Reykjavík Grapevine - 10.08.2012, Page 66

Whales are being killed to feed tourists
Don’t let your visit leave a bad taste in your mouth
F D
For your mind, body and soul
R E V I E W S R E V I E W S
We were staying at the Laugarvatn Edda
hotel and decided to start the day with
a visit to the breakfast buffet. Why? Be-
cause they had waffles, that’s why. Waf-
fles break down all my defences.
And then, as I’m on vacation, I de-
cided to order a post-waffleganza beer
because I roll Belgian like that. They had
some problems with the pump and since
it was a beautiful day I wandered out-
side and lay down in the grass. Lo and
behold, ten minutes later a waiter comes
out with a pint on a tray. Now, what has
all this got to do with Rauða húsið, you
may ask? Nothing. I just really wanted to
brag about having had beer delivered to
me while lying in an open field. I recom-
mend it!
So. Rauða húsið. “The Red House.”
Rauða húsið is located in a three-story,
firebrick red house more than a century
old. The interiors are heavy on taxider-
mied fowl and vintage radios. Be sure to
check out the top floor, which is mostly
reserved for groups and gatherings.
You could look at it as a sister restau-
rant to Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri. Both
are seafood restaurants with a particular
emphasis on lobster and langoustine.
The prices are very similar, but Rauða
húsið has a two-page menu whereas
Fjöruborðið focuses almost exclusively
on the popular crustacean.
Rauða húsið offers a basic group
menu that can be seen on their website
but I was told about a beer pairing part-
nership with the Ölvisholt brewery that
would start sometime in September and
that sounded quite promising consider-
ing the longstanding reputation of the
Eyrarbakki people as brewers, bootleg-
gers and moonshiners.
But for now we had to pair our own
beer using the à la carte menu. I went
with a Skjálfti, a really solid premium
lager from Ölvisholt right outside of Sel-
foss, which worked well with the fish,
freshly baked bread with a lovely, coarse
tapenade and some sort of garlic-hum-
mus butter.
The starters were a cream of lan-
goustine (1,590 ISK) and grilled lan-
goustine in garlic butter (2,100 ISK).
The grilled langoustine was maybe not
the best choice in the interest of diver-
sity, seeing as it featured in both of our
main courses. Fortunately, Rauða húsið
does a pretty mean thing of butterflied
langoustine tails with a thin bread crust.
The cream of langoustine was out of
this world, thick and creamy with hint
of something fruity and boozy, probably
brandy. A third piece of langoustine a bit
more saffron would have pushed it even
higher. Heartily recommended.
For the main course (3,800 ISK), my
date had the "surf and turf." This was
actually a choice between two courses,
‘Haf og hagi’ (lamb and langoustine) and
‘Brim og boli’ (beef and langoustine).
May I suggest calling the lamb option
“lamboustine”?
She went with the lamb—two pieces
of lamb with demi-glaze and an oddly
shaped crispy potato. The langoustine
was prepared the same as before and
the lamb was top-notch, as is usually the
case in Icelandic restaurants.
I had the "catch of the day," com-
posed of three types of seafood. It tasted
fresh and flaked nicely, particularly the
cod (specifically ‘þorskhnakki,’ a denser
part from the back of the cod) but was
let down by an overabundance of butter;
each piece had been individually fried
in butter and was served with a buttery
glaze and a hollandaise.
Dessert was an ice cream sundae
with hot chocolate sauce and a gener-
ous amount of blueberries. This was a
nice way to end the dairy overload al-
though I would have liked to see them
using the wild Icelandic blueberries,
which were in season and can be found
in abundance in the heaths around Eyr-
arbakki.
The Eyrarbakki
Lobster Massacre
RAGNAR EGILSSoN
RAGNAR EGILSSoN
Rauða húsið
Búðarstíg 4, 820 Eyrarbakki
What we think
Charming location, excellent cream
of langoustine
Flavour:
French basics, moderately reliant
on local ingredients, buttery
Ambiance:
Both family friendly and romantic,
nice view, easy going
Service:
Very goood
Price for 2 (with drinks):
14–16.000 ISK