Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.11.2011, Blaðsíða 42
F D
For your mind, body and soul
Dining In The Borg Starship
there are a lot of positive
reviews about..
the best thai food
year 2009, 2010 and 2011
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
Also TOP TEN for....
Laugavegur 130 ofan við Hlemm
ATT :
Hverfisgata 123 Tel : 588-2121
Open with new menu 11.00 am
On Friday 11.11.11
w w w.y u m m i y u m m i.n e t
www.banthai.name
A genuine Nordic 3 course feast
starting from 4.900,-
Pósthússtræti 11 101 Reykjavík Tel: 578 2008 www.silfur.is
RAGNAR EGILSSON
HVALREKI
Harpa looks a lot better on the inside,
doesn’t it? From the outside it’s a sooty
ice-cube blocking my view of my favou-
rite range of mountains. On the inside
it’s a cavernous house of mirrors with
comfortably strange angles.
Two restaurants are tucked away in
the corners. Munnharpan on the first
floor and Kolabrautin on the fourth.
Kolabrautin follows a naming tradi-
tion which may only now be taking root
in Iceland, that of naming the bar or
restaurant after the role that the loca-
tion used to serve. Resulting in names
like ‘Kex,’ ‘The Candy Shop,’ ‘The Post
Office’ or ‘That Place Where They Used
to Sell Heroin But is Now Full of Yup-
pies.’
Kolabrautin (the coal track) is
named after the track that ran along the
harbour that used to transport coals to/
from the ships back in ye olden days.
The restaurant offers a great view
over the harbour (and Þór—our awe-
some brand new coast guard vessel!). A
long open kitchen running the length
of the room and a nice stack of Italian
wines by the entrance. A little too sleek
and modern for my tastes and hardly
breaking fresh ground but tasteful
nevertheless.
I skipped the slow-cooked salmon
with dill and sour cream which has
become such a stable of New Scandi-
navian cuisine they might as well make
a flag with it. Instead I opted for the
cured goose with goose liver mousse
(boy, that’s fun to say out loud). Served
with a rhubarb jam, anise croutons and
cucumbers (3.050 ISK). The few sliv-
ers of goose were melt-in-your-mouth
perfect but the pâté bullied everything
else off the plate and offset the balance.
Good otherwise.
Wifey had the langoustine pasta
(3.250 ISK) which was a thick spaghetti
with a strong stock. Large portion,
langoustine was mushy, the pasta was
al dente in the extreme and far too salty.
I loved the little armflapping the
waitress did when she answered that
the chicken was indeed not free-range
(I felt like a right snob asking about
it). The waitress made a nice impres-
sion and the staff in general. I could
have used more information about the
dishes but the matter-of-fact attitude
and likability made up for it.
For the main course I had the fried
cod with Jerusalem artichoke, grapes,
almonds and beurre noisette (4.260
ISK). Those are five ingredients which
I love independently and was happy to
see them getting together on the plate.
The lemony, charred cod was well
cooked (and tasted fresh which is lucky
for a man ordering fish on a Sunday)
and the Jerusalem artichoke was a great
idea. But everything was smothered
in a very rich butter-sauce and served
on top of a rich cheese ravioli. Had the
butter been toned down this dish would
have worked great.
Wifey had the wood-roasted lamb
shoulder with apples, potatoes and
cauliflower (5.320 ISK). A nice, hearty,
basic N-European autumn plate. But
the same mistake as with the cod. Two
massive lumps of butter rested on the
lamb and everything was glazed and
salted into extinction. They need to take
it down a notch and add something not
too cloyingly sweet to balance out the
fat and salt.
After all this butter we decided to
split the dessert. For the dessert display
they whipped out the liquid nitrogen
which has long-since replaced the crêpe
suzette as the token dessert pyrotech-
nics. And as cynical as I’ve become
about the liquid nitrogen I must say
they did a great job. A white chocolate
and juniper cream, a blueberry and
chocolate cream, blueberry granita and
a blueberry cake (1.700 ISK) (“I heard
you liked blueberries so I put some
blueberries on your blueberries”) and
the dish was constructed at the table.
Goaaaal!
Two courses each, a bottle of wine
and a split dessert came in at 26
thousand and for that price it’s only
reasonable that expectations run high.
It’s a location well suited to romance
and a night out with sewing circle. But
the over-reliance on the salt-fat-sugar
triad should be a last resort.
Having said that I do think that in
the long run Harpa is likely to attract
an older crowd of ladies dragging their
confused husbands along to the opera
or ballet. And Scandinavian meets Ital-
A noTE on ouR RATInGs sysTEM:
Ratings run from zero to five Gs and reflect the
overall experience of the reviewer. A fast food place
will be compared to other fast food places and rated
accordingly. Note that 2.5 Gs is not a failing grade—it
means 'average'. A solid 5 Gs means 'as good as it
gets'. Zero means food poisoning. You get the idea.
WHERE's THE BEEF?
Hi. I want to try something new here in the Grapevine
food segment. It occurred to me that some of you
might have some questions about food in Iceland. So
if there's anything you're curious about, how to find
specific ingredients, restaurant information, history of
local traditions, recipes for Icelandic dishes, vegetar-
ian or free-range tips or whatever else, I will pick one
and try to answer it or ask someone who can."
ian with plenty of butter might not be
an unwise strategy for that crowd.
But a Young Turk like myself was jog-
ging palmitic acid out of his veins for
the next three days.
What We Think: Great view,
elegant, good wine selection, too
pricey, needs more new ideas and
personality
Flavour: Italian + New Scandi-
navian. Fish, lamb, pasta. Over-
reliance on butter and salt..
Ambiance: 40-99 age bracket.
Fine dining. Fancypants. A little
cold.
Service: Fun and pleasant. Could
have used more info
Kolabrautin
Harpa Concert Hall