Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.12.2011, Blaðsíða 47

R E V I E W S
Yggdrasill • Rauðarárstíg 10
Phone: 562 4082 • Fax: 561 9299
e-mail: shop@yggdrasill.is
shop organic in Iceland
If you want to
Yggdrasill is the place to go
Yggdrasill offers a wide range of premium quality, certified organic products,
including a variety of organic fruits and vegetables. We are located down town,
next to "Hlemmur", one of the two main bus terminals in Reykjavík.
Pioneer in delivering organic products for 25 years
“It is well understood that fish is less
nourishing than meat, because it
contains no osmazome, because it is
lighter in weight, and contains less
weight in the same volume. Shell-fish,
and especially oysters, furnish little nu-
trition, so that one can eat a great many
without injury.”
-The Physiology of Taste (Brillat-Savarin)
Down the block from Fjalakötturinn,
below street-level, through the Geysir
building, nestles Sjávarkjallarinn (“The
Seafood Cellar”), formerly of fusion
but newly of the new Nordic seasonal
bandwagon.
Sjávarkjallarinn has built quite a
reputation in the years since it opened.
That reputation has formed around an
approach to fine dining that is marked
by playfulness and surprise.
In the last couple of years the tide
may have turned against the Blumen-
thals of the world—people getting
cynical about restaurants manipulating
steaks into vapours and presenting
them on teaspoons made of frozen
guava (btw, feel free to use that). But
it’s worth keeping in mind that even
when this experimentation goes off the
rails, then at least it’s in the service of
advancing their art.
There have been many revolutionary
ideas in gastronomy over last decade
and that’s a wonderful thing. After all,
we are all snobby about something—
everyone has some obscure field of
interest where they are willing to pay
exorbitant amounts for a level of quality
that is imperceptible to outsiders (how
are those gold audio cables working
out?).
The interior is dim and moder-
ately modern. Stone and black wood, a
narrow beam of light over each table.
We came in early, so we had the place
almost to ourselves.
We both ordered the five course
Christmas menu with wine (a hearty
15.900 ISK per person) because I have
a gut and, unlike those men in their 30s
who are only now putting on weight, I
have had time to get settled into my fat
and I like feeding it.
First on offer was a taster of a
double-smoked lamb tartare with
walnut mayo which we nibbled at while
wifey washed down, what she claimed,
was the best margarita she had had.
The first course was a frozen monk-
fish with celery and vinegary celeriac. A
sharp and shimmering starter, perfectly
matched with a grapefruity and almost
sparkling Sauvignon blanc from Chile.
This was followed by a pickled
herring with skate and tiny laufabrauð
(traditional Icelandic Christmas food—
crispy, thin, deep-fried cakes some-
times flavoured with caraway). Again,
perfectly matched with the Stekkjastaur
seasonal brown ale. It also came with
a shot of the birch-flavoured liquor,
which I don’t feel worked as well.
The third course came with a nice
dry Italian wine. Salted halibut cheeks
with leeks and angelica. The cheeks
were chewy as they usually are, the dish
was a little too salty and creamy but the
leeks lifted it up, rekindled my love for
the leek.
We went splitsies on the main
course—wifey had the slow-cooked
blue ling with brussel sprouts and I had
the wild goose with red cabbage, fried
apples and smoked potatoes. With it I
got a glass of the lovely Memoro special
edition wine from Piccini.
The ling was firmer thanks to the sous-
vide process but jumped off the plate.
But as good as it was, I would definitely
recommend the goose simply because it
brought tears of joy to my eye. I wanted
to roll myself up in a ball and live on
that plate. That was one tasty goose.
Dessert was a frozen rice pud with
caramel ice cream and elderberry jam.
Rice pudding is one of those universal
treats which you will find on every
single continent with mild variation.
But I prefer mine unfrozen as the des-
sert left me quite cold.
A fantastic dining experience and
we lucked out by having Gunnar Rafn
as our waiter for most of the evening,
someone who is easily one of the best
waiters I have had.
UndeR tHe Paving StoneS, tHe FiSH
RAGNAR EGILSSON
HVALREKI
What We Think: Sjávarkjallarinn
is still a major force to be
reckoned with.
Flavour: Gorgeous Icelandic-
French
Ambiance: Dim and comfy
Gallery-like without being surgical
Service: Can’t find better
Sjávarkjallarinn
Aðalstræti 2