Reykjavík Grapevine - 18.07.2014, Page 23

Activities And
Fun-TimesBest Bar To Go Dancing Kiki
“When I start dancing,” says one sheep-
ish Grapeviner, “I know it’s time to go
home. Or I choose a place that I know I
won’t be seen.” For those of you who are a
bit more dance positive, however, Kiki is
the place to be, a place where no one will
judge you—or your moves. The only cave-
at is that it is only open on weekends and
if you’re not into Robyn, Whitney, and/or
Bonnie Tyler (which: really?!), you’ll have
a much less enjoyable time here. It should
be noted that our panellists were in the
midst of debating several different places
for this award when Kíkí was suggested,
and suddenly, everyone agreed simulta-
neously. “It was so obvious as soon as you
said it,” someone said. We know, man.
We know. But returning to the present:
just imagine that you’re in a shook-up soft
drink bottle full of confetti or a disco ball
full of love.
2013: Harlem
2012: Bakkus
Best Newcomer Bar
Húrra
The downtown bar scene is an ever-
changing one, and it is easy to grow jaded
with it, but every once in a while we get
something that is truly amazing, and
Húrra's blend of bar, club and live music
venue is just that. With six different beers
on tap (including Einstök Pale Ale and
White Ale), the place is ideal to sit down
for a pint in the early evening, see a live
band step on stage around 10 or 11, and
then dance to sweet tunes by talented
DJs until the wee early hours. Let's just
hope it fares better than the four other
bars that have been in that space over the
past decade.
2013: Kaldi
2012: Slippbarinn, Hótel Marína
2011: Faktorý
2010: Sódóma
Best Place To Watch
Sports Over Beer
Bjarni Fel
The ubiquitous cultural link between
sports and beer endures at Bjarni Fel,
our back-to-back winner in this category.
There’s not a better place in Reykjavík
to guzzle down some brews (2 for 1,990
ISK, Monday-Friday) and bemoan or
celebrate your favourite teams. With 20
HDTVs and often hordes of rabid fans,
it can truly be an immersive experience.
2013: Bjarni Fel
2012: Úrilla Górillan (RIP)
2011: Hvíta Perlan (RIP),
2010: Hvíta Perlan,
2009: Bjarni Fel
Best Beer Selection
Microbar
If you love beer, you’ll love Microbar. The
three-time winner consistently proves
to have an unbeatable selection and a
knowledgeable staff. In addition to offer-
ing ten different microbrews on tap, the
prices are reasonable and relatively free
of pesky mark-ups. If you’re trying to get
your brewducation on, they offer 170 ml
samples, five for 2,500 ISK. Microbar is
truly by beer lovers, for beer lovers.
2013: Micro Bar
2012: Micro Bar
Best Place To
Get Cocktails
Slippbarinn
Most of Reykjavík’s bars don’t have ex-
tensive cocktail menus. If you would
have asked us where to get a good cock-
tail a decade ago, we’re not sure where
we would have sent you, but we probably
would have recommended somewhere
making mojitos (which were synony-
mous with cocktails for a while there).
Today, if you go to the right place, your
bartender won’t look at you with a blank
face when you ask for a ‘White Lady,’
and some places, like Slippbarinn, even
offer innovative drinks beyond the clas-
sics. So take advantage of their happy
hour (16:00—18:00) and try their popular
“Winter Sour.”
2013: Borg, Hotel Borg
2012: Kolabrautin
Best Bar For Smokers
Hressó
Hressó won for Best People-Watching
Spot last year, and that goes hand in hand
with this award. Who doesn’t like smok-
ing while watching the goings on of the
night (or the results of the night before)?
You obviously can’t smoke in the indoor
booths, which are the prime seats for
people-viewing, but the semi-outdoor
patio is close enough for a smoke break in
the relaxing semi-nature.
2013: Reykjavík Beats
Best Place for Live Music
Café Rosenberg
It’s kind of relaxing, kind of laid back, and
the perfect place to let music wash over
you when you’re craving that transcen-
dental experience. Don’t let the homi-
ness turn you away, because Rosenberg
features a solid line-up of professionals
every night.
2013: Volta (RIP)
Best Pool
Vesturbæjarlaug
Vesturbæjarlaug, though recently re-
furbished, is not our fanciest pool—it
doesn’t have Laugardalslaug’s amazing
slide or salt water hot pot, for instance—
but it is a damn fine neighbourhood pool
where normal people (and, um, Björk)
can go swim a few laps, have a schvitz
in the sauna or steam rooms, and then
settle in one of the four hot pots for a
little ‘pottaspjall,’ or hot pot chat. One
of said hot pots is actually a four-in-one,
wheelchair-accessible mega pot, which
was cleverly situated so that during day-
light hours, it is never in the shade. (New
Reykjavík mayor Dagur B. Eggertson
made a special visit to Vesturbæjarlaug
when the new hot pot opened in April,
an event covered by much of the local
media: VERY EXCITE.) And after your
swim, you can cap the experience with
an ice cream cone the size of your head at
Grapevine Institution Ísbúð Vesturbæ-
jar, just around the corner.
2013: Laugardalslaug
2012: Laugardalslaug
2011: Neslaug
2010: Laugardalslaug
2009: Laugardalslaug
Best Museum
The National Museum
This is the best place to go to soak up
knowledge of the Icelandic nation. Edu-
cate yourself on folk customs, look at old
photographs and prints, see artefacts
such as the first Icelandic Bible and the
chess board used by Bobby Fischer and
Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Chess
Championship, hang in the library, and
explore the dense collection which spans
over 1000 years of Icelandic history and
culture. We promise it’s not a boring
place to go.
2013: National Museum
2012: National Museum
2011: National Museum
2010: National Center
for Cultural Heritage
Best Art Museum
Reykjavík Art Museum
With three different locations offering a
mix of works by international and home-
grown artists, this is obviously the best
art museum we’ve got. There’s a great
sense of engagement with the local com-
munity, what with the parties and events
hosted alongside the twenty plus annual
exhibitions. They’ve been the best for a
while, so let the test of time speak for it-
self.
2013: Reykjavík Art Museum
2012: Reykjavík Art Museum
2011: Einar Jónsson
2010: Reykjavík Art Museum
2009: Einar Jónsson
Best Gallery
Kling og Bang
At a recent exhibition including
both a jar of peas and a video installa-
tion of a wiggling, polka-dotted ass, one
Grapeviner nodded conclusively: “This
is art.” And yes, our panellists agree
that Kling og Bang is the heart of Reyk-
javík’s grassroots art scene, “the place
where you see work by artists who aren’t
making money.” But there’s a lot of high
profile work shown there, too. Recently,
K&B hosted a five-part multimedia per-
formance series in collaboration with
New York’s ESP TV, and “The Visitors”
by fellow Reykjavík gallery i8’s artist,
Ragnar Kjartansson.
2013: i8 Gallery
2012: i8 Gallery
2011: i8 Gallery
2010: i8 Gallery
2009: Gallery Kling og Bang
Best Place to Spend
a Rainy Day
A Hot Tub
So you came to Iceland knowing, of
course, that the weather is not, let’s say,
its finest feature. You knew that there
would be rain and wind (so much fuck-
ing wind) and that it wouldn’t be all sun-
shine-on-the-mountaintops like “The
Sound of Music” or an Icelandair promo
video. You knew this, but you didn’t be-
lieve it, and now you’re sad because you
came all this way and the weather blows.
Literally. We feel you, man, but if we got
down every time the weather got bad,
we’d be depressed all the time and would
never do anything. Well, we might still be
a little bit depressed, but we do our best to
combat the feeling by telling the weather
to “fuck off!” when it sucks, and sitting
in a hot pot to make ourselves feel better.
What hot pot, you ask? Any hot pot. You’ll
be warm and toasty and relaxed and the
fact that it’s sleeting or hailing in your
face will suddenly feel bracing or even a
tiny bit amusing, instead of symbolic of
humanity’s futile struggle against nature
and the fragility of the human vessel.
2013: Reykjavík Art Museum
Hafnarhús
2012: Bíó Paradís
2011: Bíó Paradís
2010: A hot tub
2009: Borgarbókasafnið
Best Place To Spend
A Sunny Day
Nauthólsvík
Our sunny summer days tend to top out
around 13° C, and that, let us tell you,
fully constitutes beach weather. May-
be you’re not up for an ocean dip with
members of the resident Sea Swimming
and Sea Bathing Association (see ‘Best
Cheap Thrill’), but there are plenty of
other warming activities that you can
take part in at Nauthólsvík, the city’s
very own geothermal beach. Better yet,
access to the facilities—changing rooms,
a long outdoor hot tub, and a sauna—are
free in the summer. The hot pot will be
rather sandy (it’s a beach, after all), and
you’ll probably have a dozen or so small
children snorkeling over your legs as you
lounge, but it’s all part of the convivial
atmosphere. Make a day of it and buy
some cheap (uncooked) hot dogs at the
snack bar to grill up on one of the outdoor
BBQs.
2013: Nauthólsvík
2012: Hjartagarðurinn
23The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 10 — 2014Best Of Reykjavík!