Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.07.2015, Blaðsíða 16

16 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 9 — 2015
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With his legendary concentration and 45 years of experience our Master
Watchmaker ensures that we take our waterproofing rather seriously.
Gilbert O. Gudjonsson, our Master Watchmaker and renowned craftsman,
inspects every single timepiece before it leaves our workshop.
taurant if the Michelin guide had any
interest in visiting Iceland.
Honourable mention: Fish Com-
pany
2014: Dill
2013: Gallery at Hótel Holt
2012: Grill Market
2011: Dill
2010: Dill
2009: Gallery Restaurant at Hótel
Holt
Best Family Restaurant:
Kex
—
Skúlagata 28
We had a lot of family people on our
Grapevine panel this time around.
Here is what one had to say: “Kex
has plenty of space for the kids to run
around, they have toys for them to play
with, and the atmosphere is relaxed.
The staff is good with the kids and you
aren’t segregated to some special kids
area.” Kex also got points for offering
child-modified versions of their menu
items instead of just placating them
with chicken nuggets and ketchup.
Mainly, the consensus was that al-
though other places might match Kex
in child-friendliness, none matched it
in adult-friendliness (IPAs on tap don’t
hurt).
Honourable mention: IKEA food
court in Garðabær
2014: Laundromat
2013: Laundromat
2012: Laundromat
2011: Laundromat
2010: Piri-Piri
2009: Hornið
Best Sushi
SuZushi
—
Stjörnutorg, Kringlan
This category was a bit complicated.
The Fish Market has great sushi but
can they really be said to be devoted to
sushi? Sushi Samba does fun and pop-
ular sushi but does it count seeing as
it’s completely non-traditional? Tokyo
Sushi offers good catering and good
value but is that enough?
We settled on SuZushi for getting
the basics right. Their salmon and
trout sashimi is consistently fresh and
delicious and the owners will instruct
customers on how to correctly apply
soy sauce (don’t dip the whole thing in
there!). One of our panellists had this
to say: “The rice is the core of sushi
and SuZushi are among very few who
get it right in Iceland. And they know
to serve it slightly warm, not ice-cold.”
You should be warned that SuZushi
is in a mall food court and although it’s
maybe not the most elegant or com-
fortable setting for sushi, the strange
setting is somehow part of the appeal.
Honourable mention: Fish Market
2014: Sushisamba
2013: Sakebarinn
2012: SuZushii
2011: SuZushii
2010: Sushibarinn
2009: Sushismiðjan
Best Slice
Devito’s
—
Laugavegur 126
Devito’s is basically an institution
in Reykjavík at this point. Devito’s
raised a generation of Icelandic kids
and they’ll fight for it tooth and nail.
The panel especially complimented
Devito’s on the quality of their crust.
At 550 ISK for a large slice, it’s a steal.
Honourable mention: Gamla Smið-
jan
2014: Deli
2013: Devito’s
2012: Devito’s
2011: Deli
2010: Deli
2010: Deli
Best Pizza
Hverfisgata 12
—
Hverfisgata 12
The not-so-secret pizza place wins
again! There are a lot of things to con-
sider when choosing the best pizza but
in terms of basic pizza quality, setting,
and inventive toppings, the Hverfis-
gata 12 pizza place has them all beat.
“They go the extra mile with the top-
pings, like smoking the cream cheese”,
said one correspondent. “Their veg-
etarian Christmas pizza was amaz-
ing, it was topped with red beets, ruc-
cola and walnuts. I hope they feature
it again.” Another worthy mention
is their brunch pizza with fried eggs
and bacon, the perfect recovery dish
before starting again at upstairs bar
Mikkeller and Friends.
The place will also surprise in
other ways. The service is remarkably
fast even when swamped and the place
was actually suggested for the Family
Friendly category despite the secrecy
and tight fit.
Honourable mention: Pan pizzas
at Dominos (we compliment recent
efforts)
2014: Hverfisgata 12
2013: Gamla Smiðjan
2012: La Luna trattoria-pizzeria
2011: Gamla Smiðjan
2010: Gamla Smiðjan
2009: Devito’s
Best Bakery
Sandholt
—
Laugavegur 36
This time around we took a close look
to see if any other bakery was more
deserving of the title. We went over
all the arguments we’ve heard against
Sandholt: It’s too touristy, the lines are
too long, the prices are too high, gossip
about the management, all of it. But at
the end of the day no one in Reykjavík
can touch Sandholt. They’ve use the
same oven since it opened in 1920 and
it’s run by a fourth-generation baker,
so the pedigree is there. The sour-
dough is the best and pastries and con-
fectionaries are miles above the rest.
They even have great ice cream and
reasonable catering options. Try the
amazing danishes with the real fruity
fillings, the strawberry tart, the prop-
er eclairs, they’re the real deal. It may
be swamped by tourists but you simply
won’t find better.
Honourable mention: Passion Ba-
karí
2014: Sandholt
2013: Sandholt
2012: Mosfellsbakari in Reykjavík
2011: Sandholt
2010: Sandholt
2009: Mosfellsbakari
Best Food Truck
Taquería No mames
—
Naustin, by Dubliners
This tremendous taco joint is usually
found by Irish pub The Dubliner. It’s
a strange fit but we won’t argue with
the results. It’s not really a real truck,
more like a wagon but the Mexican ta-
cos are plenty real and come courtesy
of Adrian, a native of Mexico City. The
atmosphere is relaxed, as indicated by
the name (an exclamation of surprise
which translates roughly as “No fuck-
ing way”).
The nachos are authentic fried
corn tortillas, served with classic red
and green salsa as well as less ortho-
dox choices like kiwi salsa. All home-
made and with a serious chili kick.
They have classic beef and chicken
tacos with all the fixins and they even
serve Clamato, the combination of
clam broth and tomato juice which
Canadians, Mexicans, and the US His-
panic community love with a passion.
Let’s add Iceland to that list just to
mess with people.
Honourable mention: The Fish and
Chips Wagon
Best Kept Secret
Pad Thai Noodles
—
Álfheimar 6
This is a funny category because of
course we‘re aiming to make it the
“Best Worst Kept Secret” in Reykjavík
by highlighting it. There were many
worthy contenders this year and that‘s
even after excluding a lot of interest-
ing places just outside of Reykjavík
proper. This small place in Álfheimar
(seats four) is playing exclusively with
Pad Thai in three variations (chicken,
shrimp, vegetarian). It’s moderately
greasy feel-good food done correctly.
Lightly scrambled eggs, fish sauce,
bean sprouts, spring onions, sugar,
peanuts. It’s simple and it’s a crowd
pleaser. Two out of the panel rushed
out the next day to try it and neither
regretted the trip outside the city cen-
tre.
Honourable mention: Ramen
Momo
2014: Café Flora
2013: Lunch Beat
2012: Café Flora
Best hangover meal
Hangover Killer at Prikið
—
Bankastræti 12
Downtown Reykjavík is a tangibly
hungover place on Sunday morning. It
looks like the streets themselves had
a rager. So you’re spoiled for choice
if salty, greasy, soul-anchoring food
is your grail, but nothing has been so
artfully designed to kill your hang-
over as the aptly named “Hangover
Killer” at Prikið. The solid component
is a delicious toasted sandwich with
bacon, egg, tomato, ham, and cheese.
The liquid component is the Jack Dan-
iel’s-spiked “Bruce Willis milkshake”
(the kind Vincent Vega would pay
five dollars for). The finishing touch
is the medicinal component: a tablet
Best Of Reykjavík