Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.07.2010, Page 31

EAT AND DRINK:
3 X SWEET TREATS
1 SUZUSHII (KRINGLAN)
Ice Cream Reykjavík is loaded with tonnes
of great ice cream shops all over town,
like the classic Ísbúð Vesturbæjar in the
Westside of town, and Ísbúð Íslands out
near Kringlan, but you can also just pop
into the closest corner shop for a frozen
treat on a stick. Don’t let the cool summer
temperatures fool you—it’s always great
2 WAFFLES
The classic pastry served up with rich, fluffy
whipped cream is a quintessential Icelandic
indulgence for the sweet-toothed. Such a
staple you can get it around the clock, we
recommend Tíu Dropar in the daytime, and
why not try an extra-greasy one at night at
the Waffle Wagon on Lækjatorg.
3 BLAND Í POKA – CANDY DAY!
Every Saturday, shops all over Iceland let you
go buck wild at the candy station and mix
every kind of candy you want for the same
price (usually they differ). It’s the perfect
chance to go stock up on gummies and lollies
and sample all sorts of sugary delights.
3 X BURGER DEALS
1 OFFER OF THE CENTURY
(BúLLAN)
This offer at the Grapevine’s two-time best
burger winner really is impassable. You get a
slam-dunk 120-gram burger cooked just right
and loaded with sauce, a basketful of crisp
salty fries and a soda for 1.290 ISK. Which is a
pretty good deal.
2 HAMBURGER DEAL (VITABAR)
Truly a deal for the ravenously hungry, Vitabar
serves up a big, sloppy, meaty burger that
even the purist hands-on burger eater will
consider using a fork and knife on. The fries
on the side are nice and crunchy and clearly
made of real potatoes, and a coke on the side
washes it down all for a measly 1.000 ISK!
Now this is an offer!
3 CHEESEBURGER & COKE (KEBAB
HOUSE)
No fries on this one, but for just 700 ISK, who
can complain? Kebab House on Austurstræti
started having killer deals on cheeseburgers
and soda a few months ago and they have
been making our summers great with this
offer. Ask for your cheeseburger with kebab
sauce, it’s somethin’ else.
3 X CHEAP DATES
1 AMERICAN STYLE
Despite the name, there is nothing American
at all about these burgers. But if you’re into
that whole nostalgic teenage thing, there’s
really something cute and charming about
sharing a burger and shake at this restaurant
chain. It’s totally Archie comics.
2 NúðLUHúSIð
Maybe not the highest echelon of Thai food
in town, but definitely the best bang for your
buck, and the setting is really cosy too. Sitting
in the sunroom deck of the second-floor
restaurant is a great place to hide and chat
quietly with that special someone.
3 BÆJARINS BESTU
Getting a hot-dog for someone you love is
true romance. If you can make it work here,
it’s meant to last!
A Surprising Surprise
When we last reviewed Rauðará, way
back in 2008, we remarked that the “most
positive part of the Rauðará experience is
not really the food itself, but the positively
comfortable settings it is served in.” Not
much has changed.
The mood at Rauðará is really, really
nice. It’s the kind of place you take a
lover or business associate to close a
deal. Moodily lit, the restaurant is located
inside an old brewery where they used to
make beer during The Great Icelandic
Beer Prohibition of the 20th century.
Once sat in this comfortable
environment, we decided to opt for the
six-course ‘Chef’s Surprise’, wherein the
chef is meant to “surprise you with his
six course menu, made from the freshest
ingredients available.” The course is only
available for the whole table, and is priced
at 9.900 ISK per person. We furthermore
chose to let the sommelier select wines to
accompany the meal for an additional fee
of 6.500 ISK/person.
The feast started off with a serving of
grilled salted cod (baccalao) with a side of
tomato and date paste. This competent,
if unremarkable, dish was a fine start
to our meal. The grilled cod was tender
and juicy, and the tomato paste was a
conventionally tasty accompaniment.
With this, we enjoyed a nice glass of
spicy French white wine courtesy of the
sommelier, which accompanied the dish
quite well.
Next up was a lobster soup with
langoustine, accompanied by another
glass of white wine. The soup was a
tasty broth that was fortunately free of
the creamy wheat trappings of many
Icelandic lobster soups. We were rather
pleased, but the small, overcooked pieces
of langoustine within it put somewhat of
a damper on the experience.
Our third course was a clear winner
in my book. Carpaccio is always a fine
dish, but the accompanying sugar coated
nuts, rucola and truffle mayonnaise really
set it beyond and made it special. I could
well imagine venturing to Rauðará just
to enjoy their beef carpaccio. For sure.
The accompanying glass of red was nice
enough.
The fourth course of was notable by
its absence. We did not get it, and neither
did we get the fourth glass of wine to go
along with it (I am only guessing it was
the fourth course we didn’t get. It might
have been the second or third one for all I
know).
Selling a six-course menu that consists
of five courses is pretty odd, we reckon.
Take that as you will.
After a tasty dish of absolutely nothing,
we were presented with the evening’s
main course, “grilled beef tenderloin with
red wine glazed pearl onions, fondant
potato and wild mushroom sauce.” The
beef was cooked to perfection, really:
tender, moist, succulent and bloody,
with the sides adding a heavy undertone
to the meal. The serving was large too,
so large in fact that we had problems
finishing it. Alongside the main course,
the sommelier served a large glass of
Argentinian Intis Malbec, which was a
nice enough match, but possibly odd as
part of a “sommelier selects” experience.
Lastly, we received a double dessert of
vanilla pannacotta with fresh berries and
biscotti, along with homemade ice cream.
Both were really good, although it seemed
odd that they would serve us two dessert
dishes. Perhaps one of them was the
mysteriously absent sixth course?
We left the place with mixed feelings.
Rauðará
Rauðarárstígur 37
What we think: Competent
but unremarkable
Flavour: ‘Classic Restaurant’. In a
good way
Ambiance: Moody, candle-lit,
nice, calming
Service: Friendly and
accommodating
hverfisgata 10
tel. 5800 101
101hotel@101hotel.is
www.101hotel.is
gravad lax with herbs and potato salad
grilled fillet of lamb with fennel,
ratte potatoes, zucchini and
rosemary-redwine sauce
blueberry „skyr” and nemesis
chocolate cake with whipped
cream and berries
4900 isk/31 euro
The kitchen is open daily from 7am until 11pm
and the bar is open until midnight on weekdays
and 1am on weekends.
101 nordic menu