Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.01.2007, Síða 24

Partly a sports bar, Glaumbar is also a
popular venue for live bands and DJs, but
mostly it’s just a good place to get drunk
and party. They can host private gath-
erings before midnight on weekdays,
and you would be hard pressed to get
a better deal on a keg party than here.
Glaumbar
Tryggvagata 20
Legendary Icelandic rockers have been
known to DJ at this place from time to
time, and Þröstur from Mínus has even
tended the bar. You can pretty much guar-
antee this place will be rocking any time
you walk in on a Friday or Saturday night.
Dillon
Laugavegur 30
Café, bistro, restaurant, bar – whatever
you want to call it, Kaffibrennslan is a
consistently pleasant place to go for
snacks and refreshments of whatever
variety you happen to crave. They also
have the largest selection of beers in
Reykjavík. We recommend the Cobra
and Staroprammen.
Kaffibrennslan
Pósthusstræti 9
12
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Roma, at the far end of the main street
Laugavegur, is a deli-type coffee house
offering a variety of breads, soup and
tempting cookies, cakes and other sweet
things. Their specials around lunch time
are always a bargain.
1
Café Roma
Laugavegur
Ráðhúskaffi, situated inside the Reykja-
vík City Hall, is a comfortable choice for
the view over Tjörnin (the pond). It’s es-
pecially convenient on Iceland’s so-called
‘window weather’ days – the days that
are only beautiful if you stay indoors.
Coffee, light snacks, art exhibitions, In-
ternet access, a topographic model of
Iceland and municipal politics: all conve-
niently under the same roof.
2 Ráðhúskaffi
City Hall
Grái Kötturinn (the grey cat) is a cosy
place that’s especially popular during
the morning hours. Their breakfast is
legendary, but they tend not to be open
later in the day. A great place to nurse a
hangover, or just to start the workday.
3 Grái Kötturinn
Hverfisgata 16a
Despite hosting the occasional rock con-
cert, Kaffi Hljómalind is a peaceful café
with perfect windows for people watch-
ing and a lot of daylight. It’s run by a
non-profit organisation and only serves
organic & fair-trade products. It’s strictly
a non-smoking establishment.
4 Kaffi Hljómalind
Laugavegur 21
Kaffi Mokka is one of the oldest cafés in
Reykjavík, dating back to the 1950s. Fa-
mous for their dark, smoky atmosphere,
loyal clientele and some of the best waf-
fles in town.
5 Mokka
Skólavörðustígur 3a
The name literally means “grandma’s
coffee shop,” but here you can find
people of all ages and all nationalities. It
has a very friendly, down-to-earth feel to
it. Affordable prices on coffee, cakes and
the lunch menu. Try their speciality, the
South African latte.
6 Ömmukaffi
Austurstræti
One of the youngest coffeehouses in
Reykjavík is also the homiest. Almost like
a living room away from home, Babalú
keeps it simple, quiet and cosy with cof-
fee and the occasional crêpe.
7 Babalú
Skólavörðustígur 22a
CAFÉS
This is the downtown store of one of the
country’s finest coffee importers, and the
quality of the product is as excellent as
you would expect. While anything here
is good, the speciality coffee drinks are
truly remarkable: our favourite, the Az-
teca, an espresso drink with lime and
Tabasco.
9 Kaffitár
Bankastræti 8
Italian coffee chain Segafredo seems to
be doing brisk business by Lækjartorg,
with locals and tourists alike flocking to
sip their espressos at the conveniently
placed tables outside. The staff are ex-
pert baristi, and, even though Iceland is
proud of its coffee, nobody quite tops
the Segafredo latte.
10 Segafredo
By Lækjartorg
Sólon is a nightclub on Friday and Satur-
day nights, but during the daytime it’s a
café/bistro. On weeknights they’re a res-
taurant with a decent menu as well, and
an art exhibition on the walls to finish
the package.
Known for its all you can eat fish buffet,
this restaurant/guesthouse is also a fine
place to sit down and relax with a latté
or some beer when suffering from a case
of severe hipster-burn.
12 Litli Ljóti
Andarunginn
Lækjargata 6b
Kaffibarinn has a reputation as a hang-
out for artists and others who think they
are hip. Friday and Saturday nights serve
as the weekly peaks of claustrophobia,
while weekdays and afternoons can be
comfortable, if banal.
13 Kaffibarinn
Bergstaðastræti 1
Of absolutely no relation to the trashy
culture guide, or trashy TV station that
stole its name, Sirkus is worshipped like
few other locales in Iceland. Elements of
the odd and alternative cultural institu-
tion include an upstairs that looks and
smells like a bus, a garden, a flea market
and a queue on weekend nights that
looks never-ending.
14 Sirkus
Klapparstígur 30
A very nice, old-fashioned café. It’s sub-
terranean, as all traditional coffee shops
should be, and this place makes you feel
warm, both with its atmosphere and the
generosity of the coffee refills.
8 Tíu Dropar
Laugavegur 27
11
Sólon
Bankastræti 7a
BARS 'N' BISTROS
Vegamót (crossroads) has an appealing
lunch menu, they serve brunch during
the weekends, and the kitchen is open
until 22:00 daily. After that the beat goes
on, and you can check the end results in
photos published the day after on their
website www.vegamot.is. If you like Oli-
ver, try Vegamót and vice versa.
16 Vegamót
Vegamótastígur 4
B5 is a bistro with a Scandinavian focus
on the menu. Don’t be fooled by the im-
pressive collection of design classics that
you see in the window when passing by
– it’s neither cold nor overly expensive,
but rather a cosy place with friendly ser-
vice.
17 B5
Bankastræti 5
As the Viking-style garden and logo
accurately signal, this hardcore chess
hangout is no place for the weak. Yes,
chess bars are that tough in Iceland.
Even if the downstairs atmosphere can
feel a bit ominous at times, it’s one of
the best venues for live music in town.
If you speak Icelandic you can also take
part in the pub quiz on Fridays at 17:30.
Participation is free and the winner walks
away with a case of beer!
19 Grand Rokk
Smiðjustígur 6
While the place is only open on the
weekends, Bar 11 is a popular rock bar
on Laugavegur and one of the main late-
night party venues in town. You’ll feel
the floor jumping every Friday and Sat-
urday, and it’s neither you nor an earth-
quake. Live concerts and a nice foosball
table upstairs.
20 Bar 11
Laugavegur 11
The celebrated site of one of the more
famous coffeehouses in Iceland, this bar/
café/bistro 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.
21 Hressó
Austurstræti 20
Spelled with a C rather than the Icelan-
dic K, presumably in an effort to seem
more cosmopolitan. This ploy seems to
be working, as the bar has become a
hangout for older foreigners. The Viking
ship sitting on top of the building might
also add to the appeal. The crowd is very
mixed, both in origin and age, and so is
the music.
15 Café Victor
Hafnarstræti 1-3
18
Perhaps the closest thing to a jazz club
in town, here old instruments line the
walls. People go there for conversation
and to listen to music rather than dance.
The place tends to have jazz- or blues-
type music, and is developing a blue-
grass scene.
Rósenberg
Lækjargata 2
The trendy Café Cultura is located in the
same building as the Intercultural Centre,
and has a distinct international flavour. A
good-value menu, friendly service and
settings that allow you to either sit down
and carry on discussions, or dance the
night away.
23 Café Cultura
Hverfisgata 18
Prikið has changed noticeably in charac-
ter in recent years, as it used to be an
old-fashioned and traditional downtown
coffeehouse. Somehow the younger
crowd caught on and transformed the
place to its present form: a diner during
the day and a rowdy nightclub on week-
ends. You can also borrow board games
there, such as backgammon or chess,
and it is a popular breakfast spot early
in the morning.
24 Prikið
Bankastræti 12
Pravda is one of the biggest clubs/bars in
downtown Reykjavík, situated in one of
the more ideal locations for such an in-
stitution in the city. It’s divided between
two floors, although the distinction
between the ambiance on the top and
bottom floors has faded away in recent
times.
22 Pravda
Austurstræti 22
Located in a former drugstore, Deco is an
upper-middle priced bar/bistro catering
to those who prefer elegant surround-
ings. A good choice for a light lunch or
an afternoon glass of red vine. Features
an above average whiskey selection.
26 Deco
Austurstræti 12
Kaffi Amsterdam is a cosy tavern lo-
cated in the centre of Reykjavik. Known
mostly for its rambling late-hour drinking
crowd, Amsterdam recently established
itself as a fresh new venue for the city’s
music talent.
27 Kaffi Amsterdam
Hafnarstræti 5
Ölstofan is an unpretentious, comfort-
able and straightforward place to relax.
It’s also known as a hangout for the ‘in-
tellectual’ circles of Reykjavík, as well as
some media types, the opposite of ‘intel-
lectual’ in this country. Music is almost
never played at Ölstofan – so you can
actually have a conversation.
25 Ölstofan
Vegamótastígur
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Opening its doors on New Year’s Eve, Bos-
ton is a fresh addition to the Reykjavík bar
scene. Old-school yet stylish interiors, and
enough tables to create a good vibe, the
chilled-out music makes the place a comfy
café as well as a laid-back tavern.
Open until 1am on weekdays and 3am
on weekends.
SPOT THIS: Boston
Laugavegur 28b, 101 Reykjavík, Tel.: 517 7816