Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.01.2007, Blaðsíða 27

Grái Kötturinn (The Grey Cat) a tiny and dark coffee
place in the City Centre, takes you back decades in
time. Somewhat of a refuge away from the bustling
city, it’s located in a basement at Hverfisgata, right
opposite the National Theatre of Iceland. With its an-
tique furniture, and loads of books lining the shelves,
the homelike, relaxed atmosphere and the opening
hours being from seven in the morning, makes Grái
Kötturinn the early bird’s favourite. Serving the break-
fast special until 10:00, including home-baked bread,
bagels and toast and various versions of European and
American brunch until afternoon. If you’re especially
hungry, order The Truck, a rich portion of eggs, bacon
and American pancakes with fried potatoes, tomatoes,
butter, syrup and toast and of course a strong cup of
coffee or tea and orange juice. That should provide
plentiful energy to last almost the whole day.
Nothing really beats sitting by the window of Grái
Kötturinn with a strong espresso, a fine bagel and all
three, or wait, four newspapers, at your table, watch-
ing the traffic start to flow up and down Hverfisgata in
the morning. Mostly due to its location, it is extremely
popular among actors working at the National The-
atre, but bohemians, filmmakers, students and office
workers are all amongst regulars as well. Even hungry
party people arriving in groups on weekends, mak-
ing the coffee place with its legendary breakfast a
final destination before heading home after a night
out. Note, it is good advice to arrive early if you are in
desperate need for morning fuel, as the place fills up
pretty quickly early on.
It truly is a coffeehouse like no other in Reykjavík.
First of all, it opens its doors to all its regulars when a
large portion the city is still fast asleep. Second, with
only six tables, it is most likely you won’t be disturbed
by too many customers when it’s almost too early in
the morning to function and you just want to drink
your morning coffee and read the newspapers in
peace and quiet. And, this is the main reason it gets
the honour of being Bezt í Heimi, it serves the best
freakin’ tuna salad bagel in the whole country. I chal-
lenge everyone who disagrees to recommend a better
place for a tuna bagel, or better yet, bring one to our
office any time!

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 7-15.
BEZT Í HEIMI: Grái kötturinn
RVK_GV_INFO_ISSUE 01_007_BEZT Í HEIMI_B9
Hverfisgata 16a, 101 Reykjavík, Tel.: 551 1544
Text by Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
upcoming concerts
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“One of Europe’s
finest ensembles.”
- BBC Music Magazine
tickets sold at www.sinfonia.is or tel. 545 2500
All concerts take place in Háskólabíó unless otherwise noted.
fl group is the main sponsor of
the iceland symphony orchestra
THursdAy, January 18th @ 7.30
mozart and bruckner
Conductor ::: Petri sakari
soloist ::: Judith Ingólfsson
W. A. Mozart ::: Violin Concerto no. 5
Anton Bruckner ::: symphony no. 7
THursdAy, January 25th @ 7.30
dark music days
Conductor ::: roland Kluttig
soloists ::: Guðrún Birgisdóttir,
Martial Nardeau
Örlygur Benediktsson ::: A new piece
Karólína Eiríksdóttir ::: Concerto f. two flutes
Erik Mogensen ::: rendez-vous
Herbert H. Ágústsson ::: Concerto breve
THursdAy, February 8th @ 7:30PM
nordic music
Conductor ::: rumon Gamba
soloist ::: Lilya Zilberstein
Jón Leifs ::: Galdra Loftur, Overture
Edvard Grieg ::: Piano Concerto
Jean sibelius ::: symphony no. 2
THursdAy, March 1st @ 7:30PM
beethovens’ eroica
Conductor ::: Lawrence renes
soloist ::: Gunnar Kvaran
Hector Berlioz ::: Le Corsair, overture
John speight ::: Cello Concerto
Ludwig van Beethoven ::: symphony no. 3
sATurdAy, March 10th @ 3:00PM
family concert
Conductor ::: Berharður Wilkinson
Benjamin Britten ::: young Persons’ Guide
to the Orchestra
THursdAy, March 15th @ 7:30PM
russian giants
Conductor ::: rumon Gamba
soloists ::: Tatiana Monogarova
sir John Tomlinson
Igor stravinsky ::: Fireworks
sergei rackmaninov ::: Isle of death
dimitri shostakovich ::: symphony no. 14
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