Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2011, Qupperneq 25

Eyrarbraut 3, 825 Stokkseyri, Iceland · Tel. +354 483 1550
Fax. +354 483 1545 · info@fjorubordid.is · www.fjorubordid.is
At the Restaurant Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri
> Only 45 minutes drive from Reykjavík
By the
sea and
lobster
a delicios
24
there are a lot of positive
reviews about..
new....
the best thai food
year 2009 and 2010
authentic thai crusine
served in elegant surroundings
with spicy, very delicious and
reasonable prices.

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tel : 55-22-444, 692-0564
www.banthai.name
TOP TEN for....
The Best Restaurant in Iceland
DV. 17.06.11
BOSTON
BAR - SUNNY TERRACE
LAUGAVEGUR (the main street)
SKÓLAVÖRÐUSTÍGUR
HVERFISGATA
HVERFISGATA
BANKASTRÆTI
AUSTURSTRÆTI
IN
GÓ
LF
SS
TÆ
TILÆ
KJA
RG
ATA
KL
AP
PA
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TÍG
UR
VA
TN
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TÍG
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BOSTON BAR
LAUGAVEGUR 28B
TEL: 517 7816
OPENING HOURS:
MONDAY-THURSDAY 16-01
FRIDAY-SATURDAY 16-03
SUNDAY 19-01
DJʼS AND/OR LIVE MUSIC
FROM THURSDAY TO SATURDAY
SMALL KITCHEN:
ENJOY A SNACK OR LIGHT MEAL
ON THE SUNNY TERRACE
OR AT YOUR TABLE
BOSTON
28
ABOVE THE SECOND HAND SHOP
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 9 — 2011
by partying suburbanites over the
preceding weekend. Now it’s time to
try something new, to meet and greet
THE PEOPLE OF ICELAND. So it’s
time to go to the mall. PS: if you buy
something, it doesn’t count as a walk.
(2009: Laugardalur
2010: Þingholt)
Best romantic walk
Grasagarðurinn
“Lovers and f lowers, how can you go
wrong?” one of our romantic experts
commented. And we have to agree.
Although Reykjavík can be a really
romantic city given the chance, stroll-
ing lazily hand-in-hand through the
Botanical Garden while breathing in
the scent of pretty f lowers, trees and
plants, can’t fail to add some magic to
the air.
Runner-up: Hljómskálagarðurinn
scored some points here too, mostly
because the garden is empty most of
the time, and there are plenty of hid-
den corners for snogging.
(2009: Öskjuhlíð
2010: Sæbraut)
Best place to go for a
jog
Laugardalur:
Laugardalur has some very nice routes
in a peaceful and beautiful area, and
is one of few spots in Reykjavík where
the wind barely blows (what counts
for ‘barely blows’ in Iceland anyway).
A huge bonus is the Laugardalslaug
pool and its hot-dog stand, where one
can relax ones muscles in the hot-tub
and satisfy a hungry stomach after a
hearty jog.
Runner-up: Only the most hard-
core joggers will battle the hills of Mt.
Esja but anyone with a pair of runners
on can at least sprint down and feel
awesome afterwards!
(2009: Elliðaárdalur
2010: Laugardalur)
Best place to go fishing
Reykjavík harbour
You might wanna think twice before
sending out the dinner invites, but
Reykjavík harbour is definitely “the
most fun and scenic fishing spots to
be found” in the area. You might also
meet some fairly interesting characters
while dipping your bait in the water.
(2009: Elliðaárdalur
2010: Reykjavík harbour)
Best place to enjoy a
Zen moment
Húsdýragarðurinn
Stare a seal, pig or sheep straight in
the eye. Focus. Ahhh.
(2009: Reykjavík Botanical Gardens
2010: Alþingi)
Best place to cheer up
Swimming in Nauthólsvík
Stripping down to your underwear and
running into the freezing-cold North-
Atlantic might not sound very uplift-
ing, but we promise you, “the heroic
battle with the ocean will get rid of any
negative thoughts in a heartbeat” (seri-
ously, your heart will skip a beat).
Not convinced? After the swim,
relaxing in the hot-tub with some free
lukewarm coffee will surely lift your
spirit.
(2009: Húsdýragarðurinn
2010: Húsdýragarðurinn)
NIGHTLIFE
BEST OF
THE
REYKJAVÍK
2011
Best place to drink like
a pro
Kaffi Grand
Drinking like a pro. It’s all about sort
of disappearing into the void, slowly
blacking out from existence while
pondering your purported ill fortune.
Or just getting shitfaced by yourself.
You choose.
A pattern seems to be forming with
this category. We pick a place, it goes
out of business. Why is this? Maybe
because our readers and friends like to
nominate places that serve dirt-cheap
alcohol and you are not likely to meet
anyone you know? Because drinking
like a pro means drinking a lot on an
empty pocket, and drinking alone.
This is why Grand Rokk won in 2009
and this is why Live Pub won in 2010.
And this is why Kaffi Grand wins
in 2011. Hopefully they’ll stay strong.
Because we need a place to get shit-
faced every now and then.
(2009: Grand Rokk
2010: Live Pub)
Best mainstreamer bar
English Pub
Austur took the prize for ‘main-
streamer bar’ last year, but we’ve come
to realise (through countless emails
and Facebook tips) that while Austur
is maybe the place mainstreamer
heroes and celebs go to get fucked up
(the older of that crowd apparently
go to B5), English Pub is where the
mainstreamers themselves go. Even
with its LEVEL FIVE TROUBADOUR
ALERT, “English Pub is a fun place for
any Icelander or friend of Icelanders”.
Why? Because “people are there to get
drunk and talk to one another”, that’s
why. There is zero posing, and lots of
unadulterated fun (plus: unadulterated
adultery!).
(2010: Austur)
Best place to start the
night
Nýlenduvörverzlun Hemma & Valda
Still a staff favourite, still a reader
favourite; H&V’s “cosy atmosphere”,
“friendly service” and “nicely eclectic
selection of background music” have
kept them on top, right where we left
them. Pop by for a drink, wind up
somewhere with your underpants on
your head—it’s all in the game.
(2010: Nýlenduvörverzlun Hemma & Valda)
Best cheap bar
Den Danske Kro
This is tricky, because Den Danske
Kro’s list price is pretty average (and
they also rank very high on the TROU-
BADOUR ALERT scale). However,
their daily ‘happy hour’ is both very
easy on the wallet and it draws a nice
and mixed crowd of everyone you’d
like to meet (plus some people you
don’t at all want to meet, but then
that’s life).
(2009: Hemmi og Valdi)
Best all-round Bar
Bakkus
Wow. This was a strange trip. It
seems like not one commenter really
‘wanted’ to pick Bakkus (“they’ve
gone downhill”, “why is it filled with
children and hnakki-types?”, “what
happened to the... what happened to
it?”), yet they all did because... it’s “still
the best thing going” (and: “it’s where
I go to meet my friends”, “the weekday
programme is great” and “the only
place to hear decent new music”, and
“their concerts are often legendary”
and “it still fucking rules, man. It’s a
bar nice bar in a town of not so many
nice bars, people go there, what do you
expect?”). So you win again, Bakkus!
Stay fun!
Runners-up: Barbara/Trúnó (“as a
complex, it will provide the best, most
diverse times around”, “like a mall
complex of nightlife fun!”), Boston
(“not for everyone, but for those who
dig it, it’s the best”).
(2009: Karamba
2010: Bakkus)
Best club
NASA
There is not a lot of competition in this
category, but even if there were, NASA
would probably take still the prize
every time because it regularly plays
host to some legendary concerts and
club nights, and “the architecture of
the place seems to breed sheer insan-
ity and fun!” “BUT,” as one FB friend
remarked, “STAY AWAY FROM THE
BATHROOMS!”.
(2009: Jacobsen
2010: NASA)
Best newcomer bar
Faktorý
Last year, we made up this category
and called it ‘most welcome night-
life initiative’ in an attempt to heed
all those folks that had written in
urging us to celebrate what was then
Reykjavík’s only live rock music venue.
We still love Sódóma, but a new rock
venue has since opened its doors, and
it’s pretty damn great too. Faktorý isn’t
quite Grand Rokk (then again, Grand
Rokk was a very unique establish-
ment), but their live shows are usually
top notch, and it also functions fairly
well as a bar too. We are thankful for
anyone willing to put up with the city’s
rock bands and their followers, and so
we are thankful for Faktorý. Welcome!
(2010: Sódóma Reykjavík).
Best place to watch
sports over a beer
Hvíta perlan
A fine and basic menu (the burgers
are quite good), some nice happy hour
offers and a unique 3D sportswatch-
ing experience (!) ensure Hvíta Perlan
retains its place. 3D is so cool.
(2009: Bjarni Fel
2010: Hvíta Perlan)

SHOPPING
AND
COMMERC
E
BEST OF
THE
REYKJAVÍK
2011
Best place to shop for
touristy stuff
Geysir
If you need to stock up on Icelan-
dic souvenirs, Reykjavík’s centre
unfortunately now has way too many
tourist shops. Our readers agree that
the Geysir shop on Skólavörðustígur
is the most tasteful option because “it
offers way more exciting stuff than
you’ll find in any puffin-shop around”.
This nicely laid out shop offers plenty
of unique Icelandic objects and memo-
rabilia that will put a smile on any
tourist face.
Runner-up: Last year’s winner,
Handprjónasambandið, still deserves
two thumbs up for providing Iceland-
ers and their visitors with unique
and reasonably priced hand-knitted
woollen sweaters of highest quality for
decades.
(2009: Handprjónasambandið
2010: Handprjónasambandið)