Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.06.2012, Page 50

F D
For your mind, body and soul
On a windy Reykjavík afternoon I en-
tered the romantic harbour haunt Höf-
nin (The Harbour). Little did I know
that 90 minutes later I would end up
anchored at the marina by a restaurant
slyly infusing me with butter and glaze.
There has been quite a lot of drama
at Höfnin over the past year. After jetti-
soning the previous chefs—members of
the Icelandic National Culinary Team—
they have brought in a New Zealander to
the helm. Finally, we seem to be experi-
encing a sense of stability by the decep-
tively still waters of the marina.
Höfnin is going for a Bretagne sea-
side flavour of mussels, beer and but-
ter in the bucolic surroundings of dry
docks and whale tour kiosks. The wine
selection isn’t anything to call home
about (not that it matters—we ordered
the white of the day and a Tuborg Clas-
sic), but at least you are provided with
your own plate and butter knife for fresh
bread, which is surprisingly uncommon
in Icelandic restaurants.
For the first course we ordered the
lamb prime in breadcrumbs with a mus-
tard-pecan dressing (2,790 ISK) and the
beef burger with a white mould cheese
and mashed potatoes (2,390 ISK). The
lamb was brilliant; it was fatty but juicy,
tender and bleeding beautiful. They
serve massive portions, so be aware that
their small bistro courses are too gener-
ous to qualify as appetizers. The beef
burger was a let down; it was a meatball
with capers shipwrecked on a sea of but-
tery mashed potatoes that tasted suspi-
ciously powdered. A few days later at the
truck stop diner Múlakaffi I had a better
beef burger with mashed potatoes at half
the price. This dish needs to go.
For the main course my date had
the karfi (redfish) in a lemon crust with
an herb salad...and shrimp salad (2,950
ISK). I had the bucket of beer-boiled
Breiðafjörður mussels with three types
of sauces (dill, mustard and butter-gar-
lic) and French fries (3,990 ISK).
The redfish, like the beef burger,
didn’t live up to my expectations. While
not terrible, I was disappointed to see
Icelandic redfish, which tastes wonder-
ful when fresh, processed this aggres-
sively. It’s a fish that responds well to
gentle touches, so this whole layout
makes me suspicious. The shrimp salad
was completely superfluous, though I
should note that my date quite liked it.
The mussels, on the other hand, were
completely brilliant. Not only were they
perfectly coloured and packed with fla-
vour, but also they must have been the
largest damn mussels I have ever seen
in my life. I’m serious; they were the
size of bell peppers. They were comi-
cally huge. My suspicion is that these
are bioengineered monsters that have
been taught to hunt seals for sustenance
to fatten them up. And here those death-
shells lay suspended, boiled in beer and
served with mustard, dill and French
fries. And I could taste the screaming
seals on their sexually suggestive lips.
We topped it off with a split dessert,
the chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet,
chocolate ganache and marshmallows
(1,990 ISK). More interesting than it
sounds, the sorbet was sweetly packed
with raspberry flavour and the ganache
was delicious, but closer to a fudge
brownie. All of it was very dainty and
carefully arranged, although the presen-
tation was a little out of character with
the rest of the menu.
So I ate. And I ate. And I ate until my
belt gave out and my pork belly spilled
out over my trousers like a mutated
muffin top. I truly put the ton in glut-
tony that day. I had to cover my face in
shame and watered the lemon wedges
with tears of disgrace. Höfnin is variably
good across the board, but I can’t say I
didn’t leave any less than content, and I
could see myself going there again.
Did I mention that those mussels
were big?

RAGNAR EGILSSoN
ALÍSA KALYANoVA
No Quarter To The Seal-Eating Mussels!
What We Think: Romantic
seaside restaurant with a focus
on seafood. It has potential to be
excellent but is brought down by
an uneven menu. Some of it is top
notch, some of it is below deck.
Flavour: Bretagne by way of
Iceland. Heavy on the seafood
and shellfish, but lamb, beef and
chicken on offer. Could benefit
from a simplified menu.
Ambiance: Wedged by the win-
dow between two groups of busi-
nessmen I can’t say I loved the
discussion of profit margins, but
the set-up is in many ways ideally
suited to a romantic night out.
Service: Two servers. One was
anxious and looked like he was
still finding his feet and stared at
me in stark terror. The other was
professional, friendly and knowl-
edgeable.
Price: (2 people with drinks):
18–20,000 ISK (Children from 5–12
years old get 50% off all courses).
Höfnin/The Harbour
Geirsgata 7c, 101 Reykjavík