Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.07.2015, Page 20

20 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 9 — 2015
town, and it’s a very welcome addition to
Reykjavík’s bar scene.
Runners-up: Skúli, Frederiksen
2014: Húrra
2013: Kaldi
2012: Slippbarinn, Hótel Marína
2011: Faktorý (RIP)
2010: Sódóma (RIP)
Best Place To Watch Sports
Over A Beer
Bjarni Fel
—
Austurstræti 20
Bjarni Fel is Reykjavík’s downtown
sports bar institution, winning this cat-
egory for the third year in a row. “It has a
lot of screens, so you can watch multiple
games or even multiple sports at once,”
said our office sports fan. “People con-
gregate there only to watch games, so
it has a good atmosphere of fun rivalry
when people are supporting different
teams. Everyone is very focused on the
sport, so nobody is talking over the game,
and no troubadours are gonna come in
and ruin everything.”
Bjarni Fel is attached to Hressó, so
they offer burgers and bar snacks along
with their reasonably priced beer. For re-
ally big events, don’t worry about missing
out: Hressó opens up the back room to ac-
commodate more people.
Runners-up: English Pub, Brooklyn
Bar
2014: Bjarni Fel
2013: Bjarni Fel
2012: Úrilla Górillan (RIP)
2011: Hvíta Perlan (RIP)
2010: Hvíta Perlan,
2009: Bjarni Fel
Best Beer Selection
Skúli Craft Bar
—
Aðalstræti 9
Skúli is a newcomer on the bar scene,
and it’s been an instant hit. “It feels like
it’s always been there,” our panel noted.
“It’s really settled into the city’s new craft
bar scene.” Skúli scores points for the old-
fashioned chalkboard presentation of
what’s on the twelve taps, and the gen-
erally pleasant environment—it’s much
more atmospheric and comfortable than
our previous winner, Micro Bar.
The beers on offer vary from wheat
beers to rich IPAs, dark stouts and lighter
lagers, with six Icelandic beers and six
imported, and a rotation that means
there’s always something new to try.
There’s an extensive selection of bottles
for those who want to delve deeper, and
you can buy a tray of small tastes rather
than a single beer if you prefer. “They
also have a good wine list,” one panelist
noted, “so if you don’t drink beers, it’s
one of the better wine bars to be found in
Reykjavík.”
Runner-up: Micro Bar
2014: Micro Bar
2013: Micro Bar
2012: Micro Bar
Best Place For Cocktails
Apótek
—
Austurstræti 16
Apótek is an upmarket restaurant with
a bar in the front, located in a high-ceil-
inged, refurbished spot, from which it
gets its name—because the building was
once a pharmacy. “They have a great
happy hour on their cocktails. You can
get a cocktail and a dessert for a good
price,” one write-in remarked. “It’s kind
of fancy, but not in an intimidating way—
it has a good atmosphere, relaxed, and
less packed than some of the other con-
tenders,” another noted. “The seating is
nice, with lots of space, so it feels more
private—it’s somewhere good for conver-
sation with your drink.”
Runners-up: Grillmarket, Fishmar-
ket, Slippbarinn
2014: Slippbarinn
2013: Borg, Hotel Borg
2012: Kolabrautin
Best Bar For Live Music
Húrra
—
Naustin
Húrra wins this category hands down,
with everyone we consulted praising it to
high heaven. Factors included the sound
system, which seems like it handles any
kind of music from acoustic to ambient
to techno to noise; the lighting, which is
dynamic and varied depending on the
artist playing; the great month-round
programme, which varies between vis-
iting bands, record release parties, DJ
nights, dance-eoke (yup, it’s a thing), and
just plain ol’ good parties. Húrra attracts
a young, fun, fashionable (mostly drunk)
crowd, has a good range of beers and
spirits at the bar, and is without question
the best small music venue in Reykjavík.
If it were our policy to give multiple
awards to the same place, Húrra would
be raking them in.
No runners-up—Húrra is peerless in
this category!
2014: Cafe Rosenberg
2013: Volta (RIP)
Best Bar For Smokers
Boston
—
Laugavegur 28b
Boston is a classic Reykjavík bar that’s
evolved over the years. From its roots as
the “sequel” to the wildly popular and
much-missed party bar Sirkus, it now
attracts an unpredictably mixed crowd,
from middle-aged moms out on the town,
to dressed-up birthday parties, groups of
tourists and the occasional member of
Reykjavík’s music-scene royalty. It also
has a solid DJ lineup, some fancy new
infused-spirit cocktails, and a comfort-
able upstairs to hide in.
To top all this, it has a huge seated
sun-terrace area for smokers, complete
with gas-powered heating, shelter from
the elements, plenty of space, and super
comfortable sofas. People often spend
the summer nights outside, deep in con-
versation—this terrace has a really happy
atmosphere as sun-starved Icelanders
enjoy the long summer nights. Light ‘em
up!*
(*But don’t forget, smoking is bad for
you. Maybe get an ecig!)
Runners-up: Loft, Hressó
2014: Hressó
2013: Reykjavík Beats
NEW: Best Happy Hour
Forréttabarinn
—
Nýlendugata 14
As we were sweeping the city’s drink-
ing establishments recently for our an-
nual Bar Guide, we happened upon this
tucked-away gem of a bar. With an in-
terior that’s somewhere between a cosy
neighbourhood bar and an exposed-
pipes industrial look, Forréttabarinn
houses a tapas restaurant in one side, and
a bar in the other. A large Bríó is just 500
ISK, with Hoegaarden, Kaldi, Einstök,
Porter and wine all priced at 650 ISK
from 16:00-20:00 daily, including week-
ends. And with a range of delicious tapas
available to snack on from the restaurant
menu, Forréttabarinn has the happiest
happy hour in town.
Runners-up: Kaffibarinn, Frederik-
sen
Best Shop To Stock Up On
Local Design
Spark Design Space
—
Klapparstígur 33
The Spark Design Space is a brightly lit
white cube on Klapparstígur, perched
on the fault line between gallery, design
space and shop. It sells an immaculately
curated selection of objects—be they
clothing, prints and posters, fragrances,
books or household stuff like shelving
and cushions—with a focus on Icelandic
projects. The space has a rolling exhibi-
tion programme that showcases work
by a featured designer, giving the work
room to breathe and providing a focus on
their hand-picked makers, and the staff
are always happy to tell you all about the
background behind each line. So pop in
just after payday, splash some krónur on
something beautiful, and make your life
just that bit more aesthetically pleasing.
Runner-up: Aurum
2014: Kraum
2013: Kraum
2012: Kraum
2011: Kraum
2010: Kraum
Best Shop To Stock Up On
Local Fashion Design
Kiosk
—
Laugavegur 65
It’s not that common for customers to
meet the fashion designers who make
their clothing. But that’s exactly what
happens at Kiosk, a high-end Reykjavík
store manned by a collective of six Ice-
landic fashion designers: EYGLO, heli-
copter, Hildur Yeoman, milla snorrason,
kyrja and Kristjana S Williams. Sell-
ing exclusively locally made garments,
the designers run every aspect of Kiosk
themselves, with one of the six always
manning the counter. The collections
change on regular basis, with designers
in charge of what’s on sale, all of which is
produced in limited numbers. Shopping
in Kiosk also means the money flows
straight to the designers, who are right
there on hand to offer their insight to the
customers.
Runner-up: P3
2014: Kiosk
2013: Kiosk
2012: Kiosk
2011: Kiosk
Best Bookstore
Bókabúð Steinars (Sjónarl-
ind)
—
Bergstaðastræti 7
Even though Iceland is a country
with a remarkably high number of
published authors per capita—some
might say a nation of writers—it’s kind
of surprising how limited the book-
store game is. Bókabúð Steinars on
Bergstaðastræti is quite singular too,
offering a lovely and well-curated se-
lection of primarily non-fiction books
almost exclusively in English. Rang-
ing through topics such as biography,
gastronomy, fashion, art, photography
and beyond, they are the only first-
hand indie bookstore in town. “Not
only do they have great books showing
styles and photographs, they also have
an excellent selection of beautiful tu-
torial books,” said one bibliophile. “It
is really great to find something fun or
to find something to help you learn a
serious skill.” Sounds great to us.
Runners-up: Mál og menning,
Bókin
2014: Nexus
2013: Eymundsson, Bankastræti
2012: Mál og Menning
2011: Eymundsson, Austurstræti
2010: Eymundsson,
Skólavörðustígur
NEW: Best Barber Shop
Barber Bar
—
Laugavegur 66
Barber Bar is a relatively new barber
shop, in (of course) a new Laugavegur
hotel. They put a welcome focus on
the experience as much the haircut—
along with a top-class trim, you can
get a drink from the bar, and browse
through a selection of vinyl records
provided by the Reykjavík Record
Store. “It’s a really nice all-round ex-
perience,” one freshly cut consultant
noted. “They do unisex haircuts, and
it’s small and intimate—there are only
three chairs, so it doesn’t feel crowd-
ed and overwhelming.” So whether
you’re after a #normcore short back ‘n’
sides, fancy bangs, a geometric beard
trim or a hipster combover, Barber Bar
will hit the spot.
Runners-up: KEX, Kormáks og
Skjaldar
NEW: Best Hairdressing
Salon
Barbarella
—
Suðurgata 7
This year, as opposed to lumping all plac-
es to get one's hair done into one category,
we decided it was time to split up barbers
and salons. They’ve usually duked it out
in one slot and that just isn't fair. In fact,
it might be somewhat of an upset, but this
relatively new place right near City Hall
got the top score in this redefined catego-
ry. The salon is a sort of 60s theme shop
with mod chic décor and copious refer-
ences to the Jane Fonda B-movie clas-
sic that is their namesake. The talented
team of stylists includes a couple of stray-
hairs from acclaimed salon Rauðhetta
og úlfurinn. They offer unisex styling
and colouring, and they are stocked
with high-quality products. It might be
the best place to get a vintage 'do, like a
short Twiggy cut or big blonde bombshell
locks. They may be new, but they’ve got
our hair wrapped around their pinky.
Runners-up: Rauðhetta og úlfurinn,
Sjoppan
Best Of Reykjavík
Shopping and
Commerce