Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.07.2015, Side 24

(somewhat optimistically designated as
May-September), leaving from Harpa,
Reykjavík’s old harbour, or the ferry ter-
minal on Skarfagarðar, for a reasonable
1100 ISK.
“Viðey feels like a step away from the
city," one reader noted. "As soon as you set
foot on the boat, you’re decompressing
from downtown. And once you’re on the
island it’s even better—you can be com-
pletely at peace, away from the summer
crowds. Esja looks beautiful—you’re right
there with the mountains, the sea and the
nature.”
Runners-up: Viðey won this hands
down
2014: Elliðaárdalur
2013: Tjörnin
2012: Öskjuhlíð
2011: Húsdýragarðurinn
2010: Alþingi
2009: Reykjavík Botanical Gardens
Best Place To Spend Time
With Kids
Húsdýra- og Fjölskyldu-
garðurinn
—
Laugardalur
The parents we consulted readily picked
this place, a petting zoo and family park
located in the Laugardalur valley, for its
benefits to kids and grown-ups alike.
“Kids are occupied the whole time, with
the animals and playing in the adventure
park, and at the end of the day they are
completely exhausted,” said one parent.
It checks off all the boxes for keeping
kids entertained and making bedtime a
breeze. Bottom line: cute animals to cud-
dle, colourful things to bounce on, and
easy on the wallet.
Runners-up: There was no contest for
this category.
2014: Húsdýragarðurinn
2013: Fjölskyldugarðurinn
2012: Lynghagaróló Playground
Best Place To Read A Book
Stofan
—
Vesturgata 3
We’ll be honest, this wasn’t such an easy
one. There was pretty tough competition
between this beautiful, warm and com-
fortable café in downtown Reykjavík and
the Reykjavík City Library, a mere block
away. The library is of course a building
full of books built with almost the exclu-
sive purpose of faciliating reading, but
Stofan has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that
is so inviting to bringing your own and
sitting there for hours. “The downstairs
level is especially nice to read in,” said
one person. “It’s spacious and cavernous
but gets lots of light and you can just sink
into the vintage couches.”
Plus, with a great menu of coffees,
cakes and light meals, there’s no need to
relocate when your reading energy starts
to fade. We’ll be doing our reading down
there, thank you.
Runner-up: Reykjavík City Library
2014: National and University Library
2013: Stofan
2012: Stofan
Best Day Trip
From Reykjavík
Snæfellsnes
There are some people who say that
Snæfellsnes is like a “mini Iceland,” and
with good reason. Only two hours away
from Reykjavík, the peninsula has a
little bit of everything that can be found
around the island—a magnificent and fa-
mous glacier, rolling marshy lava fields,
natural hot pots, an incredible coastline
with volcanic sands and rocky cliffs, and
small towns with cosmopolitan vibes.
“It’s nice all year round. In the summer
you can go walk on the red sand beaches
and in the winter you can walk or drive a
snowcat onto Snæfellsjökull glacier,” said
one person emphatically. Stykkishólmur
is nice town to visit before driving back
to the capital in the same day, with lots of
colourful characters and interesting at-
tractions like the Library of Water. Dot-
ted with amazing sights like a crashed
ship, a beached whale carcass (at times),
lighthouses, cliffs and caves, Snæfellsnes
is our get-outta-town winner.
Runners-up: Hvalfjörður, Þingvellir
2014: Snæfellsnes
2013: Reykjadalur
2012: Mosfellsbær and Esja
Best Place To Watch The
Sunset
Grótta
This is another tough one. Some parts of
the year the only light we get is a perma-
nent sunset, and then there’s those pesky
months where the sun barely sets at all
and sleeping mask manufacturers rejoice.
Admittedly, most of the city has a pretty
great vantage point of the sky, but there
was unanimous consensus amongst
those we consulted that nowhere else in
the city offers quite the same experience
as watching the light fade from Grótta.
All the way at the western tip of the
city, the beachy point provides a perfect
360-panoramic view and gives the il-
lusion of being out of the city when one
hasn’t even left it. If the tide is out you can
even access the lighthouse. It’s just the
perfect place to enjoy the peace and quiet
and the disappearing sun.
Runner-up: Hallgrímskirkja
2014: Perlan

Best People-Watching Spot
Austurvöllur
This city is a great place to observe other
human beings. There’s always someone
familiar, colourful characters and inter-
esting interactions. We had a few strong
contenders for the best vantage point,
but the square in front Alþingi swept the
category in the end. “Everyone passes by
here—tourists, politicians, artists, kids,
drunks,” said one panelist. “It’s like all of
Reykjavík’s street life in one place.” With
the entire northern row of the square
lined with pub patios, it’s especially well
set up for sitting and relaxing and watch-
ing the town go by. Plus there is always
something happening in the square—a
protest, some kind of performance art, or
just a good old-fashioned bumfight. Just
sit back and enjoy.
Runners-up: Nauthólsvík, Prikið
2014: Second Floor Window Seats,
Eymundsson on Austurstræti
2013: Booths at Hressó
Best Graveyard To Hang
Out In
Fossvogskirkjugarður
—
Vesturhlíð 8
This year’s winner of the best graveyard
to hang out in is Fossvogskirkjugarður—
a wonderful, hidden spot nestled at the
back of Öskjuhlíð. Whilst we also love
the history and layout of previous win-
ner Hólavallagarður, Fossvogskirkju-
garður has a wilder and less cultivated
atmosphere, and less people around.
“It’s a graveyard that’s full of life,” one
panellist said. “The trees and wild plants
grow right between the graves, so it’s like
you’re in a forest as well as a graveyard.
There are lots of paths to explore, and
little secret places. Sometimes you really
don’t see many other people, so you can
feel pleasantly alone there, except for all
the bunny rabbits running around your
feet.”
Runner-up: Hólavallagarður
2014: Hólavallagarður
2013: Hólavallagarður
Best Cheap Thrill
Bingo
This city is not especially renowned for
facilitating frugality, so coming up with
cheap thrills is always a challenge when
we run this poll. This year, though, like
a bolt from the blue, somebody remem-
bered the bingo hall up on Skipholt. Un-
der the cool vintage sign and within the
no-frills exterior, one will find all walks
of life commonly sharing the bingo expe-
rience. “It’s run by all these great old la-
dies—only women work there—and you
can buy a ticket for just 300 ISK or get ten
like the pros,” our panel's bingo aficiona-
do noted. “There’s a stage where they call
the bingo from and behind there’s this
huge screen where the numbers show
up so it’s really easy to follow along. Plus
the ladies are so helpful.” Also, it’s one of
the few sober spaces in town on weekend
nights. Bingo!
Runners-up: Riding the city busses,
Art openings and free gigs, Shoplift-
ing
2014: Sea Swimming at Nauthólsvík
2013: Reykjavík City Library
NEW: Best Mural /
Street Art
Guido Van Helten at Grandi
For all the great galleries and art muse-
ums we have in this city, far too little is
said about the incredible amount and
quality of street art that fills our city.
While the competition was tough, our
entire panel was smitten by the stunning
works of Guido Van Helten on the white-
washed buildings in Grandi. Overlooking
empty construction pits, his charcoal
sketch-styled paintings are both realistic
and fantastical, with the tight close-up
faces creating a hyper-sensuous juxta-
position to the industrial rubble beneath.
It’s not only incredible art, but a moving
sight altogether.
Runners-up: Sara Riel’s Hands, all
around Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Institutions
Through compiling our second annual
best of list back when, we reached the
conclusion that some of these places are
so firmly established as local favourites
that naming them “best of” anything
is sort of redundant. Furthermore, we
thought having to compete with local
favourites was almost unfair to all the
new places trying to make their name.
There will only ever be one Ísbúð Vestur-
bæjar, and it will probably remain Reyk-
javík’s favourite ice cream joint for as
long as they don’t mess up horribly. That
shouldn’t mean we can’t get excited and
dish out props to other ice cream vendors.
We came up with a solution that
would give us a chance to honour some of
the perennial local favourites while still
giving props to new and exciting places.
We simply made a category that we call
REYKJAVÍK INSTITUTIONS.
What makes a
‘REYKJAVÍK
INSTITUTION’?
By our definition, a ‘REYKJAVÍK IN-
STITUTION’ is a place or entity that’s
time and time again proven itself as one
of the best of its kind, and has remained
a must-visit through the years. When
achieving INSTITUTION status, an es-
tablishment is automatically disqualified
from winning any ‘best of’ categories, be-
cause you’re beyond being ‘best,’ having
been all consistently awesome for a long,
long time.
— A REYKJAVÍK INSTITUTION is a
must-visit for tourists to Reykjavík.
— A REYKJAVÍK INSTITUTION will
retain its status as such until it starts
sucking, in which case we will ceremo-
niously remove them from our list next
year.
Without further ado, here are our REYK-
JAVÍK INSTITUTIONS, along with
some choice reader and specialist quotes
that argue their status:
24 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 9 — 2015
Kaffibarinn
“Despite some ups and downs, Kaffibar-
inn has remained the undisputed reign-
ing champion of Reykjavík nightlife and
drinking for well over a decade. They are
a true nightlife institution.”
Bæjarins bestu
“Everyone goes there. All the time. For
over 70 years now. Not exactly gourmet
dining, but a really freaking great snack
nonetheless.”
Ísbúð vesturbæjar
“It’s hard to explain the charm to outsid-
ers, just tell them to go there. The ever-
present queue speaks for itself.”
Hornið
“For a restaurant to remain so consistent-
ly on top of its game for over thirty years
is one huge achievement. They are cosy,
dependable and ever-tasty."
Mokka
“They brought ‘coffee’ to Iceland, pretty
much”.
Tíu dropar
"Quintessentially Icelandic in every way.
The coffee, the cake, the vibe. If I were to
point a visiting friend to ‘the essence of
Iceland,’ this is where I would send him.”
Kolaportið
“If Kolaportið weren’t around, we’d need
to establish it immediately, lest we vanish
back to the dark ages of commerce.”
Bókin – Bókabúð Braga
“It’s hard to imagine Reykjavík without
it. So let’s not.”
Brynja
“This neighbourhood hardware store
almost predates Laugavegur, and they
always serve you with a smile (and don’t
mind throwing in some good advice
when needed).”
Austur-Indía félagið
“Probably your safest bet for fine dining
in Iceland, period.”
Jómfrúin
“This Danish ‘smørrebrød’ house pro-
vides a unique atmosphere and taste you
won’t find elsewhere in town... or in the
world for that matter.”

Prikið
“Serving old men their morning coffee
since way back, and somehow combin-
ing that with serving beer and hip hop to
young folks since the late ‘90s. And burg-
ers. And milkshakes. A one of a kind place
with spirit and soul.”
Sundhöll Reykjavíkur
“The Guðjón Samúelsson designed
Sundhöll Reykjavíkur with its maze of
locker rooms is a beautiful building, and
the nude sunbathing facilities, soothing
hot pots and an atmosphere that has re-
mained relatively unchanged since the
1930s all add to its appeal. While some of
Reykjavík’s other pools might offer more
diversity, Sundhöll Reykjavíkur remains
a unique and enduring local favourite.”
Feel like we missed one? Drop us a line at
bestof@grapevine.is explaining why a
given place should be merited INSTITU-
TION status.
Best Of Reykjavík