Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.07.2013, Blaðsíða 67

Ó Ð I N S T O R G 1 0 1 R E Y K J A V Í K Í S L A N D S N A P S B I S T R O . I S
S n a p s b i s t r o @ s n a p s b i s t r o . i s + 3 5 4 5 1 1 6 6 7 7
Sturlugata 5 · 101 Reykjavík
Tel. +354 552 15 22 · www.dillrestaurant.is
Lífið er saltfiskur
#109 Dill is a Nordic restaurant with its
focus on Iceland, the pure nature and
all the good things coming from it.

It does not matter if it’s the
ingredients or the old traditions, we
try to hold firmly on to both.
There are not many things that make
us happier than giving life to old
traditions and forgotten ingredients
with modern technique and our creative
mind as a weapon.
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Vegamót is a hodgepodge of diffe-
rent cuisines. The name literally
means “crossroads” and it fits like
a patchwork glove. But that needn’t
be a bad thing—it’s the kind of
any thing goes bistro with generous
servings, fairly reasonable prices
and a laid-back vibe.
Vegamót recently changed its
opening hours to shift the emphasis
away from the nightclub atmosphere
to a cocktail and dinner kind of deal.
A smart move seeing as it always
felt like a half-assed club (where the
skinka* types would go if they got
tired of the queues at Austur or B5)
but I’ve always had a soft spot for
their kitchen. It’s nothing mind-
blowing but it’s a decent, filling and
dependable place for when you feel
like a beer and a basic pasta/tex-
mex/salad/burger. It’s also one of
the most popular brunch places
in Reykjavík.
I have already tried most of
their burgers and sandwiches (the
Louisiana Chicken Strips and Steak
sandwich are frequent favourites)—
so I decided to switch it up and have
a look at their Italian offerings. And
what better than to invite my Roman
friend along, who had just popped
over to Reykjavík for a surprise visit.
The cocktail menu is perfect
for the kind of crowd that used to
frequent the club Vegamót, but
their strange, syrupy concoctions
(cheesecake martini??) didn’t exactly
appeal to old men like us. They
weren’t familiar with Negronis so we
settled for two whiskey sours (1,700
ISK each). I prefer my whiskey sours
with Jim Beam rather than Jack
Daniels, and I’d recommend the
switch. The cocktail was still a bit
heavy on the sugars and low on
the booze.
For the meal we picked a Tom-
masi Romeo (4,990 ISK) because it
bore the name of my friend’s son.
Cherry aroma, full bodied, some
spice. Much like my Italian friend,
who, incidentally, took a break after
the cocktail to start twirling around
the place to the blandest house mu-
sic I have ever heard.
We were flabbergasted to see a
buffalo mozzarella Panini (1,690
ISK) on the menu and couldn’t
resist ordering it for the first course.
I asked three members of staff if
they were absolutely certain that
this was buffalo mozzarella and
they confirmed it. That’s a strange
claim considering it’s twice the price
of regular mozzarella, hard to find
outside of Italy and, I believe, illegal
to import into Iceland (due to a
ban on the import of fresh cheese).
The cheese was of course in no way
a buffalo mozzarella. I ate those
creamy bastards every day when
I lived in Italy and I’ll take a Pepsi
taste challenge on it any day. Wrong
shape, colour and flavour. But the
Panini was actually not that bad
if only they had skipped the raw red
onion slices. A caramelized onion
or a proper Tropea onion might
have worked.
For the main course I picked
the lobster “tagliolina” (2,990 ISK)
and I was pleasantly surprised. It
came with big chunks of lobster
that had barely touched the pan, the
pasta was al dente and aside from
the addition of too much garlic and
mushrooms it was one tasty-ass
crustacean course.
The Italian ordered the pepper
beefsteak (3,990 ISK). He requested
a rare steak—and it came to the
table perfectly rare. The broccoli
and veggies were cooked very lightly
and the sauce was not too heavy.
Bang on. I’ve seen steak houses do a
worse job.
Vegamót did exceed my expecta-
tions and we ended up having a
great time catching up on old hijinks
from our days in Rome. But I will
mostly be coming there for the
brunch. Old habits die hard.
*skinka: Too much bronzer, too
much make up, not enough dress.
Crossroads
Not just A Britney Spears Movie
RAGNAR EGILSSON
AXEL SIGURÐARSON
What We Think:
An all-rounder. Rough around the
edges but dependable and not
stingy with the portions.
Flavour: Name it.
Ambiance: Watching some
meathead gym bunny try to work a
fork is funny.
Service: No complaints. Pay at the
counter kind of deal.
Price for 2 (with drinks):
4–5,000 ISK
Vegamót
Vegamót
Vegamótastígur 4
101 Reykjavík
Tel: (+354) 511 3040
www.vegamot.is
email via website
Sun–Wed: 11:00 am–11:00 pm
Thu: 11.00 am–11:30 pm
Fri–Sat: 11.00 am–midnight
(doors close at 2:00 am)