Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.01.2006, Blaðsíða 24

1 Café Roma Laugavegur 118

Roma, at the far end of the main street
Laugavegur, is a deli-type coffee house,
and one of the best take away places in
town. It almost feels unnatural that all the
tempting cookies, cakes and other sweet
things that are calling your name on the
shelves are actually quite reasonably
priced.
2 Ráðhúskaffi City Hall

Ráðhúskaffi inside the Reykjavík City Hall
is a comfortable choice for the view over
Tjörnin, especially recommended on the
so-called window weather days – the
days that are beautiful, as long as you stay
indoors. Also art exhibitions, 80m2s of
miniature Iceland and municipal politics,
all conveniently under the same roof.
3 Grái Kötturinn Hverfisgata 16a

Grái Kötturinn (The grey cat) is a cosy
place, and that’s why it’s a shame that
it’s quite often closed when we knock on
their door and peer through the window
later in the evening. Don’t follow our
example and go during the daylight, it’s
especially popular during the morning
hours.
4 Kaffi Hljómalind Laugavegur 21

A peaceful café with perfect windows for
people-watching and a lot of daylight.
Hljómalind is run by a non-profit
organisation and it only serves organic &
fair trade products.
5 Mokka Skólavörðustígur 3a

Kaffi Mokka is the oldest café in Reykjavík,
dating back to the 1950s. It’s the place
with dark, smoky atmosphere and great
numbers of loyal customers. Their waffles
are best in town. Seriously.
6 Ömmukaffi Austurstræti

A coffee house there you can find all
kinds of people - all ages, all nationalities,
with very friendly, down-to-earth feel to
it. Affordable prices on coffee, cakes and
the lunch menu. Try their speciality, the
(South) African latte.
7 Babalú Skólavörðustígur 22a

The youngest coffee house in Reykjavík
is also the homiest. Almost like a living
room away from home, Babalú keeps it
simple, quiet and cozy with coffee and
the occasional crêpe.
8 Tíu Dropar Laugavegur 27

A very nice “grandma” style café.
Subterranean, as all traditional coffee
shops should be. This place makes you
feel warm, both with its atmosphere and
the generosity of the coffee refills.
9 Kaffitár Bankastræti 8

Expanded and improved, this is the
downtown store for one of the country’s
finest coffee importers. While anything
here is good, the speciality coffee drinks
are truly remarkable: our favourite, the
Azteca, an espresso drink with lime and
Tabasco.
11 Sólon
Bankastræti 7a

Sólon is a nightclub on
Friday and Saturday nights, but it
seems to have more lives than one, since
in the day it’s a coffeehouse and in the
evening (weeknights) they have a decent
menu, as well, and an art exhibition on
the walls to finish the package with an
artsy touch.
12 Oliver Laugavegur 20a

Oliver is one of the biggest hits in town
at the moment. Good news for the early
birds: they open at 8 in the morning with
an extensive brunch menu, staying chic
all day long, until late - always crowded,
with an everlasting queue outside
especially towards weekend nights. Their
Mediterranean menu, served in huge
portions, is guaranteed to make you
smile.
13 Kaffibarinn Bergstaðastræti 1

Kaffibarinn is Cool Hip Reykjavík.
Blur’s Damon Albarn owns a share
of the bar, probably figuring it was
cheaper than buying drinks all the
time. This place has managed to serve
as a 101 living room for quite a while
already, with DJs often playing on
the weeknights, with volumes rising
towards the weekend. Friday and
Saturday nights serve as the weekly
14 Sirkus Klapparstígur 30

“Welcome to the Jungle/ We got fun and
games,” quote the bard. Elements of this
odd and alternative cultural institution
also include an upstairs that looks and
smells like a bus, a garden, a flea market
and a queue on weekend nights that
looks never-ending.
15 Café Victor Hafnarstræti 1-3

Spelled with a C rather than with
the more traditional K in order to be
more cosmopolitan. This ploy seems to
be working, as the bar has become a
hangout for foreigners. The Viking ship
sitting on top of the house might also
add to the appeal. The crowd is very
mixed, both in origin and age, and so is
the music.
16 Vegamót Vegamótastígur 4

Vegamót (crossroads) has an appealing
lunch menu, they serve brunch during
the weekends, and the kitchen is open
until 22 daily. After that the beat goes
on, and you can check the end results
in photos published the day after on
their website www.vegamot.is. If you like
Oliver, try Vegamót and vice versa.
17 B5 Bankastræti 5

B5 is a newly opened bistro with a
Scandinavian focus on the menu. Don’t
be fooled by the impressive collection
of design classics that you see in the
window when passing by – it’s neither
cold nor overly expensive, but rather a
cozy place with friendly service.
18 Rósenberg Lækjargata 2

Perhaps the closest thing to a jazz club
in town, with old instruments lining the
walls. People go there for conversation
and listening to music rather than
dancing. The place tends to have jazz or
blues- type music, and is developing a
bluegrass scene.
19 Grand Rokk Smiðjustígur 6

As the Viking style garden and logo
accurately signal, this is no place for the
weak— yes, chess bars are that tough.
Even if the downstairs atmosphere can
feel a bit ominous at times, it’s one of
the best venues for live music in town.
Chess, beer and rock’n’roll.
20 Bar 11 Laugavegur 11

The rock bar on Laugavegur is one of
the late night party venues in town.
You’ll feel the floor jumping every Friday
and Saturday, and it’s neither you nor
an earthquake. Live concerts and a nice
foosball table upstairs.
21 Hressingarskálinn Austurstræti 20

The celebrated site of one of the more
famous coffeehouses in Iceland, this
bar/ coffeehouse/ restaurant brings a
European flair to the city. That is until
about 11, when things get to rockin’,
and you can see the true character of
Reykjavík.
22 Pravda Austurstræti 22

Pravda is one of the larger clubs/bars in
downtown Reykjavík. It’s divided between
two floors and also separately into the
Pravda Bar and the Pravda Club. The club
section of Pravda is ideal for dancing,
while the Bar section is somewhat more
quiet and chilled out, with occasional live
jazz and sometimes reggae.
23 Café Cultura Hverfisgata 18

The recently expanded Cultura is
located in the same building with the
Intercultural centre. A good value menu,
friendly service and settings that allow
you to either sit down and carry on
discussions, or dance the night away
– tango on Wednesdays starting with
free lessons from 20 to 21:00.
24 Prikið Bankastræti 12

Used to be the oldest continuously
running traditional coffeehouse on the
street, but, after a change of clientele,
they now cater to a younger crowd. A
diner during the day and a nightclub on
weekends, you can also borrow games
there, such as backgammon or chess.
25 Ölstofan Vegamótastígur

There are no tricks to this one. You know
what you want and you know that
you’ll get when you enter this simple,
straightforward pub. We are talking about
drinking beer. Known as the hangout for
the intellectual circles of Reykjavík.
26 Thorvaldsen Austurstræti 8

Posh as the fifth circle of hell. DJs on
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Arrive
before 12 if you want to avoid the queue.
Civilian attire is looked down upon. Do
not expect to get in wearing hiking boots.
27 Gaukur á Stöng Tryggvagata 22

Iceland’s oldest bar is now in its early
twenties. During the day it’s a pool pub
and on weekday evenings there are live
rock concerts by a mix of mainstream
and underground bands. On weekends
there is usually a lot of action with cover
bands playing everything from Britney to
the Beatles. .
28 Kaffibrennslan Pósthusstræti 9

Kaffibrennslan manages to be just a nice,
“normal” place to go to, and a place to be
seen at, surprisingly enough both at the
same time. A wide variety of beverages,
both bistro menu and a terrace outside
the bar when the weather allows it. The
iced coffee beverage is a delight.
30 Litli Ljóti Andarunginn
Lækjargata 6b

They have a fish buffet for 2500ISK every
evening, with the magic words “eat-as-
much-as-you-can” floating in the air. They
also have an Icelandic media person
working there every now and then, so
watch out for a curly haired, friendly
gentleman called Egill.
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10 Segafredo By Lækjartorg

With McDonalds long departed from
the centre of Reykjavík, we got Italian
chain Segafredo, which isn’t a bad trade-
off. The staff are expert baristi, and, even
though Iceland is proud of its coffee,
nobody quite tops the Segafredo latte.
29 Glaumbar Tryggvagata 20

One of the few proper sport bars in
Reykjavík, so you can go and watch
whatever game happens to be on the TV
screens. The establishment is basically
based around the bar, so you won’t have
to go a long way for a drink. Open until
five, and has a reputation for late night
partying.
Laugavegur
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DOWNTOWN REYKJAVIK
Surprising for a community that 
prides itself on the best fish in the 
world, there are very few options 
when it comes to sushi. Still, in 
the downtown area, there are two 
options if you like your fish raw. 
Tucked into the corner of the Iða 
mall, Osushi is the more difficult 
sushi restaurant to find, and it 
has the more celebrated rolls and 
sashimi. The upstairs of Iða also 
hosts a superb deli. 
Osushi in the Iða mall, Lækjargata 2a,
101 Reykjavík, Phone: 561-0562
SP
OT
thi
s
Oshushi