Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.06.2011, Side 55

F D
For your mind, body and soul
Iceland’s
Restaurant of the year
2009 & 2010
by the Nordic Prize
Nordic House Sturlugata 5 101 Reykjavik tel. +354 552 1522 www.dillrestaurant.is Open for lunch every day from 11.30 and for dinner wednesday to sunday from 19.00.
Since opening, I was apprehensive to
do more than peek into the window of
a downtown restaurant reduced to the
lowest common denominator, which
might be expected if it were attached
to a petrol station and 200 km from
the next watering hole, but this is
Laugavegur, Iceland’s main shopping
street and there is nothing to entice me
to walk through the front door except
a sign that reads “Tasty: smakkast
betur”. I was not even certain that food
was actually being served yet, since the
place was dark and empty, but to my
chagrin, a tug on the door revealed that
Tasty was open for business. Now, I
was going to let this experience simmer
until the next issue, but I have a feeling
that Tasty may not be around that long.
This place is in serious trouble. I hope
the two employees have a back up plan,
or maybe a plot involving mutiny.
Opening its doors just months ago,
the owner solicited us insisting that
Tasty was ready for review. Seriously?
Then this place is in deeper water
than I thought; a kitchen nightmare
desperately in need of a Gordon
Ramsay fix. Listen, I will save you the
humiliation and address the obvious.
Heed my advice: a restaurant is a
labour of love. Owners just starting out
should be involved with every detail of
the operation. Wake up, break a sweat,
or give up and stay at home.

First, reconsider the name and slogan
“smakkast betur” (“tastes better”).
Better? Better than what?
Second: Know the business you are
really in: Food + Ambiance + Service =
Experience.
I walk into a lifeless dungeon of
dismal music, sit at a sticky plastic table
and feel compelled to order a beer. The
server says the alcohol order did not
come this weekend. You are located
downtown and have no excuse for three
days of an unstocked bar. Change the
menu, or send someone to the shop.
Next, I order the marinated leg of lamb
served with ciabatta, mushrooms,
grand salad, and a side of fries (1.800
ISK). I am served what appears to be
a burger on a burnt Bónus bun and a
bowl of fries. The photograph is a bit
too generous. Perhaps it should have
shown the gristled excuses of lamb
bits inside or soggy sponge of the bun
below. At least the mushrooms were
good. The server never saw or heard of
ciabatta bread. When confronted with
the piece of burger lettuce I was served,
the cook made good on the grand salad.
Apparently this business venture
was approached without any industry
experience. Enrol in a course or do
some research. Go dine at other
restaurants! Why is their formula
working? Obviously you are not
interested in upscale dining, and that is
fine, but you can afford a bit of charm
and still keep the prices low. Look
around at the fast casual market and
ask what differentiates your burger
experience from your neighbours’? I
can walk three blocks and have one of
the finest burgers in town for the same
price. Why should I return for a soggy
potluck and some frozen fries? Cutting
a fresh potato into chips is cheap and
easy and could be a starting point. You
also have location to your advantage,
now follow up with ambiance.
I am so bored with this opportunist
mentality of seeking a harvest without
ploughing. If you want to make money,
then import the next portable sauna or
trampoline craze to Iceland and stay
out of the kitchen. A restaurant should
be opened out of passion and not profit.
As the old joke goes: the quickest way
to get a million krónur in the restaurant
business is to start with two million.
“Why should I return for a soggy potluck and some frozen fries?”
MADELEINE T
MADELEINE T
Tasty
Laugavegur 60