Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.07.2017, Qupperneq 50

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The Vegan Safe
Haven
Kaffi Vínyll brings the revolution

Words: Björn Teitsson Photo: Art Bicnick
Kaffi Vínyl is a hip and stylish
café/bar/restaurant located in the
gritty upper part of Hverfisgata.
Although fairly new to the culi-
nary scene in Iceland, this estab-
lishment has done wonders in the
roughly year and a half since open-
ing. It is, namely, the first, and still
only (as far as I know) all-vegan
restaurant in the city.
The value of this cannot be
underestimated. Growing up in a
conservative culinary landscape,
where carnivores religiously eat
their legs of lambs for Sunday din-
ner, it’s no small feat. Though it
feels like a memory of a much ear-
lier time, it was so
recently that the
concept of vegan-
ism had to be ex-
plained. Slowly.
Just for people to
grasp the idea.
Maybe that’s no
w o n d e r — w h e n
it comes to food,
Iceland is usually a
bit behind. Really,
fresh garlic was
first introduced to supermarkets
in 1986. Having spent my adoles-
cence in the late 90s I can still re-
call the wonders of pesto arriving,
not to mention Newman’s Own
salsa. To call it a revolution would
be only appropriate.
Veganism for the
masses
The past two years have brought
about another revolution, which
happened—in part at least—at
Kaffi Vínyl. This unassuming
restaurant was, for a good period
of time, the workplace of vegan
chef Linnea Hellström. Not only
a brilliant chef in her own right,
she has done so much more. For
the masses, she
brought vegan-
i s m f r o m t h e
darkness into the
light, even work-
ing with a chain
of supermarkets
to offer vegan op-
tions that were
unheard of only
t wo yea rs ago.
She‘s worked on
product develop-
ment in her native Sweden, bring-
ing about a line of seitan-based
products that are popular among
meat eaters and vegetarians alike.
And the last thing she did before
leaving Kaffi Vínyl was perfect the
all-vegan menu.
My companion and I walked in
on a busy Saturday evening. The
atmosphere was laid-back, with
disco music playing in the back-
ground from one of the decks,
which any guest can use at their
will, if there’s no DJ playing. We or-
dered some drinks: a vegan whis-
key sour (2400 ISK) and a music
mule (1900 ISK), both of which
were tasty and refreshing. We de-
cided to share a starter of spring
rolls (1100 ISK), which were actual-
ly more like veggie-filled tater tots.
Delightful nonetheless, but there
could have been a more ambitious
accompaniment than the quite ba-
sic sweet chili dipping sauce.
Filling and satisfying
The most famous main courses are
probably the lasagna (2400 ISK)
and “Ludvig” burger, made from
black beans and quinoa, served
with sweet potato fries (2400 ISK).
We decided, however, to give the
sandwiches a try, my companion
choosing a triple decker “Seoul”
with fresh crisps (2400 ISK) while
I had the “Kawai” (2000 ISK), a cia-
batta loaf with fried mushrooms,
cashew cheese and guacamole. The
sandwiches were both very filling
and satisfying—the kind of food
you’d love when hungover, actu-
ally. And yes, vegans can also make
that kind of sweaty and delicious
cure for the previous night. Make
no mistake.
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
----------------------------
BanThai
B E S T T H A I F O O D 2 0 1 7
a l s o b e s t 2 0 0 9, 2 0 1 0, 2 0 1 1, 2 0 1 2, 2 0 1 3, 2 0 1 4, 2 0 1 5 A N D 2 0 1 6
----------------------------
N E W A W A R D
Ban Thai is not a “fast food” restaurant
every meal take some time to cook, we cook after receiving the order
prepare your time before you come to enjoy your meal
----------------------------
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w
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a
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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
Kaffi Vínyl
Hverfisgata 76
101 Reykjavík
tel. 537 1332
Opening hours:
10-23 (weekdays)
12-23 (weekends)
Food