Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.12.2016, Page 38

The R
eykjavík G
rapevine
Iceland A
irw
aves Special 20
16
38 Dining
Best Vegetarian
Meal
Kaffi Vínyl
Hverfisgata 76
Kaffi Vínyl has quickly become a staple of
101’s growing vegetarian dining scene.
They have a completely vegan menu, and
there’s always the crackle of vinyl in the
air. Kaffi Vínyl sticks to its vegan guns
when it comes to coffee, too—try their
oat milk latte and cappuccino.
Best Goddamn
Restaurant
Snaps
Þórsgata 1
Snaps is an atmospheric bistro beloved
by locals. The bacalao is amazing, the
french onion soup makes you forget
about the wind and the rain, their lamb
steak with crispy fries and homemade
bearnaise is maybe the best in town.
They also do a stellar espresso martini.
Best
Cheap Meal
Noodle Station
Laugavegur 86
Noodle Station is a soup café towards
the top of Laugavegur. You can smell the
coriander for metres around this place.
You can ask for it to be extra spicy, if
you dare. The vegetable option comes in
under 1000 ISK—enter hungry, and leave
with change in your pocket.
Best Shop For Local
Design
Kraum
Bankastræti 7a
Opened in 2007 as a collaboration be-
tween two dozen local designers, Kraum
sells work by over 100 local artists and
designers. You’ll find everything here
from unique souvenirs to an Icelandic
take on everyday items like stationary,
handbags, raincoats and jewellery.
Best Place For Icelandic
Fashion Design
Kiosk
Laugavegur 65
Kiosk sells clothing by the best local
designers, who also staff the store on a
rotation. They’ll not only know about the
inspiration behind the clothing—chanc-
es are, they designed some of it. If you’re
a person who likes to take home some-
thing unique when you travel, this is the
place—you’ll get a garment, a story, and
probably a Facebook friend.
Best Place To Buy
A Wool Sweater
Handprjóna-
sambandið
Skólavörðustígur 19
The name of this store translates as
“Hand Knitting Society of Iceland.” Their
stock comes from dozens of contribu-
tors from around the country, who make
traditional knitted wool sweaters and
other garments. Treat it like the wand
shop in Harry Potter, and let the sweater
choose you.
Best Second
Hand Store
Kolaportið
Tryggvagata 19
Kolaportið is a huge indoor weekend
flea market filled with bric-a-brac, used
clothes, unusual foods, lópapeysur and
smoking accessories. You could end up
leaving this place with some sour whale
blubber under one arm of your newly
purchased fur coat. It’s a deal-scav-
enger’s heaven, and a germophobe’s
worst nightmare.
Activities
Best
Gallery
i8
Tryggvagata 16
The i8 gallery goes from strength to
strength with their stable of top-notch
Icelandic artists, as well as some
renowned international players. It’s the
gallery that represents Ragnar Kjar-
tansson, the playful multi-media artist
who’s basically the spirit animal of the
Icelandic arts scene.
Best
Pool
Neslaug
Suðurströnd 8
Reykjavík’s oldest pool is Sundhöllin, and
it’s a great choice for Airwaves because
of its downtown location. But for those
with some free time and a sense of
adventure, you could also try Neslaug, a
tucked-away pool on the Seltjarnarnes
peninsula. There’s a nice jacuzzi, and the
pool is filled with salt water, so you feel
buoyant when you do laps.
Best
Day Trip
Hvalfjörður
Route 1 North » Route 47
If you have a hire car and a day to fill,
you could try going off the beaten
track to Hvalfjörður. You could hike to
Glymur, the tallest waterfall in Iceland,
see an old whaling station, visit a sign
marking where Churchill came to see
submarines, and finish by learning about
a wizard who turned into a whale at the
Borgarnes settlement centre.
Best Of
Reykjavík
Airwaves Edition
As you’re wandering the city you might notice some piles of our sis-
ter publication: Grapevine’s Best Of Reykjavík 2016. This magazine
is dedicated to the finest restaurants, funnest days out, steamiest
hot pots and liveliest happy hours the city has to offer. Here, we’ve
filtered the winners down here to nine categories that festivalgoers
might find super useful. But if you’re looking for something more
specific, or have some extra days to fill, pick up a copy of the full
Best of Reykjavík mag, or check out grapevine.is/bestof for more. JR
Shopping