Reykjavík Grapevine - 26.08.2011, Síða 55

R E V I E W S
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.
Whales are being killed to feed tourists
Don’t let your visit leave a bad taste in your mouth
2 X HOME DELIVERY
1 ÁVAXTABÍLLINN
It’s the fruit-mobile! Let’s be honest,
sometimes (all the time) the fruit selection
at Bónus leaves much to be desired, and
hauling your cookies out of 101 is way too
much work. Luckily Ávaxtabíllinn brings
the healthy produce to you. Thanks,
Ávaxtabíllinn! www.avaxtabillinn.is.

2 SHALIMAR
Ever have a hankering for Indian and
Pakistani cuisine but just can’t bring yourself
to put on shoes. We’ve all been there. For
1000 ISK, you can have said eastern cuisine
brought to your doorstep. The food is
delicious, no matter where you eat it.
www.shalimar.is.
EAT AND DRINK:
EAT AND DRINK:
3 X KIOSKS
1 RÍKIÐ
This isn’t a cramped “just the basics”
kiosk. Ríkið is spacious and stocks a wide
selection of household goods, movies and
food, including a large counter for ordering
burgers, hotdogs and the like. Snorrabraut
56
2 DREKINN
The selection, like this kiosk, is small, but it
still manages to have the bare necessities to
suit your needs – especially your snacking
needs. Rumour had it that Drekinn stocks
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, though I’ve yet
to find them there. Njálsgata 23
3 SÖLUTURNINN GRUNDARSTÍG
This Grundarstígur mainstay once sold the
cheapest cigarettes in town. Cigarette prices
have been raised in recent months, but the
pleasant memory remains. Plus this little shop
makes a pretty good hotdog and has a wide
selection of candy. Grundarstígur 12
3 X ICELANDIC HOME
COOKING
1 POTTURINN OG PANNAN
Good’ ole Icelandic home cooking, and
as much of it as you can stomach during
lunchtime hours. What makes Potturinn
og Pannan special is that it manages to not
feel like a cafeteria, as some buffets can.
Brautarholt 22
2 FLJÓTT OG GOTT
Okay, so it’s the restaurant in BSÍ, but it’s
still Icelandic home cooked meals without
the frills or embellishments of modern
restaurants. This cafeteria restaurant offers
up the staples of Icelandic home cooking;
plokkfiskur, meatballs, breaded fish, potatoes.
Good simple food. Vatnsmýrarvegur 10
3 MÚLAKAFFI
Their restaurant menu is set by the day and
offers the likes of plokkfiskur, hangikjöt tarts,
lamb chops and soups. Plus, if you’re looking
to have some quality home cooked Icelandic
fare at your next event, Múlakaffi caters!
Apparently this place has been around since
before street numbers existed. Hallarmúli
3 X PIZZA
1 GAMLA SMIÐJAN
So some former Eldsmiðjan employees
took over the space formerly occupied
by Pizzaverksmiðjan and ended up with
something pretty awesome. Gamla smiðjan
has been turning out some consistently
remarkable pizza since it opened a few
months ago. Try it. Lækjargata 8
2 SAFFRAN
Pizza with no white flour and a lot less guilt.
This healthy joint in the suburbs has a good
offering of pizzas among their other health
conscious choices. The chicken pizza, with
spinach, pine nuts and mushrooms is pretty
darn good. Álfheimar 74
3 DEVITOS PIZZA
Devitos serves up a classic greasy slice,
perfect for a quick bite of a post-bar binge.
Plus, they claim to have the cheapest
margarita pizza in town. Laugavegur 126
EAT AND DRINK:
Durum is a lunch place. It’s more than
a hole-in-a-wall, but not by much. It’s
clean and white, with some plants
strewn around the place. Some of them
herbs, some there for decoration. It’s
modern, but not too modern. It’s some-
what geared at young people, but all
kinds come there for lunch. There are
seats indoors and there are seats out-
doors, but most people take their food
elsewhere. They have Middle Eastern
cuisine as the name implies, but they
also carry paninis, smoothies and soups
of the day. It’s the type of urban lunch
place you’d find tucked away downtown-
but-not-quite of any middling-to-major
city. It’s definitely tourist-friendly, but
it’s not a tourist place as such. The staff
are not as jaded as at a chain restaurant,
but they’re not invested in the place ei-
ther. They’re vegetarian-friendly, but
vegetarians could do better.
The meal arrived quickly, but not so
quickly as to worry the customer. The
first time around I had their döner ke-
bab, which was actually quite good and
probably what I will order there from
now on. The second time I had the
chickpea veggie stew with coconut milk,
which tasted about as interesting as it
sounds but is probably good enough for
a vegetarian on a thirty-minute lunch
break I suppose.
What I’m getting at is that it’s not the
kind of place there’s much to say about.
And in this case I don’t think that’s such
a bad thing, even. The chimerical menu
means a loss of focus and uneven re-
sults. I had some sandwich there a while
back that I didn’t feel like finishing, but
I can’t remember what it was. But I
didn’t mind as it freed up more space on
the table to spread out the newspaper.
The name is a little misleading I
guess—as it gives the impression it’s
a North-African place. But it’s a defi-
nite improvement over the old name:
“MMMM”, about which the less I say
the better.
I don’t mind Durum. May it be
around for however long it needs to be
around.
A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE
RAGNAR EGILSSON
JULIA STAPLES
What We Think: Durum makes
a pretty good kebab but mostly
it’s a clean, well-lighted place for
when that’s all you need
Flavour: North-African-Italian-
Smoothie
Ambiance: The WiFi works well
Service: Distracted but polite
Durum
Laugavegur 42, 101 Reykjavík