Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.05.2008, Page 42

Don’t you just love it when you discover a new restaurant, one with
fair prices and good food? The kind that leaves you feeling surprised
and satisfied. Well that’s how I’m feeling now upon my return home
from Santa Maria.
This Mexican-style bistro, located at Laugavegur 22a, has just re-
cently opened its doors. The aim, the owner told me, was to create an
affordable place where one can find real Mexican food, the kind you
come a cross in an ordinary Mexican household. And that’s precisely
what they’ve done.
First it should be noted that the prices are among the lowest
I have encountered in a restaurant in Iceland. Not one course was
priced above 1000 ISK. Now many of you are probably thinking that
cheap prices equal poor food. Well a lot of times you would be right
in that assumption, but not this time.
The sheer amount of authenticity that characterises the courses
at Santa Maria is enough to make you wrong. The real taste of Mexico,
the way it’s meant to be, is what you’ll get. You won’t come across the
watered down, American versions we’re all so used to, and that is
what separates Santa Maria from all the dull and often disappointing
“Tex-Mex” places we have so many of in Reykjavik.
But on to the food. For starters, my date and I decided to share
a course of Molletes, which are bread buns with Mexican beans,
melted cheese and Pico de Gallo. It turned out to be a light, enjoyable
and surprisingly hot course. As for the main courses, we had Enchi-
ladas de Mole and Tacos Dorados de Pollo. Now for those of you who
aren’t fluent in Spanish, that translates to enchiladas with mole sauce
and fried corn tortilla with chicken. If you haven’t tried mole sauce
before you should absolutely have the enchiladas. The sauce is one
of Mexico’s oldest secrets, made from six different kinds of chillies,
various spices and chocolate. There’s just nothing like it. Both of the
dishes came with salad, onions, sour cream and cheese. And just in
case you’re wondering, they were both absolutely delicious.
Santa Maria is a wonderful addition to the restaurant flora
and fauna in Reykjavik. The food is excellent and the service is
warm and personal. Whatever the occasion, Santa Maria comes
highly recommended.
Address:
Laugarvegur 22a
101 Reykjavík
552 7775
Reviewed by
Sverrir Hjálmarsson
Santa María
Since opening its doors, Sushibarinn has become the talk of the
town among Reykjavík sushi-lovers, and for good reason 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 companion
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, insi-
de-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 hap-
pens I’m going to make the most of the little piece of Japan found at
Laugavegur 2. I hope you will too.
Sushibarinn
Address:
Laugavegur 2
101 Reykjavík
552 4444
Reviewed by
Sverrir Hjálmarsson
Photos by GAS
B10 | Reykjavík Grapevine | Issue 05 2008 | Reviews
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