Reykjavík Grapevine - jan 2019, Blaðsíða 45

Swimmingly Good
Food At Tjöruhúsið
A top notch seafood restaurant in Ísafjörður
Words: Shruthi Basappa Photo: Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir
If ever there was a time to be wor-
ried about mainstream popular-
ity of our little island, it’s now.
But travel beyond the confines
of Reykjavík, the South, and the
Golden Circle, and everything
glorious about Iceland shines.
The drive from Reykjavik to
Ísafjörður is, even in October,
breathtakingly beautiful. The late
autumn skies are grey and heavy,
creating a feeling of dark beauty.
The slow crawl through fjord af-
ter stunning fjord is a testament
to the resilience of the Icelandic
people who call this region home.
Iceland’s history as a fishing
nation is nowhere as palpable as it
is in the Westfjords. And nowhere
is that heritage celebrated with as
much humble pride and gusto as
it is at Tjöruhúsið.
Medieval tavern
Perched in a bucolic little har-
bour, Tjöruhúsið is housed in
what once used to be a tar fac-
tory for ropes and other nautical
needs. The restaurant hasn’t shed
any of its 1781 charm—the interi-
ors are reminiscent of a medieval
tavern, with low timber beams
and tables f lanking the walls,
and warm lighting reinforcing
the ‘long house’-like appearance.
The animated yells of “Gel-
lur! Gel lurnar
er u kom n a r! ”
(“Cod tongues!
C o d t o n g u e s
here!”), as the
staff plonk down
hulking pans of
sizzling fish fur-
thers the medi-
eval vibe. If one
can ignore the
delicious smells
wafting from the kitchen, I swear
you could still smell the tar, and
be transported back in time to
when long and loud feasting was
the norm.
Fish in a pan
Dinner is an eat-till-you-drop
style buffet for the princely sum
of 6000 ISK per person. Howev-
er, this isn’t your average buffet,
where food sweats under heat
lamps, bubbling away sluggishly
in a line of past-their-best Bear-
naise clones.
Instead, Tjöruhúsið is famed
for its ‘fish in a pan’ offerings of
whatever is freshest from the sea
on that day. Standouts were the
pluckish Plokkfiskur, peppered
with fresh cracked black pepper
so boldly that it was transformed
into something more than the
sum of its parts. The aforemen-
tioned gellur were simply flour-
dusted and pan-fried in butter;
at once creamy and crunchy, it’s
beguiling that such a humble in-
gredient can be such a decadent
treat.
I recommend restraint—these
little devils are too easy to wash
down with a glass of beer. I also
suggest that squeamishness be
set aside where gellur are con-
cerned. They aren’t tongues at
all, but succulent morsels of meat
from around the fish throat.
Generous Hospitality
The kitchen pushes out pan after
pan of various fish: karfi (perch)
in Hoisin sauce, steinbitur (wolf-
fish) in a cream cheese sauce with
grapes, salted cod with olives and
tomatoes, and a sublime þorskur
(haddock) simply cooked in butter,
with whole baby potatoes and a
chiffonade of fresh spring onions.
The staff exhort you to try ev-
erything, offering seconds and
thirds, and remind you about all
the meðlæti—that is, side dishes
ranging from spiced wheat grain
salad, to butter cooked cabbage,
and a tureen of seafood soup.
Thankfully, the restaurant has
the good sense to skip dessert in
favour of squares of chocolate—a
fittingly simple end to a memo-
rable meal in an
u n f o r g e t t a b l e
setting.
It is easy to see
why restaurants
like Messin emu-
late Tjöruhúsið.
This little out-
post was dish-
i n g out lo c a l ,
seasonal, afford-
able, nose-to-tail
seafood dining long before they
became a buzzword in Iceland’s
dining scene. I’d get cracking and
make reservations for next sea-
son—the restaurant is seasonal
and is typically closed from early
November through to late March.
On any trip to the Westfjords,
Tjöruhúsið is the icing on the
cake.
You'd brave any weather to try them gellur
45The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 01— 2019
“Animated yells of
‘cod tongues here,’
as the staff plonk
down hulking pans
of sizzling fish,
furthers the medi-
eval vibe.”
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