Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.10.2015, Síða 62

Music takes me all kinds of places, so
I travel a lot, playing shows and what-
not. On such trips, I often find myself
wandering around strange new cities
for prolonged periods of time trying
to find a local vegan restaurant. It can
get tough. So, to save you fellow veg-
gie people from spending too much
time hungrily wandering the streets of
Reykjavík, I'm gonna guide you around
my favourite places!
Coffee, pastries,
sandwiches
First of all, there’s coffee and breakfast.
To start the day, I would go to Reykja-
vík Roasters in Brautarholt, where you
can get the best coffee (ever!) and some
really good vegan croissants, cakes
and sourdough bread with avocado or
hummus. So good! And the coffee is so
strong and tasty.
I also like to go to a nice little place
called C is for Cookie. They offer these
grilled sandwiches filled with whatev-
er you like--and if you're vegan, make
sure to ask whether the vegan cheese
is on offer. You can also get vegan car-
rot cake and other delicious sweet
stuff.
Falafel
party goodness
On to lunch and dinner… OK, there are
actually a lot of good places to choose
from these days, so I'm going to have
to name a few. If you've been partying
like crazy all night, or if you’re just in
the mood for a nice falafel, I heart-
ily recommend Mandi by Ingólfstorg.
Their stuff is really, really good—if
you're vegan, just remember to skip the
yogurt sauce.
If you’re into noodles, which I am, I
advise you to enjoy a bowl at Núðluská-
lin. Their fare is yummy, spicy (if that’s
your thing) and filling, too. Of course,
there are also various Indian places
around that work well for vegans, like
Austur-Indíafélagið and Hraðlestin,
both on Hverfisgata. The first one is a
little fancier (and far more expensive),
but both are really good.
I definitely also recommend K-bar
on Laugavegur, where you can get a
Korean dish called bibimbap. I'm not
usually a big fan of deep-fried foods,
but an order of bibimbap brings you
rice with vegetables, kimchi and lots
of delicious deep-fried tofu. I love it!
If you like sushi, check out Sake-
barinn/Sushibarinn (a pair of con-
joined restaurants on Laugavegur,
which share owners and a menu). You
can get nice vegetarian mix there—I
always go for the lovely vegan mix.
They have a vegan burger at Kaffi
Vest up in Vesturbær, a short walk
from downtown. Kaffi Vest is conve-
niently close to Vesturbæjarlaug, so if
you’re nursing one of those music fes-
tival hangovers, you can do the hot tub
thing and then go have a burger.
Then, there’s this 100% vegetar-
ian place called Garðurinn on Klap-
parstígur. It’s very hippie—just like
you’d imagine a vegetarian place
would look and taste!
Last but not least is Gló, which is
owned by a locally famous vegan/raw
chef Sólveig Eiríksdóttir, aka Solla.
They always have a vegetarian dish,
soup AND a raw food meal. They also
have chicken (booo!), but, I mean, if
you’re going for a bite with your car-
nivorous friends, that maybe helps
ensure that everyone’s happy. Gló also
offers various raw sweets—they’re
probably full of sugar, but oh so good.
As for beer... someone told me the
Icelandic beer Einstök was vegan!
I don't know (yet) what non-vegan
things you could (or would want to)
put in your beer, but Einstök is a nice
beer anyway!
There are also a couple of nice 'veg-
etarian' food stores downtown, Góð
Heilsa and Heilsubúðin. One is on
the corner of Laugavegur and Klap-
parstígur, and the other lies a little bit
further up the road, on Klapparstígur.
Also, you should definitely get an
app that’s called 'Happy Cow'. It's like
YELP, but only for vegetarian/vegan
food.
So! I really hope all this helps you a
little bit if you're feeling lost and "han-
gry" (hungry & angry)... because I'm
that person all the time when I’m trav-
elling. At least, I am when I’m stuck
at the gas stations on the Autobahn
in Germany, where they only serve
schnitzel with bread. They make me
both “hangry” and “had” (“hungry” &
“sad”). But once you're vegan there’s
no way back—your only way from
thereon is towards harmless living for
you, the planet and, of course, the ani-
mals. Peace! <3
Addresses
Reykjavík Roasters
Kárastígur 1, 101 Reykjavík
C is for Cookie
Týsgata 8, 101 Reykjavík
Mandi
Veltusund 3b, 101 Reykjavík
Núðluskálin
Skólavörðustígur 8, 101 Reykjavík
Austur Indía
Hverfisgata 56, 101 Reykjavík
Hraðlestin
Hverfisgata 64a, 101 Reykjavík
K-bar
Laugavegur 74, 101 Reykjavík
Sakebarinn/Sushibarinn
Laugavegur 2, 101 Reykjavík
Kaffihús Vesturbæjar
Melhagi 20-22, 107 Reykjavík
Garðurinn
Klapparstígur 37, 101 Reykjavík
Góð heilsa
Njálsgata 1, 101 Reykjavík
Gló
Laugavegur 20b, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Being vegetarian or vegan in Iceland keeps getting easier. I’ve
been an on-and-off vegetarian/pescatarian for ten years, but last
year I finally took the step, and now try to live the vegan lifestyle
as much as possible.
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