Reykjavík Grapevine - 11.10.2013, Side 52

w w w . y u m m y . i s
1/10 Best Restaurants In Iceland
Best Goddamn Restaurant 2011
the best thai food
2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013
Laugavegur 130, ofan við Hlemm
Tel : 692-0564
w w w . b a n t h a i . i s
A l s o R e c o m m e n d . . . . .
y u m m i y u m m i Tel: 588-2121 H v e r f i s g a t a 123, 105 Rvk.
the finest Thai restaurant in IcelandBan Thai
We could all use a little more culture in
our lives, and museum cafés are a great
way of satisfying our need for aesthetic
enrichment while also quieting the
growl in our tummies. The Nordic
House is a paragon of such cafés,
surpassing mere cafeteria status to
become a house of worship for faithful
foodies. The house itself is something
of a temple in its own right: it’s one of
the lesser-known architectural feats of
the Finnish designer Alvar Aalto.
The atmosphere was quiet and
subdued when we arrived. A grand total
of seven people were gathered inside—
including the restaurant staff and a lone
volunteer setting up a ticket booth for
the Reykjavík International Film Festi-
val. The décor was simple and elegantly
clean: black tiles, white tablecloths, and
classic Alvar Aalto armchairs. We sat by
the window where, far away, we could
watch the traffic streaming down-
town, which was oddly relaxing. Our
waiter poured us each a glass of golden
champagne, the fancy kind where the
bubbles politely massage your tongue
instead of exploding all over the place.
For dinner, you can choose between
three, five and seven courses, and for
about double the price you can add
wine pairings. We opted for the middle
ground and chose the five-course menu
and wine. Before placing our orders,
the waiter brought us a little platter of
tiny hors d’oevres, a piece of dried salt
cod with mustard and rye bread with a
burnt caramel mousse.
Next came a nest of malt-sourdough
bread rolls with pine-flavoured butter
and coarse salt. I don’t know how the
pine-flavour works, but somehow,
it does! It certainly doesn’t hurt that
you’re buttering your bread on delicate
Royal Copenhagen dinnerware either.
Our first course was the fennel salad
with homemade pickles, which was
good and tart, and a sprinkle of dried
smoked arctic char helped to spice it up.
Our next course consisted of baked yel-
low turnip swimming in cream cheese
sauce, sour sprouts and Dill’s signature
(dill) dressing—just the right combi-
nation of creamy and tangy, further
abetted by a crisp, greenish Saint Clair
sauvignon blanc.
The third course was from a heaven
where great brunches go when they die:
simple potatoes with a generous crum-
ble of dried egg and bacon, paired with
malty pale ale from local microbrewery
Einstök. Viscous vinegar syrup brought
out the highlights of each flavour and
stuck out like a clear, high note and the
end of an aria. This dish still haunts my
dreams in the same eerie way.
Then came the main course, deli-
cious lamb done three ways: lamb fillet,
lamb shanks (an abysmally under-
rated cut), and crispy lamb fat topped
with sweet carrots to bribe the jury. A
smooth, fully rounded 2010 Gerard
Bertrand Corbières brought the case to
a close.
Dessert consisted of a refresh-
ing strawberry and skyr sorbet with
crunchy oats, freeze-dried raspberries
and tarragon. Skyr sorbet is something
of a has-been, but it’s never tasted
better than at Dill, tart with none of
the lactose-y dryness. This was washed
down with a Peter Lehmann dessert
wine that tasted like liquid autumn.
The service was very competent.
My one quibble was that the wait staff
mumbled so much that I often had to
ask them to repeat themselves. But I
was totally won over when they brought
out the last tiny surprise—liquorice
candy that looked exactly like a piece of
black lava—and any misgivings I’d had
melted away instantly.
Tip no. 1: If you’re dying to try some
delicious Nordic cuisine but can’t afford
to splurge on a multi-course dinner
menu, try their lunch specials instead,
which consist of a soup, salad and/or a
meat or fish course. They are every bit
as delectable as the dinner courses, but
substantially easier on the wallet.
Tip no. 2: For a super-romantic
date, walk to the Nordic House by way
of the wooden boardwalk through the
Vatnsm!ri marshland. It starts at the
bottom of the pedestrian bridge over
busy Miklabraut and is the perfect way
to work up an appetite, not to mention
score a few points with your significant
other.
Not Just A Pretty Place
PATRICIA !ORMAR
NANNA DÍS
F D
For your mind, body and soul
What We Think:
A deliciously unique experience
Flavour:
Local produce dressed up
Ambiance:
Tranquil Scandinavian simplicity
Service:
Attentive and subtle
Price for 2:
5-course menu 9,100 ISK,
another 9,100 ISK with wine
Dill
The Nordic House, Sturlugata 5, 101
Reykjavík Opening hours: Mon–Sat
11:30 –14, Wed–Sat from 19:00