Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.06.2015, Page 62

the finest Thai restaurant in Iceland
w w w . b a n t h a i . i s
Laugavegur 130, ofan við Hlemm. Tel : 692-0564
m a n y f a m o u s p e o p l e a r e r e g u l a r s h e r e
BEST THAI FOOD
2009,2010,2011,2012,2013 and 2014
1/10 the best restaurants in iceland
“ “
DV
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BanThai
FOOD
FOR YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL
The undulating highway 54 made a sharp
turn by the mountain of Axlarhyrna to-
wards Hótel Búðir and the gunmetal grey
waters of Faxaflói Bay. A welcome sight
after an hour of watching strong side
winds pull ribbons of snowdrift, and the
occasional rental car, diagonally across the
road into the ditches which flanked it. The
hotel rose ominously out of the lava field,
between a small cove and a pitch-black
19th-century church. Helped by the dra-
matic weather conditions, I wouldn’t have
been surprised to see Jack Torrance peer-
ing out of a nearby maze.
The hotel was originally established as
a guest house and restaurant in 1947 and
looked for all the world like an oversized
red summer cabin. In 2001 the hotel burnt
to the ground in an electrical fire; it was
rebuilt two years later in a mock early-
20th century style. In 2013, a share of the
hotel was bought by Hreiðar Már Sig-
urðsson, who, funnily enough, is serving
a five-and-a-half year sentence for his part
in the market manipulation leading up to
the Icelandic banking crash thirty minutes
away from the hotel, on the other side of
the Snæfellsnes mountain range. It’s not
clear whether he still owns a stake.
Once inside, the hotel quickly wins you
over with undeniable charm and in the
light of day, unburdened by the storm, the
surrounding terrain will steal your breath
away. The front lobby has an English
country hotel vibe, with a vintage recep-
tion desk, taxidermied raptors, a telescope
to view the islets in the bay, and a chest-
nut brown Labrador Retriever nestled up
by the fireplace (the dog’s name is Nagli,
which translates as “Tough Guy”). The
hotel may be artificially aged but it cer-
tainly feels the part.
We had a very pleasant stay at the ho-
tel but we did notice a certain lack of at-
tention to detail. You would notice a scuff
here and a leak there, nothing serious but
enough to surprise me. This may be due
to the hotel’s isolation and the fact that
we were there off-season, but it became
harder to swallow once we visited the res-
taurant.
The meal kicked off with a pleasant
rhubarb mojito. The water bottles were
repurposed Reyka vodka bottles with a
bottom-fill of frozen water, which was a
cute touch. With dinner, we had the house
red and Einstök Pale Ale.
The night began with a taster of soy-
cured salmon with black sesame seeds and
a traditionally-cured salmon served with
crème fraîche and salmon roe (2,350 ISK).
Both were agreeable enough and should
be familiar to veteran restaurant patrons
in Iceland.
This was followed by cured lamb with
rutabaga, pickled red onions and jam
(2,350 ISK). The lamb had a beautiful tex-
ture and a deep colour, but failed to leave
any impression aside from a faint taste of
cloves.
Next, we tried the traditional veal
tartare with tarragon, egg yolks, and
horseradish (2,350 ISK). A French bistro
classic done almost right, not overdone
on the seasoning but the mayo blended
in with the veal was a strange choice. I
would still recommend the dish for the
quality of the veal.
I began to notice that all the plates
were accompanied by the same slick of
balsamic, wilted microgreens, and rye
bread crumbles—plating choices I had
hoped high-end restaurants were retiring.
The soups were the most baffling. The
creamy shellfish soup (2,350 ISK) con-
tained exactly one prawn, one small oyster,
and nearly no cream or flavour.
The mushroom soup special ran the
opposite way. It was as if someone had
taken portobello, oyster, and button mush-
rooms past their “best before” and puréed
them into a thick porridge the colour of
packet gravy. Unsurprisingly, it was identi-
cal to mud in both texture and taste.
The main course was a filé on the ribs
with garden pea purée, mixed roasted
root vegetables and thyme glace (5,250
ISK). The lamb had clearly seen the in-
side of a sous-vide bag but was in dire
need of a sear. This was accompanied by
a pulled shank with a sprinkling of jus.
Icelandic lamb can easily hold up as the
main attraction but the whole thing felt
dense and old-fashioned. This was a fa-
miliar and welcome dish that could have
used a facelift.
The hotel offers a unique experi-
ence but I must say that I expected more
from the restaurant. It was off-season so
there’s reason to expect their access to
ingredients improves during the summer
season, but I think a greater contributing
factor was that the nearest high-end res-
taurant was an hour away so the guests
were what marketing people call “a cap-
tive audience.”
Veal Tartare With Tough Guy At
The Overlook Hotel
RAGNAR EGILSSON
RAGNAR EGILSSON
What We Think:
A charming hotel with a rich
history but the restaurant leaves
something to be desired. Try the
tartare, avoid the soups.
Flavour:
Icelandic-French.
Ambiance:
Quiet mostly upper-middle class
families staring at their plates.
Service:
Missed clear-ups and refills due
to pulling double duty with other
hotel work.
Price for 2 (with drinks):
20-30,000 ISK
Hótel Búðir
365 Snæfellsnes
22
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 8 — 2015