Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.06.2016, Qupperneq 53

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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
Something for
Everyone:
Bike Cave
AUSTURSTRÆTI
AUSTURSTRÆTI
Austurvöllur
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VALLARSTRÆTI
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KIRKJUSTRÆTI
Opening hours
Sunday - Thursday 11:00 - 02:00
Friday - Saturday 11:00 - 06:00 - FIND US ON FACEBOOK
dirtyburgerandribs.is
Words LARISSA KYZER Photo ART BICNICK
Located in the Litli-Skerjafjörður
neighbourhood behind the do-
mestic airport, the Bike Cave is
somewhat out of the way for trav-
ellers and locals alike. However,
given its fleet of rental scooters—
parked jauntily outside like Harleys
in front of a leather bar—and its
proximity to popular coastal walk-
ing and cycling trails, this eclectic
café likely has a long and happy fu-
ture ahead.
The Bike Cave wears a lot of hats.
All told, this is your one-stop “self-
service pit-stop” (you can rent
equipment to tune up your bikes,
that is) slash laundromat slash
shower facility slash scooter rental
slash (vegan-) friendly hamburger
joint. Basically, there’s something
for everyone, be that adult colour-
ing books, a slot machine, or an up-
right piano.
The menu goes for a similarly
wide appeal, although the focus is
fried and starchy—food that you’d
crave after a long bike ride (I’m
guessing) or the kind of yummy
“treat yo‘self” junk fare that’s per-
fect for lazy weeknights. Mozza-
rella sticks, onion rings, ham and
cheeses, chicken burgers, fries.
Fries four ways, actually: regular,
curly, criss-cross, and sweet pota-
to, with all kinds of dipping sauce
because this is Iceland and if you
don’t have lots and lots of sauce
you’re doing it wrong. The menu
features a number of vegetarian
options, as well as some humor-
ous outliers, from requisite I’m-in-
Iceland dishes like kjötsúpa (meat
soup) and lamb to my personal
favourite, the succinctly confusing
“Brunch.”
I tried the Dehli koftas with
“sunshine sauce” (595 ISK) and a
“lúxus” burger (1095 ISK), while
my companion sampled both of
the veggie burgers (they’re small-
ish): chili and potato, respectively
(745 ISK each). We split an order of
criss-cross fries (495 ISK) with a
side of béarnaise, obv.
The koftas—five fried and spiced
potato-balls, each about the size of
a shooter marble—were inexplica-
bly served with fried garlic bread.
(The bread was good, incidentally.
Still random.) These tot-marbles
tasted exactly as you’d expect (I
happily ate them all), and the
sauce—a thinner sort of korma?—
was tasty and good on the fries,
too, which were crispy and salty.
Exactly what fries should be.
The lúxus burger was an adven-
ture in topping abundance: satis-
fyingly half-crispy bacon, sautéed
mushrooms, melty “gull ostur”
(Iceland’s take on camembert),
cucumber and béarnaise. Person-
ally, I’m not a fan of gull ostur
and should’ve asked for the vegan
cheese, but that’s not the fault of
the burger, which otherwise hit
the mark. Meaning: it was quickly
made, filling, and yeah, totally a
burger. The not-super-filling veg-
gie burgers were less successful—
the potato kind is comprised of
two, triangular hash browns and
there wasn’t anything particularly
chili-ish about the chili burger. But
given the price and the ambiance,
neither myself nor my companion
were terribly fussed.
And that’s what it comes down
to: Bike Cave has a pleasant, laid-
back vibe that more than makes up
for the fact that the food is… totally
fine. It’s a comfortable place, with
comfort food and nice employ-
ees. Plus, they’re open until 11 and
serve alcohol so yeah—I’m happy.
Look for me here with a beer, a bas-
ket of fries, and a colouring book.
SHARE: gpv.is/bcave
Review
56The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 7 — 2016