Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.07.2019, Qupperneq 45

Passport
to Spain
Tortillas, tapas and tinto de verano
at Björgarðurinn
Words: Shruthi Basappa Photo: Art Bicnick
Tapas evenings
at Björgarðurinn
Visit the restaurant at Þórunnartún
1, Wednesday to Saturday, 3pm to
10pm
“There is something between Ice-
landic people and Spanish people,”
says Esteban Morales, as he sets
down a platter of tortilla pintxos
in front of us. “I don’t know exactly
what it is, but Spanish people feel
well and comfortable in Iceland,
and Icelandic people feel good in
Spain. Maybe it’s the Gulf Stream
that we share, I don’t know,” he
laughs.
True or not, it’s indisputable
that Icelanders have long enjoyed
travelling to Spain. Our love for
Spanish food has until now been
satiated with aspirations of locally
reimagined tapas joints. Chefs Es-
teban Morales and Ernesto Moré
are determined to fill that lacuna
with their tapas evenings at Björ-
garðurinn.
Tapas and Pintxos
A tapa is a hot or cold appetizer or
snack, typically had with drinks in
Spain. Originally meant as some-
thing to cover the top of one’s
drink—or so some claim—today
it has evolved into one of the cor-
nerstones of Spanish cuisine.
While anything in small por-
tions is a tapa, a pintxo is usually
a topping speared or ‘pinched’ to
a slice of bread. On this occasion
we sampled vegan seitan pintxos
with a silky escalivada. “We want
to offer something for everyone.
Normally tapas are usually meat or
fish,” Esteban points
out, “but our seitan
is house-made and
we’d like vegans to be
tapas lovers too.” The
seitan is smokey and
the texture so meaty
that many of us were
successfully fooled.
The Tortilla
Test
But the true test of
a taperia is its tor-
tilla. Essentially an
omelette w ith po-
t ato es, t he spud s
and onions are poached in olive
oil, eggs stirred in, cooked and
flipped. Here, the tortilla is a gen-
erous hunk, with fluffy potatoes,
custardy eggs in
the middle, and
enough onions to
bring them all to-
gether. My Span-
ish dining com-
panions heartily
approve.
Typically din-
ners are late af-
fairs in Spain and
‘ir de tapas’ or to
go bar hopping
and snack along
the way is the cus-
tomary stop gap until dinner. This
laid-back social grazing is hugely
popular, and—unsurprisingly—
borrowed across the world.
There continues to be a trend
of small-plate menus with ‘tapas’
style portions and dishes regard-
less of cuisine. I’m curious how Es-
teban sees that. “I think it’s good,’’
he says. “Today there is everything
from Pakistani pizza to American
pizza. It isn’t just Italian. Tapas,
too, is a global thing. And people
know it is from Spain.’’
Diverse regional food
So what can diners expect from the
tapas evenings at Björgarðurinn?
“Unlike in Spain, in Iceland we
don’t have vermuterias or tape-
rias. So a place like Björgarðurinn
is ideal,’’ Esteban
ex plains. ’ ’ I want
to showcase the di-
versity of regional
Spanish food, like
this gazpacho.” He
passes around some
th ick, z ing y soup
m a d e w it h f r e sh
tomatoes. “It ’s an
A nda lu sia n d i sh .
T here i s C at a l a n
food, Basque food,
Galician food and
Valencian food. I’d
like people to know
Spain more—it isn’t
just Flamenco danc-
ers and beaches.”
If the first week was any indi-
cation, the tapas nights are off to
a splendid start. The hauntingly
go o d mu sic by
Reynir Hauksson
tran spor ts one
to Granada, and
t h e F l a m e n c o
dancing ends up
stirring everyone
onto their feet
by the end of the
night. The rea-
s on a bly-pr ice d
bites—from 390
ISK to 890 ISK—
are an attractive
offer, rounded off
with plenty of tinto de verano red
wine spritz. Perhaps, a little slice
of Spain resides in Reykjavík after
all.
45The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11— 2019
You're supposed to share. But Shruthi was hungry
Grab it before it's gone
“There’s
Catalan food,
Basque food,
Galician
food, Valen-
cian food...
Spain isn’t
just Flamenco
dancers and
beaches.”
ÓÐINSTORG | 101 | REYKJAVÍK | ÍSLAND
SNAPSBISTRO.IS | +354 5116677
FRENCH ONION SOUP
Icelandic Ísbúi cheese, croûtons
2.390 kr.
MOULES MARINIÈRES
steamed mussels from Breiðafjörður
2.600 kr.
FISH OF THE DAY
chef´s special
3.890 kr.
Lunch offer from 11:30 - 14:00 1.990 kr.
EST. 2012REYKJAVIK