Reykjavík Grapevine - 19.05.2017, Qupperneq 48

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The New Café Paris
Breakfast affairs are now a Reykjavík reality

Words: Shruthi Basappa Photo: Art Bicnick
Café Paris: a name that immediately
conjures up images of days spent on
Austurvöllur, people-watching and
swigging cold beers al fresco. While
the old Café Paris occupied prime
space and foggy memories, the new
Café Paris has jolted the corner
awake with its brand new renovation
and an all-day menu that promises
to live up to its bistro-esque name.
We sat down for a chat with the
new management. They’re a young
team, albeit one with experience
from Snaps, Matur og Drykkur and
Jömfruin, headed
up by Jakob E. Ja-
kobsson, chef Atli
Ottesen and res-
taurant manager
Sigurlaug Dröfn.
We were curi-
ous if at any point
they considered
renaming the res-
taurant. “It was
a big decision to
decide to keep the
name,” says Jakob.
“We knew we were
going to change
the restaurant en-
tirely, but we spoke
to ad professionals, and found that
this name has a value. After all, it has
been here since 1993. It’s not some-
thing you discard easily. We looked at
everything, and we decided to scale
it up, make it nice, take it back to the
origin and reopen as Café Paris.”
The new Café Paris is definitely its
own place. The once dark walls are
now awash with light, the restaurant
bright and airy; a cheery bar hugs the
open kitchen, and one enters through
a timber vestibule reminiscent of
Balthazar in New York.
Bistro Breakfasts
When we met at 10am, the place was
already starting to
fill up with diners.
Jakob likens it to a
train station. “We
have two entranc-
es—this is a walk-
through place, a
drop-in place,” he
says. “We don’t
take reservations.”
Bakeries have
traditionally been
the bastion of
breakfast in Ice-
land. You’d be hard
pressed to find a
place that opened
its doors early and
served a hot breakfast, let alone a
perfectly made eggs Florentine. The
spinach is wilted ever so slightly
with some shallots; thick-cut slices
of ham rest atop a dense brioche,
topped with a textbook six-minute
egg (David Chang would approve)
and hollandaise.
“We’ve had a lot of tourists com-
ing in for breakfast,” says Jakob.
“We’re getting a lot of guests from
the neighbouring hotels,” adds Sig-
urlaug. “Some come in every day.”
It’s a good sign considering they’re
foregoing hotel breakfasts to do so.
The breakfast menu veers towards
the French-American—an already
popular chicken and waffles served
with hot sauce could be just the cure
for that weekend hangover.
“We have an open kitchen and a
larger prep area downstairs,” says Atli.
“That’s where all the magic happens.
We do all the stocks and sauces in-
house.” He lays down a hulking stack
of buttermilk pancakes, topped with
caramelised bananas. They’re light
and fluffy—everything an American-
style buttermilk pancake should be.
The accompanying puddle of caramel
takes on the banana flavour, further
proof of the kitchen’s deftness.
There’s a clear love for detail
that permeates the new Café Paris.
The pancakes are sprinkled with
thick slivers of toasted almonds,
the menus are easy to read and
laminated with brass corners, and
the mimosas generous with the
sparkling wine and made with
freshly squeezed OJ. Reykjavik has
a new contender in town, and it
could be the next local favourite.
Café Paris is open from 7:45am to
midnight.
R E S T A U R A N T
w w w . b a n t h a i . i s
L a u g a v e g u r 1 3 0 T E L : 6 9 2 - 0 5 6 4
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BanThai
B E S T T H A I F O O D 2 0 1 6
2 0 0 9, 2 0 1 0, 2 0 1 1, 2 0 1 2, 2 0 1 3, 2 0 1 4 A N D 2 0 1 5
welcome
FISH panS
icelandic "plokkfiskur"
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)
Parsnip, broccoli, cashews,
coconut oil, chili and lemon
2,100 isk
our fisH pans are always
served wiTH buTTer–fried
icelandic poTaToes & fresH salad
deSSertS
carroT cake
Cognac cream cheese frosting
and roasted coconut flakes
1,550 isk
créme caramel
Classic egg custard with baked
white chocolate and strawberries
1,550 isk
any pans
for
luncH?
lækjargaTa 6b, 101 rvk · 546 0095 · messinn@messinn.com
“The spinach
is wilted with
some shallots,
and thick-cut
slices of ham
rest atop a
dense brioche
topped with a
textbook six-
minute egg.”
Food
?
Two eggs are boiling in a pot. One says to
the other: "Is it getting hot in here?" The
other says: "Aaa! A talking egg!"