Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.07.2016, Page 57

Let Them Eat Fish
Messinn, Matur & Drykkur and
Icelandic Fish & Chips
Hverfisgata 12 · 101 Reykjavík
Tel. +354 552 15 22 · www.dillrestaurant.is
Lífið er saltfiskur
#109 Dill is a Nordic restaurant with its
focus on Iceland, the pure nature and
all the good things coming from it.

It does not matter if it’s the
ingredients or the old traditions, we
try to hold firmly on to both.
There are not many things that make
us happier than giving life to old
traditions and forgotten ingredients
with modern technique and our creative
mind as a weapon.
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s t e a m e d m u s s e l s f r o m B r e i ð a f j ö r ð u r
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Believe it or not, fish restaurants
are relatively new in Iceland. Cod
was sold from Iceland to the rest
of the world, but wasn’t available
to the average Icelander. It was, like
everything here, too expensive.
Of course cheaper fish was a
staple, such as haddock. A dish like
plokkfiskur, or fish stew, was a way
of getting fish and padding it with
the calories of potatoes, making
Icelandic comfort food. Nowadays,
tourists want fresh fish almost
as soon as they arrive. Icelanders
want to enjoy the spoils of the Cod
War against Britain. How you want
your fish, depends on your mood. It
also depends on where you go.
Sometimes you just want fresh
fish deep-fried. Icelandic Fish &
Chips does this well. I would argue,
much like football, Iceland does
this better than Britain. The fish
is fresh and the batter is light and
crispy, with Skyronnes®, a skyr-
based dipping sauce that comes in
nine variations (with the standard
tartar sauce included). This is the
best way to try Icelandic fish—es-
pecially for the picky eater. If it’s
fresh, try the steinbítur, Atlantic
wolffish. It’s as ugly in life as it is
delicious in death.
We all have a friend or relative
who can cook fish perfectly. It’s al-
most annoying. You can see their
smug face when their fork pierces
your overcooked salmon, flaking it
off the skin before they announce
to the table that everyone should
come over for dinner at their house
sometime. Messin is that person.
It makes simple meals: fish, pota-
toes, vegetables—all cooked, and
this isn’t an advertisement, to per-
fection. It only opened a few weeks
ago, but Messinn is Reykjavík’s an-
swer to the Ísafjörður institution
Tjöruhusið, which is a good com-
parison for their chefs, if not their
accountants.
Matur og Drykkur is a restau-
rant based on the classic Icelan-
dic cookbook of the same name.
It gives a much needed boost to
classic Icelandic cuisine. It’s fine
dining that gives you a gentrified
culinary history of Iceland. You will
be suspicious of some items: trout
smoked with sheep’s dung and
cod’s head cooked in chicken stock
with dulse. Don’t be. Sheep’s dung
was traditionally used to smoke
things in Iceland. There aren’t a lot
of trees in general. Cod’s head was
the cheap part of the fish that Ice-
landers could afford to take home,
while selling the rest of the fish to
richer nations.
Have fish while you are in Ice-
land. If this article was a listicle,
it would be titled “Three Places To
Eat Fish In Iceland From Least To
Most Adventurous.” That wouldn’t
be exactly fair, though. I think a
normally picky eater would enjoy
Matur og Drykkur and a foodie
would love Icelandic Fish & Chips.
The prices aren’t too different ei-
ther. It’s Iceland. Everything is
expensive so Icelanders can make
enough money to afford to eat out
too. Well, at least when their for-
eign friends come to visit and take
them out.
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Sæta Svínið &
Johansen Deli
Words YORK UNDERWOOD Photo ALISA KALYANOVA
Words by ELIJAH PETZOLD
Photos by HREFNA BJÖRG
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