.
Hljómalind is run by a non-profit
organization and it only serves
organic & fair trade products.
Also music performances and art
exhibitions.
5 MokkaSkólavörðustígur 3a
An Icelandic tradition since 1958,
Mokka is the oldest café in Reykjavík
and the first one to make coffee
with an espresso machine. The walls
are covered with art for sale and,
though seats are usually filled by
loyal customers, every now and then
you’ll catch a glimpse of the owners, a
really nice and friendly couple in their
seventies who have owned the café
since its inception. This is the place to
go for the best waffles in town.
6 BakhúsiðLaugavegur 55
Bakhusið is a cosy newcomer in
101, a well-hidden café on a quiet
backyard just around the corner from
Laugavegur. It’s the place to go to
for a perfect cup of traditional Italian
coffee, advisably enjoyed with the best
chocolate cake around. We wouldn’t
suggest sharing a piece, though, as
fighting for the bites may well cause
some tension around the table. We
can also warmly recommend the
menu.
7 SvartakaffiLaugavegur 54
Read the newspaper, have a cup
of coffee, have a philosophical
conversation with your cigarette
and enjoy the speciality of the
house, soup in a bread bowl. Aim
high, it’s not on the ground floor.
8 Tíu DroparLaugavegur 27
A very nice “grandma” style café.
It’s not that apparent from the
street, being in on the bottom floor,
but is actually bigger than it looks.
They serve traditional treats such
as hot chocolate and waffles, but
grandma is also known to come
up with new delicacies, such as the
Snickers cake, and you can even try
her latest work in progress.
9 KaffitárBankastræti 8
Expanded and improved, this is
the downtown store for one of the
country’s finest coffee importers.
While anything here is good, the
speciality coffee drinks are truly
remarkable: our favourite, the
Azteca, an espresso drink with lime
and Tabasco.
11 Sólon
Bankastræti 7a
Named after (in his own
opinion, at least), Iceland’s greatest
man, Sólon is a pretty crowded nightclub
on Friday and Saturday nights. It seems to
have more lives than one, however, since
in the day it’s a fairly artsy coffeehouse
and in the evening (weeknights) they
have a decent menu. You can get a three-
course fish of the day meal for under 2000
krónur, or try the delicious fish and meat
mixed sticks.
12 Café 22Laugavegur 22
The top floor is dedicated to artist
Jón Sæmundur, aka Dead. Downstairs
is a decent bistro (try the Gringo),
whereas the middle floor houses a
dancefloor. Open until the wee small
hours, and a great place for a late
night drink for those who want drink
along with a less trendy (and perhaps
more cool) crowd. Be warned, though,
they do charge 500 krónur entrance
after 01:30.
13 KaffibarinnBergstaðastræti 1
Kaffibarinn is Cool Reykjavík, or at least
tries to be. Reykjavík prides itself on
having more artists per capita than any
other capital in the world, and the crowd
here seems to be trying to prove the
point, with musicians, actors and writers
ranging from the hopefuls to the world
famous. Blur’s Damon Albarn owns a
share of the bar, probably figuring it was
cheaper than buying drinks all the time.
Another owner is the director of the film
101 Reykjavík.
14 SirkusKlapparstígur 30
“Welcome to the Jungle/ We got fun and
games,” quoth the poet. With tropical palm
trees on the outside and tropical heat
on the inside, welcome to the party that
never came to an end and doesn’t seem to
be ending any time soon. Usually full of
regulars (many of whom are, were or want
to be students of the Icelandic Academy
of Arts) mixed with musicians and other
members of the city’s underground. The
upper floor, for whatever reason, looks like
the inside of a bus
15 VitabarBergþórugata 21
Actually a bar, but best known for its
hamburgers. A burger with fries for
500 is one of the best meal deals in
town, but special mention must go to
the Forget-Me-Not blue cheese and
garlic extravaganza. The Viking beer
always feels particularly cold and
refreshing here.
16 VegamótVegamótastígur 4
Wants to be the in spot to be seen,
and succeeds to some degree. Dress
up, flaunt it and enjoy the view as
others do the same. It’s a jungle in
there, and the fittest, or at least the
fittest looking, come out on top.
Kitchen open every day until 22.
Specials of the day and weekend
brunch. Try the lobster pizza.
17 PóstbarinnPósthússtræti 13
Situated by Austurvöllur,
Póstbarinn is a bistro prized
restaurant, a rare treat. It is also
one of few restaurants in Reykjavík
with decent outdoor service. Live
jazz once a week and check out the
reasonably prized fish menu they
have, only 1490ISK.
18 RósenbergLækjargata 2
Perhaps the closest we have to
a jazz club, and old instruments
line the walls. People go there for
conversation and listening to music
rather than dancing. The place
tends to have jazz or blues type
music.
19 Grand RokkSmiðjustígur 6
A place true to the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll
and bands that don’t do covers. Better and
lesser-known Icelandic bands play there,
usually no less than three bands a night,
four nights a week. Whether they charge
admission or not is up to the bands, but
if they do, all proceeds do go to starving
artists. Grab a beer and rock on! During
the day this is a hangout for chess players,
challenging each other and anyone that
might wander in here for a game, as every
table doubles as a chess board. One of the
best places to meet locals for a chat.
20 Bar 11Laugavegur 11
The rock hangout, be it live music
or the riff-heavy jukebox. Many of
Iceland’s rock bands are regulars.
Live music especially on weekdays,
weekends crowded till late, or
better said early in the morning.
21HressingarskálinnAusturstræti 20
The celebrated site of one of the
more famous coffeehouses in
Iceland, this bar/ coffeehouse/
restaurant brings a European flair
to the city. That is until about 11,
when things get to rockin’, and
you can see the true character of
Reykjavík.
22 PravdaAusturstræti 22
Located in the centre of Reykjavík,
Pravda is one of the larger clubs/bars
in downtown Reykjavík as it is divided
between two floors and also separately in
to the Pravda Bar and the Pravda Club.
Club section of Pravda is ideal for dancing,
with DJs playing house and techno music,
while the Bar section is somewhat more
quiet and chilled out, with occasional live
jazz and sometimes reggae. The building it
self has interesting history as the first and
only king in Iceland stayed there during
his reign back in the early 18th century.
23 Kaffi KúlturHverfisgata 18
For those who grow tired of seeing
nothing but palefaces about town, Kaffi
Kúltur might be a pleasant diversion.
During the day its something of a hangout
for the actors from the National Theatre,
just across the street, but in the evening
it is populated by both new and older
Icelanders. They have multi-ethnic food
and frequent concerts. Wednesday night
is tango night. Anyone can join in, as a
free lesson from 8-9 p.m. precedes the
tango night itself.
24 PrikiðBankastræti 12
Used to be a traditional
coffeehouse that has been around
longer than any but, after a change
of clientele, they now cater to a
younger crowd. A diner during the
day and a nightclub on weekends.
You can also borrow games there,
such as backgammon or chess.
25 RexAusturstræti 9
A favourite hangout for Kate
Winslet look-alikes. Rex is one of
the more posh hangouts, dress
code is not insisted upon, but you’ll
find yourself out of place if you’re
too casual. Also rumoured to be a
haunt for generous middle-aged
ladies.
26 ThorvaldsenAusturstræti 8
Posh as the fifth circle of hell. That
said, they make a mean Mojito. DJs
on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Arrive before 12 if you want to
avoid the queue. Theme nights
during the week, wine and cheese
on Wednesdays, Finlandia nights on
Fridays and Sunday roast on, well,
Sundays. Civilian attire is looked
down upon.
27 Gaukur á StöngTryggvagata 22
Iceland’s oldest bar is now in its
early twenties. During the day it’s a
pool pub and on weekday evenings
there are live rock concerts by a mix
of mainstream and underground
bands. On weekends there is usually
a lot of action with cover bands
playing everything from Britney to
the Beatles. Admission is sometimes
between 500-1000 weekends, but
usually its free.
28 DillonLaugavegur 30
From the I’ve-just-been-to-hell-
and-boy-am-I-pissed art on the
walls, to the hard rock on the
speakers and steady-flowing
whiskey at the bar, Dillon is vying
for the aggressive crowd.
30 Litli Ljóti Andarunginn
Lækjargata 6b
Named after the HC Andersen
fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling. The
Duckling is one of the very best
places for a quiet night, when
even on Saturday nights you can
hear what your partner is saying.
They also serve a lunch menu.a
reputation for late night partying
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As the film 101 Reykjavík by Baltasar Kormákur, and
the book on which it is based by Hallgrímur Helgason,
teaches us, you can find almost anything in this flea
market. Located down by the harbour in the same
building with customs, beyond plastic Christmas trees
and that sort of thing, they also have a good budget-
friendly priced fish market, with delicacies from salmon
to shark, offering a good possibility to taste the local
flavours. Take it easy when chewing harðfiskur, the dried,
white cod eaten as a snack by people with no sense of
smell.
Kolaportið, Geirsgata, Sat, Sun 11 – 17.
SPO
Tth
is
Kolaportið Flea Market
BA
RS
n´
BIS
TR
O
10 Te & KaffiLaugavegur 24
The downtown location for the other
big coffee importer (see Kaffitár for
the competition), Te og Kaffi boasts
the nation’s best-trained baristi,
as proven in a recent competition.
Newly situated on the sunnier side
of the street, this coffee shop has
an ideal angle for people-gazing.
Everything we’ve ever tried here is
good, especially if it has chocolate
in it.
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29 GlaumbarTryggvagata 20
One of the few proper sport bars in
Reykjavík, so you can go and watch
whatever game happens to be on
the TV screens. The establishment
is basically based around the bar,
so you won´t have to go a long way
for a drink. Open until five, and has
a reputation for late night partying
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DOWNTOWN REYKJAVIK