Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2011, Page 37

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36
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 9 — 2011
special | Best Of Reykjavík - Institutions
Jómfrúin: Where you Go for lunch
I admit I'm not really familiar with the
concept of Danish smørrebrød, the
open-faced sandwiches that are a part
of the nation's character. To me, a sand-
wich involves edible stuff between two
slices of bread, not one, and are more
about taste than appearance. Jómfrúin,
the first restaurant to sell these famed
sandwiches in Iceland, has proven me
wrong.
Located on Lækjargata, you can
walk past there any given lunchtime
and see the dining room packed with
guests. They get plenty of regulars, too,
and will likely make some new ones. So
how did such a specialised restaurant
come to be?
I spoke with owner Jakob Jakobsson
about the origins of Jómfrúin. Living in
Copenhagen in the early ‘90s, he origi-
nally intended to become a chef, but
the recession made this an impossibil-
ity. So instead, he got a job at Ita Da-
vidsson, a restaurant well-known for its
smørrebrød. After working there three
years, he decided to bring the concept
to Iceland.
“Due to our special connection with
Denmark”, he told me, “there are plenty
of Icelanders who are familiar with the
Danish open-faced sandwiches, but
there were no restaurants selling them.
We opened in 1996, and the positive re-
sponse really surprised me”.
“So, let's say I stroll into your restau-
rant, with no idea what smørrebrød is”,
I asked. “What do you recommend I try
first, if you could pick only one dish?”.
To this, Jakob's answer was immedi-
ate: the fried plaice on dark bread with
tartar sauce, shrimp, smoked salmon,
asparagus and dill. Just hearing the de-
scription was enough to sell me.
Jómfrúin recently expanded their
hours to be more in keeping with the
shops in the area—now open until
18:00, you used to be out of luck if you
went there after 15:00. Why the reluc-
tance to expand the hours, if the place
is so popular? “Traditionally, smørre-
brød is what you have for lunch. You
don't eat something like this for dinner.
We wanted to stick with the tradition”.
While Jómfrúin has no plans to ex-
pand, despite offers to open branches
in London and New York, they do have
a spin-off place, Munnharpan, which is
a coffeeshop/bar located on the first
floor of Harpa, and run by Jakob's son.
We would also be remiss if we didn't
mention that since 1996, Jómfrúin has
hosted live jazz concerts every Satur-
day afternoon from 15:00–17:00, lo-
cated behind the establishment (during
summer).
Jómfrúin may be a Danish import,
but it's a restaurant that's 100% an Ice-
landic institution.

Jómfrúin
Lækjargata 4, 101 E4
PAul fonTAine
JuliA sTAPles
Getting wasted on some schnapps at Jómfrúin is all
kinds of fun! Try it out sometime!