Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.06.2017, Qupperneq 20

The R
eykjavík G
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eykjavík 20
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"We try to think about where the
ingredients come from."
DINING
Wonder
Women
Hverfisgata’s ambitious and
delicious Julia & Julia café
Words JOHN ROGERS Photos ART BICNICK
Reykjavík’s “second street” of
Hverfisgata has been under-
going a renaissance in recent
times. A few years ago it was a
run down area known as “the
Reykjavík ghetto,” but as the
tourist boom continues to gain
force, the city-centre street has
evolved beyond recognition.
Today, it has a growing num-
ber of restaurants, bars and
boutiques. One of the most pop-
ular new arrivals is Julia & Julia,
a smart new café housed in the
Culture House at Hverfisgata
15. With its bottle green colour
scheme, comfortable sofas, and
bright windows, the café—run
by a pair of friends called, you
guessed it, Julia and Júlía—has
been an instant hit.
“We first met at the Kaf-
fibarinn sewing club—which was
mostly about drinking beer—ten
years ago,” says Julia Mai, as she
serves us bowls of steaming
spinach soup with freshly baked
rolls. “We’d both thought about
doing something like this, sepa-
rately. And it turned out we were
thinking the same way.”
Double Julia
Her business partner is Júlía
Hvanndal, a former graphic de-
signer who quit her job to start the
café. “We met up to go over all the
books,” she recalls. “And also to see
if we were… compatible, I guess. We
went really deep and really person-
al really quickly. It’s been good.”
The two had originally
planned to find a building to
renovate from the ground up.
They were already picking out
bathroom tiles when they found
out the café at the museum was
becoming available. “We found
out about it in December 2016,”
explains Julia. “It was a Kaffitár,
then. We came in with our kids
for a look, spying on the location,
and we decided it was perfect.”
Heavenly cakes
It’s a match made in heaven.
In their tasteful, pristine din-
ing room, Julia and Júlía serve
freshly made soups, sand-
wiches and—the stars of the
show—cakes. We’re served a
sweet, moist honey cake with
cream, an English-style rasp-
berry crumble, a tart and de-
licious marmalade cake, and
a mouth-watering hot skillet
cookie, with the chocolate chips
melting into the soft dough.
The recipes are domestic in
feel—comfort food, but with
flourishes that also make them
feel like a treat. Daytime drinks
offers are regular, with bubbly
on offer every Wednesday, and
they have more themed days in
the pipeline, as well as a planned
outdoor area for the summer.
The two focus on using the best
ingredients they can find. “We
try to think of where the ingredi-
ents come from,” explains Julia.
“We would love to grow things
ourselves, and we have these big
windows—we’ll grow flowers
and herbs.” She stops and laughs:
“And a goat in the basement.”
Julia & Julia’s menu has been
pared down since they opened,
just six weeks ago, because the
ambitious first draft meant that
one of the two was always glued
to the stove. “We were very am-
bitious,” smiles Júlía. “But it’s
not possible to have such a big
menu with just two people, so
we trimmed it down. We do ev-
erything, you see—not just bak-
ing, but shopping, inventory,
and cleaning...”
“We’re goddamn wonder wom-
en!” laughs Julia, clearing the
table and heading back into the
kitchen as a fresh batch of cus-
tomers arrive.
NO BUN
NO FUN
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