Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.11.2009, Qupperneq 21

F D
For your mind, body and soul
Eat and drink like the locals
at the original Icelandic Bar, the home of nostalgia
Lobster Lamb Whale Puffin Wild game
Pósthússtræti 9 101 Reykjavík Tel: 578 2020 info@icelandicbar.is
RESTAURANT
BAR & TAKE AWAY
OPIÐ TIL 22:00
sushismiðjan
FYRIR2 1AF MATSEÐLI
MÁNUDAGA-FIMMTUDAGA
Garðurinn (‘Ecstasy’s Heart Garden’) is
a small family run vegetarian restaurant,
calm and serene enough to make even
our conversation about movie classics
Anonymous Rex and Mega Shark vs.
Giant Octopus seem spiritual.
The owners spend their time
more virtuously, practicing meditation
together with the staff of the health
shop next door and following the
principles of Sri Chinmoy—a Bangladesh
born meditation guru whose thoughts
and obituaries are also available for
lunch reading. Faithful to Chinmoy’s
principles, neither meat nor alcohol is
on offer, and the TV screens a strict diet
of relaxation tapes.
The menu is simple—a soup (650
ISK for half a portion / 900 ISK for a full
one) and a portion of the day (900 /
1.450 ISK), or a shared dish-soup set for
1.500 / 2.200 ISK.
On our visit, the soup was basil
and the portion of the day lentil lasagne.
I ate my two male dates under the table,
trying both soup and lasagne, while
they were perfectly stuffed on just the
lasagne.
The soup had fresh basil with
celery and carrots, heavy thick stock
and a homey, slightly yogic vibe—decide
for yourself if that is a good quality or
not.
The lasagne came with a side
salad of good rucola and less appealing
oily, crunchy carrots. It was thick and
hearty comfort food for autumn lunches
and Airwaves hangovers (though I’m
sure you all know what Chinmoy might
have thought about those), but the
flavours were slightly blunt. While I
adore Garðurinn’s eclectic idea, healthy
food need not mean less delicious
food—often quite the contrary. A good
example of this was pudding, a raw
health ball (heilsukúlur) with mixed dry
fruit rolled in sesame seeds for all its
organic and spelt ingredients: delicious
and big enough to feed the three of us.
- SARI PELTONEN
Food For Thought
GRAPEVINE FOOD REVIEW KEY
0 God-awful
Awful
Passable. Much room for improvement
Good, but not great.
Really rather good
Extraordinary
The food is rated in three categories:
Fast food: Pizza, pylsa and kebab, food on
the go (0-2000 ISK)
Mid-range: Everyday eateries, sit-in. (mains
2000-4000 ISK)
Fine dining: Fancy, expensive-type food.
(3-course dinners 6000 and up)
To best judge the restaurant experience,
the Grapevine conducts its reviews anony-
mously. The sole exception is the payment
method: When the bill arrives, the reviewer
presents a written statement, previously
signed by the restaurant management,
allowing the reviewer and one companion a
meal on the house for review purposes.
Using this approach, we aim to best
preserve the reviewer’s objectivity (and the
restaurants’ consistency), within the humble
means of a free newspaper.
The Grapevine does not favour foie gras
over fast food. Restaurants are reviewed
for what they are; both burger and beluga
can be extraordinary in their own right.
In all evaluations, the food is key: Does it
taste good? Is it properly prepared? Are
the ingredients fresh and of high quality?
Secondary considerations include setting,
service and value for money.
All opinions expressed are the critic’s
own. SP
R E V I E W S
Flavour: Healthy
Ambiance: Calm
Service: Friendly
Garðurinn
Klapparstígur 37
What we think: Interesting
concept, healthy food
SHOP ANd EAT:
INdIAN, HEALTHY, CAKE!
3 X INDIAN
1 SHALIMAR
A firm favourite among the Grapevine staff
for years, Shalimar’s old slogan “Where hot
means hot,” still bears some truth to it.
Austurstræti 4
2 AUSTUR-INDÍA FéLAGIÐ
Austur-Indía Félagið has been the crème de
la crop of Icelandic-Indian restaurants for the
past 15 years. And if Harrison Ford likes it, it
must be good. Reservations recommended.
Hverfisgata 56
3 AUSTURLANDA HRAÐLESTIN
A take away chain with brilliant Indian.
Everything on the menu is good, Tandoori
Lamb and Tikka Masala downright great.
Several locations, see www.hradlestin.is
Hverfisgata 64a
3X HEALTHY
4 MAÐUR LIFANDI
The organic market on Borgartún has a great
selection including fresh fruit and veg. There
is also a lunch restaurant with dish and soup
of the day.
Borgartún 24
5 FRÚ LAUGA
A rare treat on the island—a farmers market
stocking products of the season. Located
in Laugardalur, open Wednesdays through
Saturdays. Doors are open 12-6pm, but go
early—the store gets busy and the goods
go quickly. For information on new batches,
check them on Facebook.
Laugalækur 6
6 JURTAAPÓTEK
A herbal pharmacy with a huge selection of
all kinds of natural remedies. A great place
to pick up Icelandic herbs such as angelica,
yarrow and Icelandic moss—or the topical hit-
product mimír, which at 2140 ISK could help
to counter even the swiniest of flues.
Laugavegur 2
2X CAKE!
7 SÚFISTINN
Home-made monster cakes—think meringue,
chocolate and immense sugar rushes. Star of
the moment is the all-Icelandic granola cake.
Iða bookstore, Laekjargata.
8 SANDHOLT
Passion cheese cake to die for, plus a good
assortment of buns, rolls, chocolate and ice
cream to drool over. Sandholt is a good bet
for stocking up ahead of a picnic in the park.
Laugavegur 36
For full restaurant and food listings and venue
finder visit www.grapevine.is for detailed
information.