Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.11.2007, Blaðsíða 22

Since opening its doors six weeks ago, Sushibarinn has fast become
the talk of the town among Reykjavík sushi-lovers, and for good rea-
son as their rolls are among the best in the city.
The whole setting inside the small bar makes for a good fusion
between oriental tradition and the somewhat more familiar settings
of the West. All the staff wear traditional Japanese robes and the
stylish and warm interior gives you a feeling of being somewhere
else than in Reykjavik, Iceland. This feeling became even stronger
when I was greeted by an English-speaking chef with a German ac-
cent. While we waited for our food I enjoyed taking in the scenery,
especially the view coming from a TV-monitor in one of the corners.
It was showing what I’m sure must be the Japanese version of Power
Rangers, only this one is much better.
For starters we had miso soup and seaweed salad. I had never
tried miso soup before and to be honest I didn’t like it. But my com-
panion for the evening assured me that it was very good and since
she has more experience than me in this field I’m going to take her
word for it. The seaweed salad on the other hand was deliciously
fresh and exotic. Our next course was the “best for one” dish which
consisted of twelve different kinds of sushi. We got Nigiri rolls, small
rolls, inside-out rolls, battleship sushi and so on. The mix changes
from day to day depending on the availability of fresh ingredients.
Next the waiter brought us six pieces of salmon uramaki (inside-out
rolls). As expected they were delicious. Last but not least we were
served minke whale tatake which came with ginger, mustard and
dipping sauce which had a liquorice taste to it. It was so good that
I’m sure that if we gave it to Paul Watson he would abandon his
ridiculous crusade and become a whale hunter.
It has always been a dream of mine to visit Japan, but until
that happens I’m going to make the most of the little piece of Japan
found at Laugavegur 2. I hope you will too.
Address:
Laugavegur 2
101 Reykjavík
Tel.: 552 4444
Reviewed by
Sverrir Hjálmarsson
Sushibarinn
Vox restaurant is located on the first floor of the Hilton Reykjavík
Nordica hotel on Suðurlandsbraut. It is actually a two-for-one kind
of package, with a less formal bistro operation in the front of the
large dining room, separated from the more elegant and official Vox
Restaurant by a huge glass room that serves as a wine cellar. On this
visit, we dined at the more casual bistro, which has its own separate
menu.
The menu is divided into light courses and main courses. The
light courses range from around 1000 to 1600 ISK and include dishes
such as Icelandic meat soup and Nordic tapas, with more traditional
light dishes such as chicken and Caesar salad available as well. The
main courses are in the 1600 to 3000 ISK price range, with beef ten-
derloin topping the chart at 2990 ISK. Considering the attentive and
professional service, the quality of the food, and the prestigious Hil-
ton affiliation, the prices are surprisingly low.
We started with dishes from the light course menu; chicken,
served in tempura with basil and ruccola for my date, and classic
Icelandic meat soup for yours truly. The chicken fell somewhere be-
tween the unsurprising and the indifferent, but the meat soup was
instantly placed in the category reserved for extremely tasty and
memorable meat soups. Although sparse in ingredients, the clear
meat soup was rich in flavour and free from the oily residue of lamb
fat that sometimes ruins the pleasure of this popular Icelandic dish.
For a main course, she ordered the beef tenderloin, while I se-
lected another Icelandic traditional favourite: lamb chops. The beef
tenderloin was an instant success. Served with fries and béarnaise
sauce, it was both tender and tasty, and the portion surprisingly
hefty. The lamb chops followed strict guidelines, perfected through
the decades by Icelandic housewives, served with brown sauce and
browned potatoes. It passed the test with flying colours.
With little stomach room to spare, we decided to share a choc-
olate cake for desert. That proved to be a mistake – it was far too
good to share.
Vox Bistro / Restaurant
Address:
Suðurlandsbraut 2
108, Reykjavík
Tel.: 444 5050
Reviewed by
Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
Photo by GASPhoto by GAS
B10 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 17 2007 | Reviews