Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.10.2017, Qupperneq 45

Livin’ On A Prayer
Beets and Bon Jovi at Sæta Svínið

Words: Shruthi Basappa Photo: Art Bicnick
It’s difficult to pinpoint when, or
how, the emergence of the gastro-
pub happened in Iceland. If memo-
ry serves, it was way before Iceland
became a major tourist destination.
But today, there are plenty of gas-
tropubs around. Some have gath-
ered considerable momentum, and
a well deserved reputation for good
drinks, good eats and good vibes.
One of them is Sæta Svínið (“Sweet
Pig”), located on
Ingólfstorg. Al-
though a recipi-
ent of Grape-
vine honours,
including “Best
Burger of 2017,”
it had yet be re-
viewed. So here
goes.
There isn’t
much that sets
S æ t a S v í n i ð
apart from sim-
ilar establish-
ments, although
there are skillful bartenders on
staff, who can actually mix some
good cocktails. The happy hour is
highly recommended, serving half
priced gems daily from 4-6 pm. As
for the menu, it consists of roughly
six items of snacks, small courses,
main dishes and desserts. The pric-
es are quite fair. Small courses are
priced from 1,290 - 2,890 ISK, and
the meat main courses cost 3,990
ISK, which isn’t bad in these times
(where livin’ ain’t easy).
Brilliant cauliflower
My companion and I visited on a
weekday evening. We were the only
locals there, which is always kind
of sad to see. We chose a bunch of
small courses to share, following
the recommendations of some ex-
perienced regu-
lars. We began
with waffle fries
with truffle mayo
(990 ISK), lan-
gou st i ne w it h
corn salsa (2,890
ISK), slow-cooked
cod (1,990 ISK)
and a red beet
salad with goat
c h e e s e (1 ,9 9 0
ISK). We finished
with a dessert of
Icelandic cream
puffs, rjómabol-
lur (1,790 ISK), which are tradition-
ally only served on the day before
Shrove Tuesday.
Waffle fries can never go wrong,
although, it is hereby admitted that
I’m bandwagoning with Bourdain
in my contempt for truffle oil and
all its offspring. It would be nice to
have some other sauce options—
let’s leave it at that. The star of the
evening was the slow-cooked cod.
It was flaky yet firm, served with a
brilliant cauliflower purée (I know,
very 2011, but still a sucker), crushed
pecans for sweetness and crunch,
and some lovely tart pickled red on-
ions. The dish was nicely seasoned
and well balanced, with a lotus chip
garnish. Such a good dish for only
1,990 ISK makes it quite a steal.
Beet Jovi
The disappointment of the evening,
however, was the langoustine.
It’s such a shame to waste these
expensive ingredients, but it was
overcooked and dry—most likely
cooked in advance and overdone
in reheating. It came with a tasty
corn salsa, but there were only two
miserly teaspoons or so. The beet
salad was fine, but the main attrac-
tion of goat cheese was hardly to be
seen. I’d have paid extra for more
cheese. The cream puffs for dessert
were average—choux pastry filled
with whipped cream, topped with
a bit of chocolate. There are a lot of
possibilities on that sort of canvas,
and it’s a shame that it wasn’t uti-
lised to its full potential.
The ambiance in this particular
gastropub is a mix between a typi-
cal English pub and a college café.
The music was a melange of fairly
recent Icelandic records and some
‘80s and ‘90s hits. Bon Jovi’s ‘Living
on a Prayer’ was actually playing as
we paid the bill. That’s okay—it’s a
pub after all, and the volume wasn’t
too much of a bother. Some tourists
were singing along. Sure, why not?
1 0 1 Ó Ð I N S T O R G R E Y K J A V Í K Í S L A N D S N A P S B I S T R O . I S
s n a p s b i s t r o @ s n a p s b i s t r o . i s + 3 5 4 5 1 1 6 6 7 7
F R E N C H O N I O N S O U P
I c e l a n d i c Í s b ú i c h e e s e , c r o û t o n s
2 . 3 0 0 . k r
M O U L E S M A R I N I È R E S
s t e a m e d m u s s e l s f r o m B r e i ð a f j ö r ð u r
2 . 4 0 0 . k r
F I S H O F T H E D A Y
c h e f ´ s s p e c i a l
3 . 8 0 0 . k r
E s t . 2 0 1 2R e y k j a v i k
45The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 19 — 2017
gpv.is/food
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A nice place to pig out
“The ambiance
in this particular
gastropub is a
mix between a
typical English
pub and a col-
lege café.”