Reykjavík Grapevine - 03.02.2017, Page 53

Interesting Dish:
Bone Marrow At Kex
While in no way unique by inter-
national standards, Kex Hostel
does offer a dish that is rare in the
Icelandic scene, and not available
to any but the nerdiest of home
cooks. I am talking about the gas-
tropub classic of bone marrow on
toast. Their baked bone marrow
(950 ISK) is served with lemon
juice and fresh herbs and a small
stack of extra-crispy bread that’s
an underrated bar snack for shar-
ing. As a side benefit, it helps coat
the mouth and stomach for the
beer abuse to come. RE
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Restaurants
52The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 02 — 2017Food
Matarkjallarinn sits nestled in the
cosy basement of Aðalstræti 2, a
160-year-old building in the heart
of downtown Reykjavík. Prior to
Matarkjallarinn, it housed a branch
of the Akureyri-based steak and
sushi joint Rub 23, but is most readily
associated with Sjávarkjallarinn, a
seafood restaurant that was pivotal
in raising the standards of Icelan-
dic fine dining (“kjallarinn” means
“basement”: both names make refer-
ence to the location). Although the
site has been transformed since then
through extensive renovations, it has
the dual distinction of having been
the landing site for Iceland’s first
settler (the shore used to lie further
inland) and its first major merchant.
The first thing you’ll notice is
the grand piano which is tickled by
lounge musicians most nights of the
week—quite the rarity in Reykjavík
these days, and a nice old-fashioned
touch. The design is varied, consist-
ing of things such as renaissance
panelling, lithographs of European
fauna and table lights made from
Campari bottles.
We visited Matarkjallarinn to
sample their Christmas menu, a
frankly unavoidable choice during
the holiday season as restaurants
jostle to roll out their artisan Ru-
dolph the Reindeer burgers, innova-
tively cured geese and home-pickled
cabbage. And chefs Ari Freyr and
Iðunn Sigurðar did not disappoint.
The five-course menu kicked
off with a slow-cooked melt-in-
the-mouth cod with lobster hol-
landaise, blanched asparagus, and
slivers of double-smoked lamb. The
croutons were superfluous, but the
lamb added a nice touch of smoki-
ness. Next was the ingenious salm-
on cured in Malt and Appelsín (a
traditional holiday beverage made
of orange soda and a non-alcoholic
malt beverage). The salmon came
with pickled cucumbers, horse-
radish and dill. It was a great dish
which would have been even better
with a touch more of the mustardy
bite.
This was followed by a charcute-
rie board of parma ham and cured
goose. We were warned to tread
carefully with the wild goose and,
lo and behold, we did discover a few
shotgun pellets hidden in the deli-
cate breast meat.
The main attraction was the
pork belly with grilled celery root
and carrot, gril led lamb, and
mashed potatoes. Perhaps it’s my
spoiled palate, but perfectly cooked
lamb doesn’t hold much surprise
any more, so it was the grilled
vegetables that stood out to me. I
would happily have ordered a plate
of those on their own.
The dessert offering of the night
was a strawberry sorbet with white
chocolate and toffee. Each serving
came with a strip of paper bearing
proverbs, traditionally found in-
side Icelandic Easter eggs. One of
them read “You are a winner,” and
the guest received a bag of Icelandic
candy for their trouble. As if the
barrage of wild game, red wine, and
toffee hadn’t punished our waist-
line enough.
While Matarkjallarinn may not
be the a place to go on a tight budget,
it provided great value in terms of
the quality of the ingredients, their
handling, and the portion sizes. The
only ratio that left something to be
desired were the cocktails, which
were on the sweet and mild side—
the norm in Iceland, given the high
taxes on alcohol.
Overall, the service was above
reproach and the atmosphere and
dining provided an excellent night
out for our small group of picky
foodies. RE
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Merry Orange-
Malted Salmon
A visit to the latest in a long line of basements
B E S T T H A I F O O D 2 0 1 6
also : 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
BanThai
R E S T A U R A N T
w w w . b a n t h a i . i s
T O P T E N
BEST RESTAURANTS IN ICELAND
DV. 17.07.11
L a u g a v e g u r 1 3 0, v i ð H l e m m Tel : + 354 - 55-22-444, +354 - 692 - 0564
FOOD IS MADE FRESH FROM SCRATCH,
PAN–FRIED FISH
FISH STEW
Onion, garlic, potatoes, celery, lime,
white wine, cream and butter
1.850 isk
PLAICE
Tomatoes, capers, parsley,
lemon and butter
2.100 isk
ARCTIC CHAR
Honey, almonds, cherry tomatoes,
lemon and butter
2.100 isk
salmon (lactose–free)
Parsley root, broccoli, cashew nuts,
coconut oil, chili and lemon
2.100 isk
Our pan–fried fish is always
served with butter–fried
Icelandic potatoes & fresh salad
desserts
DATE CAKE
Walnuts, coconut,
cream cheese coffee cream,
blueberries and whipped cream
1.400 isk
any
pans
for
lunch?
lækjargata 6b, 101 rvk · 546 0095 · messinn@messinn.com