Reykjavík Grapevine - 17.06.2011, Qupperneq 55

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.
Tis the season I am usually consuming
a heavy dose of fine art washed down
by the afternoon spritz and evening
prosecco of a Venetian piazza. Alas,
I must pass on the Venice Biennale
this year and make do with the
extents of my backyard. For art, I
view a nice exhibition at gallery i8 by
former Biennale heavyweight Kristján
Guðmundsson. A worthy exhibition
deserves to be followed up by proper
Italian dining, and uno was just around
the corner.
Uno opened its doors early this year
boasting to be capobranco, and based
on the menu, it seemed like the cuisine
might be as close as I will get to Italy
this summer.
Something must be abuzz at Uno. It
was only around six on a Friday evening
when my guest and I were turned
away from a near empty restaurant.
The hostess scanned the dining room
before remarking that a table would
not be open for at least three hours.
Two thirds of the restaurant was empty,
and Uno cannot accommodate a two
top until after nine? The books might
be full, but when your dining room is
barren at six, there is always room for
a couple walking in off of the street.
This is the bread and butter of the
restaurant business. Learn to turn your
tables or juggle your books. This is
not exclusivity, it is incompetence. We
hesitantly make reservations for the
same time the following evening.
The scenario is similar. A near
empty restaurant, yet we are packed
in like sardines with the other
guests. We are rushed to order food
before we are offered the chance
to order aperitifs, and once we do,
the chronic interruptions from the
server’s predatory circles prevented
any conversations from fruition.
Embarrassed or impatient, perhaps
she took the hint that we preferred
to dine in peace. She relinquished
control of our table to a less tenacious
young lad. Our service improved, but
our experience was heading toward
oblivion. My first course of deep-fried
lobster was cold, my beef carpaccio
was without taste, and my bruschetta
never arrived. I had yet to receive a hot
dish. From the sound of the cooks on
the front line, the wheels were about to
come off a less than full dining room.
Bells were ringing, voices were yelling,
and food was being auctioned off. Oh,
here comes my slow cooked Lamb Osso
Bucco. Miserably cold. I was counting
on this dish to be the saving grace of
the evening. It is rather hard to botch
a lamb that cooks all day, unless you
are cooking it at room temperature or
forgot to turn on the oven.
Why did I set my expectations so
high? Was it the hype in the menu about
scouring Italy for the perfect risotto?
Was it the authentic sounding dishes?
Of course, if one is going to spend
22.000 ISK on a casual dinner for two,
the bar is slightly raised. This really felt
like it was going to be Iceland’s premier
Italian restaurant, yet it fails like Olive
Garden. At least the grappa was good.
I would like to return when Uno
is properly staffed, and with someone
capable managing the front of the
house, as the kitchen seems to have
good intentions. But in the mean time
there is a lot of polishing to do.
At Least The Grappa Was Good
MADELEINE T
MADELEINE T
R E V I E W S
UNO cucina italiana
Hafnarstræti 1-3
Whales are being killed to feed tourists
Don’t let your visit leave a bad taste in your mouth