Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.11.2015, Qupperneq 54

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A L S O B E S T 2 0 0 9, 2 0 1 0, 2 0 1 1, 2 0 1 2, 2 0 1 3 a n d 2 0 1 4
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“ “
BanThai
FOOD
FOR YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL
Retro Confusion
SHRUTHI BASAPPA
ART BICNICK

Íslenski Barinn was established shortly
that famous economic collapse of 2008,
the founders citing it—along with the
subsequent wave of protests—as inspi-
ration. At its initial location, the res-
taurant overlooked Austurvöllur, the
sleepy square by Alþingi where Ice-
landers gathered to voice their outrage
in unison. It came with a manifesto: it
would be a place for locals, one that
took classic Icelandic traditions for-
ward, in a hopeful way—fitting for a
restaurant born out of Iceland’s mini-
revolution.
The restaurant has since changed
hands, and moved to its present In-
gólfsstræti location. With new owners,
at a new location, it’s unsurprising that
Íslenski Barinn’s ambiance changed as
well—and this is regretful, as it was pre-
viously a large part of its appeal. While
Íslenski Barinn’s new iteration cer-
tainly offers hints of thoughtful detail,
they rarely come together, making for
a slightly confused atmosphere. How-
ever, friendly service and a full house
went some way towards ameliorating
this.
The menu is short and concise:
there are small bites, some hot dogs, a
burger selection, bar food, and seasonal
specials. The menu itself could use a
do-over, as the fine print makes it hard
to read in the candlelight.
Keeping with the spirit of the place
we ordered a beer, and the “Puffed Cod
Skin” (1,100 ISK), marine chicharrón if
you will. Crispy, crunchy, with barely a
trace of oil, this is a take on an Icelan-
dic ingredient that I appreciate and
want to see more of: it was resourceful,
uncontrived, and well executed—tasty
enough that we completely ignored the
chilli mayo that accompanied it while
nibbling on our skins throughout the
evening.
Our meal was off to a good start. Dis-
appointingly, our next dish, the Grafinn
Lundi (thyme-cured arctic puffin, 1,690
ISK), failed to meet our expectations,
suffering from both the “tiny jar treat-
ment” (less prevalent than at the old
location, but no less frustrating) and
the aioli that accompanied it. I wonder
what Freud would have to say about
grown people feeding from baby jars—a
trend that’s ready to see the inside of an
urn. The puffin itself was all right, but
the portions were minuscule and the
mayo overpowered the thyme to the
point that it might as well have been ab-
sent.
Seriously—give the mayo a rest. This
is a tip for all the restaurants that carry
it as a default dip: nuh-uh. Not unless
you’re hand-whisking your own lus-
cious, creamy mayo.
For the main course, I had the
grilled halibut (2,950 ISK), and my
burger-loving hubby went straight for
the reindeer burger (3,210 ISK). The
halibut was beautifully presented, with
barley, carrots and arugula. The fish
was well cooked, the barley nutty, and
the sweetness of the carrots was cut by
the bitter rocket.
There was nothing to fault with this
dish, but it didn’t particularly excite
me either. The burger man enjoyed his
burger, although we agreed that such
intentional gourmandising of a burger,
even a reindeer one, is unnecessary.
The brioche buns are furthermore sim-
ply too sweet—and considering that the
dish came with sweet potato fries and
red onion chutney, it felt like a minor
miracle that the burger’s flavour wasn’t
smothered by all that sugar. That said, it
was still an enjoyable burger, although
nothing about it seemed to justify the
hefty price tag.
Kudos to the attentive and friendly
service staff. Thanks to them, our meal
was well paced and enjoyable. We end-
ed the night on a sweet note with the
Ástarpungar (a classic Icelandic pas-
try made of fried dough) served with
ice cream and caraway biscuits (1,300
ISK). The ‘pungar were delicious,
seemingly made of rye and fried to or-
der. Certainly a pleasant note to end the
meal on.
Throughout the night, Icelandic
reggae band Hjálmar hummed in the
background, the restaurant CD player
stuck in repeat mode (or so it felt),
which nicely sums up the vibe Íslenski
Barinn is currently going for.
Leaving the restaurant after a pleas-
ant night, we were fairly satisfied, albeit
a little disappointed that its promising
menu failed to live up to our expecta-
tions. With a tweak here and there, and
more dishes like that fried cod skin on
offer, Íslenski Barinn could really push
the envelope and deliver a far more
memorable dining experience. Here’s
hoping they do.
What we think: A promising
menu that sporadically delivers.
Flavour: Old Icelandic
food redressed for today’s
sensibilities.
Ambiance: Early 00s fashion
referencing the 50s, lost in the
10s.
Service: Attentive and friendly
Meal for 2: 10,000 – 12,000 ISK
Íslenski Barinn
Ingólfsstræti 1a, 101 Reykjavik
22
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 17 — 2015