Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.06.2013, Blaðsíða 24

Young (20s-30s)
Bankers, tourists, pseudo-celebs,
celebs, money-people, athletes.
They market their ambitious
cocktail lab, but nowadays their
fancy bar only seems to play host
to a youth club of uninterested,
inadequate barkeeps who act like
you're an intruder when you dare
to interrupt their gossip-session
and ASK for service.
The ruins of Kolabrautin's former
glory, an overpriced catastrophe of
cocktails. – SKK
Laundromat Café
Austurstræti 9
Laundromat is a seamless blend
between bar and café. Where
others furrow their brows if you
order a coffee after their lights
have dimmed, Laundromat smiles
warmly and offers you milk and
sugar. The result is a fun, bubbly
pot of the drunk, happy, and
caffeinated. The "DIY" aesthetic
invites a lot of camera clicking, so
prepare yourself for background
cameos on a lot of hip couples'
travel blogs.

850

1300

1000
All the boom-tick-boom you
could need without the hi-hat
and the unce-unce-unce. Well
known "post-dubbers" like James
Blake, Flying Lotus, and Mount
Kimbie made frequent stereo
appearances.
Young (20-30s)
Travelling couples with oversized
cameras, travelling couples
with undersized cameras
(iPhones), nice sweaters, good
conversationalists.
A functioning Laundromat! Go
figure.
A warm café latte with a shot of
whiskey. – PKY
Le Chateaux des dix/ Tíu
Dropar
Laugavegur 27
Walking into this bar is probably
how Owen Wilson's character feels
in 'Midnight In Paris,' as he strolls
through the streets and it suddenly
becomes the 1920s with all its
romance, mystery, coy intimacy and
a touch of highbrow debauchery.
It’s the perfect place for private
conversations in a public place.

900

1000

1000

Francophone - lots of Edith Piaf,
Charles Aznavour and Serge
Gainsbourg, among others. On
weekends, a pianist comes in to
play all the French standards on
the ivories.
Young (20s-30s)

Intellectual lushes, artsies and
fartsies, understated glamorous
types who appreciate candlelight
over strobe lights, Francophones,
Francophiles, poets, expats.
Candlelight, live piano music
(without vocals), extensive wine
selection with special prices on
different bottles every night,
charcuterie plates of various
meats, cheeses and olives on offer
(3,000 ISK), actual French people.
C'est merveilleux! – RL
Lebowski Bar
Laugavegur 20a
This theme bar named for the
iconic Coen Brothers movie greatly
achieves their shtick without
slapping you in the face with it or
making you abide. There's no real
type or style to it. It's kind of sloppy
but still cosy, like a nice open
bathrobe paired with Bermuda
shorts and sandals. The place is
split into sections though and they
really could use something to tie
the room together, man.

950

1400

1100

Sad dad rock, bluesy tunes from
the Bayou, Led Zepellin, CCR, Dire
Straits.
Young (20s-30s)
Suburbanites, tourists, burger
lovers, football fans, tattoo nerds,
rockers.
They offer 18 varieties of White
Russian and have a Lebowski-
themed diner in the back.
It's a pretty cool place. But that's
just, like, my opinion, man... – RL
Litla Gula Hænan
Laugavegur 22
The newest occupant of the
legendary location that some
know permanently as 22, Litla Gula
Hænan is an unofficial queer bar
where you can go for a chat, bump
into friends and quickly make some
new ones! It's a one-man operation
by manager-bartender-cleaner-
booker-playlistmaker Ísar Logi who
is arguably the nicest barman in
town. He's always smiling!

900

1000

900
Besides some themed DJ nights,
mostly electronic and darkwave,
the music comes off of Ísar Logi's
iPod and is a fun combination of
retro and more recent music that
would be played ironically in other
places (like Robert Palmer) but
is 100% sincere here! Volume is
never too loud so conversation
isn't interrupted, but you'll never
strain to hear when "Buffalo
Stance" by Neneh Cherry comes
on.
Young (20s-30s)
Single ladies, cute boys, cool
queers, sporty gays, bears,
Grapevine interns, Drag King
champion Mobus, nice slobs,
funny drunks, lonely hearts, elder-
goths, foosball fascists, foosball
anarchists.
The bar features colourful
decoration and a striking
renovation on the bathrooms it
inherited from its predecessors
(Bakkus, Trúno, Karamba, etc.).
Hand written announcements
on the windows let passers-by
know what is up that night. Ísar
makes this crazy house cocktail
with a secret recipe involving five
different liqueurs called the Yellow
Chicken (1,300 ISK). It will fuck you
up.
A fun, welcoming and relaxed bar
for friends and loners alike, where
jerks and bad behaviour are not
tolerated. – RL
Live Pub
Frakkastígur 8
Early in the evening (21:00 is very
early for Reykjavík), this place is
desolate and depressing. Later in
the evening, after some misguided
drunk people trickle in for karaoke,
it might as well be desolate and is
deeply, terribly depressing. There is
an unidentifiable suspicious smell.
Perhaps this would be a good place
to film a horror movie.

800

1000

1000
Before karaoke starts, Live Pub
plays the worst of whatever
was playing ten years ago.
The cheeriness of the music
is rendered disturbing by the
cheerless environment.
Young (20s-30s)
Would-be serial killers, tourists
(by accident), the very drunk (by
accident).
There is a foosball table, and
peanuts (eat at your own risk).
Don't say you weren't warned. – AS
Loft Hostel
Bankastræti 7
This new bar on the main drag of
downtown is the heart that beats
in the chest of Loft Hostel, with
a space that is both open and
communal but with quaint little
nooks to tuck yourself into. The
bar's design is really reminiscent of
Micro Bar, but has a cool collection
of those trendy filter coffee carafes
as decoration. Super friendly staff
but too few bathrooms make for
long waits on busy nights!

850

1200

1100
Playlists made by the staff, new
Icelandic albums and frequent
live shows by some of the coolest
local bands right now.
Young (20s-30s)
101 rats, artsy types, writers,
cartoonists, band people, hostel
residents, hip tourists, staff
members' babies.
A huge top floor balcony
overlooking Bankastræti, with a
crazy nice view of the city. Plus, an
actual elevator!
Damn now I kinda wanna stay
here! – RL
Loftið
Austurstræti 9
Loftið is a new addition to the
Reykjavík nightlife and offers some
of the best cocktails to be had in
the city. On a typical weekend you
will find this place filled with older
Icelandic yuppies or older yuppie
foreigners swallowing old and
expensive alcohol dressed like the
prosperity period of 2006 never
ended. This vibe is achieved with a
super strict entry policy and a dress
code that makes no exceptions.
This we found out in practice when
the bar turned down our original
reviewer who showed up wearing
a hoodie, requiring that we send
a substitute. But if you have the
money and the clothes, this bar
offers good service and excellent
quality beverages.

1000

1500

1300
Great electric music, but sadly no
one is dancing.
Older (40+)
The older rich people of Iceland.
They offer superb cocktails.

Excellent drinks for the select few.
– RJH
Mánabar
Hverfisgata 20
Mánabar seems to be having an
identity crisis: The décor is all cosy
couches and old chairs and low
lamplight under cosmic ceilings
and wallpaper, but there's nobody
there on weekdays and on the
weekends it's (apparently) half-full
of trashy teenagers dancing to even
trashier music. All of which is a
shame because the place is actually
quite inviting, reasonably priced,
and could serve as both a great café
and bar if someone just took charge
and gave this business direction.

800

1100

1000
The occasional live jazz group
or an impromptu piano singer-
songwriter rehearsal on
weekdays. Top 40 and 'EDM' on
the weekends.
Too Young (under 20)
Invisible people, tanning
machines, top 40 lovers, off-duty
troubadours, people who like to
play the piano but don't have one
at home
There's A GRAND PIANO that
anyone is free to play. Beat that!
Nothing but potential. – AB
Micro Bar
Austurstræti 6
Located behind the lobby of Center
Hotel, Micro Bar’s atmosphere is
tasteful. It's an easy-going place
with a knowledgeable, polite staff.
There's a light chatter and a general
satisfaction in the air. The walls are
adorned with demure mountains
and what look like tiny Bigfoots
painted by Hugleikur Dagsson,
Iceland's most famous vulgar/
controversial/political cartoonist.
We're smugly NOT drinking Viking
beer with big bubbles in it, which
by the way means the pipes never
get cleaned. We're supporting
Icelandic microbreweries without
having to sit in a bar that looks like
it was decorated by the children of
Korn listening to Coldplay.

900

1200

1100
I never really notice it. It's
probably death-metal.
Young (20s-30s)
Artsy fartsies, business people/
bankers, journos, musicians,
tourists.
They offer a train of eight draught
beer tasters that comes with
explanations of where it's from,
how it's brewed, how it's meant
to taste and the history of beer
culture in Iceland. An enjoyable
experience, even if you are sitting
with a German who knows the
difference between an IPA and a
Pilsner.
The toilet, unlike in any other
bar in Reykjavík, is clean. That's
probably because it belongs to the
hotel. On the downside, it's not
really in the bar, but down a load
of stairs. That's okay if you don't
think that the toilet makes the bar.
A bar for people who like the taste
of beer. – AG
Næsti Bar
Ingólfsstræti 1a
Næsti Bar used to be an actor’s
hangout where philosophy and
the arts were discussed, vino was
consumed and not a single musical
tone was ever heard. It's different
nowadays and their crowd is more
or less under or around 20, and far
from being of the artsy kind. The
service is however outstanding
and the drinks are both decent and
cheap, albeit their promotional
laminated A4 looks like a Bónus ad.

900

1100

1100

The DJ is usually an iPod behind
the bar boasting playlists with the
top charts.
Too Young (under 20)

Younglings, young-politicians,
liberals, media people, high-
schoolers.
Offers, offers, offers! Nice, cheap
drinks, and the mood can be both
laidback and rowdy.

A great place to get cheap, good
drinks—if you don't mind suited-
up youngsters. – SKK
Obladi Oblada
Frakkastígur 10

750

110

800
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Due to a mistake in the review
process, we have taken our review
of Obladi Oblada out of the Bar
Guide in the online versions of this
issue.
Prikið
Bankastræti 12
One of the oldest cafés in Reykjavík,
Prikið morphs into a carnival at
night where young wildcats clash
together with old hip hop strong-
houses. When we pop in, that
change is about to take place—
we’re in the twilight zone. The
steady beat coming out of the PAs
is slowly but surely taking over the
atmosphere and what was a buzz is
becoming a full-on drunkenness.

750

1090

N/A
Everything with a steady beat and
rhymes from Nicki Minaj to Slick
Rick.
Young (20s-30s)
Hipsters, hip-hoppers, artsy
fartsies, youngsters, bimbos,
tomcats, drinkers.
It's a good mixture of everything.
Crowded dance floor, table area
if you wanna take it easy and
chat the night away, and 101
Reykjavík’s biggest smoking patio.
Plus, if you have anthropological
interests, you can see a mixed
demography in Prikið like nowhere
else—suburbans mix in with
downtown hipsters and 16-year-
olds try their luck at seducing
rappers in their 40s.
Whether you want to get some
sweaty breakfast and a cup of joe
or get completely hammered and
hook up—this is the place. – SKK
24The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 7 — 2013 THE GRAPEVINE'S BIG-ASS BAR GUIDE 2013