Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.04.2017, Side 45

A Date With
The Dated
Sjávargrillið falls behind the times

Words: Shruthi Basappa Photo: Art Bicnick
One could almost mistake Iceland
for a lost piece of the Australian
continent, given how seriously
grilling is taken here. For evidence,
look no further than almost every
balcony and backyard in Reykjavík.
Naturally, a restaurant combining
the best of local interests—seafood
and grilling—is bound to be a win-
ning formula. Or so we thought.
Stepping into Sjávargrillið can
cause a little déjà vu. The decor
seems to be an exuberant expres-
sion of excess, from the ubiqui-
tous Tom Dixon lights to the drift-
wood screens, and the antique
skis, pots, and colanders. If places
could warn you of things to come,
this would’ve been a clue.
The seafood-focussed menu
trots from beet graflax to deep-
fried maki to grilled pork, with
appearances from pasta and
spring rolls. But the restaurant’s
strength, as the name would have
you believe, is in its grilled sea-
food, and they have a variety of
tasting menus to try.
Highlights from the dinner in-
cluded an elegant starter of pork
cheeks and langoustine. The cheeks
were tender thanks to the sous-vi-
de, and despite the under-seasoned
crustacean, the creamy celeriac and
sharpness from the black radish
made for a delicious bite.
Sadly, that remained the high-
light, despite the valiant efforts
of a near-perfect lamb fillet that
arrived after an agonising 45 min-
utes. We didn’t mind. Michael Pol-
lan makes an eloquent argument
that the moment man learned to
cook with fire was when we dis-
tinguished ourselves from the
rest of the animal kingdom. It
gave us time to reflect on why the
restaurant served sous-vide meat
after sous-vide meat, when we’d
chosen the Grilled Taste of Iceland
t a s t i n g m e n u
(9600 ISK). There
must be a choir
of grill masters
that weep when
meat is sous-vide
cooked and only finished on the
grill for those perfect grill marks,
rather than for flavour. We said a
little prayer for all the lost oppor-
tunities.
Changing sensibilities
Sjávargrillið does do a stellar job
with its service and cocktails. One
waitress (whose name I regretfully
forget) recommended the Snæfell-
sjökull—a whisky-based cocktail
that made for a nice change from
saccharine drinks. She also apolo-
gised for an insipid grilled ling,
returning it to the kitchen, and
even offering us a discount.
It is perhaps best to stick with
the lunch menu. The shellfish
soup is a pleasant—if salty—
bisque, lightened with some dill
oil and assorted seafood. The
deep-fried plaice, while perfect
on its own, suffers the perils of
the heavy-handed kitchen again:
it is completely overshadowed
by the remou lade and bear-
naise, the grease-fest taken up a
notch with the butter-fried sliv-
ers of almond-shrimp salad (?)
with capers. The idea is there—
salty capers and fried fish—
but it is violently exaggerated.
Just like you and I, restau-
rants too need to ask themselves:
Should we adapt our initial inspi-
rations to grow with the times?
How can menus reflect changing
sensibilities? Does the food need
a spring cleaning
of sorts, a long
with the decor?
A little burst of
acidit y here, a
sm at t er i n g of
crunch there, more than a fleet-
ing kiss of flame for a crackling
shell? Perhaps, the restraint to let
the flavours shine through?
The intense blueberry sorbet
that tasted of a thousand berries
juiced into a midnight-black scoop
of happiness may hold clues to the
possibilities that Sjávargrillið
might yet have to offer.
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“We said a little
prayer for all the
lost opportunities.”
45The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06 — 2017