Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.09.2018, Side 30

The Reykjavík Grapevine
Best of Reykjavík 2018
30
“You’ll feel just like you’re in ‘Scarface,’ minus
the massacres and mountains of cocaine.”
CITY GUIDE
Barflies Unite
The Downtown bar safari gets five
new watering holes
Words: John Rogers & Hannah Jane Cohen Photos: Art Bicnick
Reykjavík’s bar scene has been
in a state of relative stasis over
the last year or two. Since the
miniature craft bar revolution,
the handful of new places that
have appeared have been upscale
restaurant-bars or speciality
bars—the kind of places you’d
primarily go to for lunch, or a ci-
vilised wine. Recently, however,
five new “proper” bars appeared
on the radar, almost simultane-
ously. Binge-drinkers, barflies,
flappers and flaneurs, rejoice!
Bastard Brew & Food
Vegamótastígur 4
This massive new gastropub is
ambitious in scale, with a micro
brewery on the first floor, two
ground floor bar rooms, and a
large awning-covered yard. They
have a wide variety on the taps,
more centred on easy-going
session lagers and beers than
challenging sours and existen-
tially dark stouts, and a kick-ass
bar menu (try the house burg-
er, served with beef brisket on
the patty, homemade salsa, and
pickled jalapenos). On weekdays
it’s a chill place for lunch or a
few after work beers, and there
are DJs on weekends. JR
Session Bar
Bankastræti 14
Several of Reykjavík’s top barmen
and beer nerds banded together
to open this spacious craft bar
in a primo Bankastræti location.
The décor is still a bit of a work
in progress, but you can’t argue
with the selection on offer: there
are 16 brews to try, from tried-
and-tested faves like Mikkeller &
Friends to interesting Icelandic
micro-brews, exotic oddities like
a pina colada beer and their sig-
nature Session range. JR
Miami
Hverfisgata 33
Reyjavík’s other new out-and-
proud theme bar—so new it’s
still throwing pre-parties at the
time of writing, and threatening
to open soon—takes on the Magic
City of the ‘80s. With a sharp aes-
thetic that’s miles ahead of any
other joint in town, Miami serves
up pure vice with a splash of cos-
mopolitanism and a dedicated
ping-pong room in the basement.
It’s pricey, but the cocktail menu
was crafted by veterans of the
Reykjavík mixology scene, and
the wine and champagne list is
well-curated. If you’re a high roll-
er, grab a bottle of Dom Perignon
P2 Vintage 1998 for 190,000 ISK.
You’ll feel just like you’re in ‘Scar-
face,’ minus the massacres and
mountains of cocaine. HJC
The Irishman
Klapparstígur 27
If your idea of fun involves
pints of Guinness and Kilkenny
soundtracked by Irish jig music,
have we got a place for you! The
Irishman is the latest Reykjavík
attempt at making Irish pubs
cool. With a spacious wrap-
around bar and a great down-
town location, this one has a
better chance than most; while
it is undeniably cheesy, there’s
something endearing about this
effort, like a tiny, cartoonishly
Dublin-themed Disney World lo-
cated on Klapparstígur. It’s like
St. Patrick’s Day every day! HJC
Brewdog
Frakkastígur 8
The Scottish-owned Brewdog
chain comes to Reykjavík. Start-
ed in 2007 by two friends who
were dismayed by the monotony
of mainstream lagers, Brewdog
started out selling their beers
at markets and from the back of
a van. Now, their business has
grown into a craft beer empire
with over 1000 employees, 70,000
investors in their innovative “Eq-
uity for Punks” scheme, and 46
bars worldwide. It hasn’t opened
yet, but keep an eye on our web-
site and we’ll sure to let you know
when it does. JR
Look at that bastard!
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