Reykjavík Grapevine - Mar 2020, Page 35

The Belle Époque Meets
Charcoal Flatbread
Chef Fri#!eir In!i Eiríksson introduces us to his uninhibited brasserie
Words: Ragnar Egilsson Photo: Art Bicnick
The classic Belle Époque brasserie
is basically the la-di-da cousin to
the American diner. It welcomes
you from your first omelette jam-
bon in the morning ‘til you quaff
your last boisson in the evening.
You can sit down at any time to
nurse a simple cup of coffee or at-
tack a full menu of pan-fried fish,
soft cheeses and grilled meats.
Iceland’s relatively new Eiriks-
son Brasserie mutates the classic
brasserie concept, taking on some
of the heft of a place like New York’s
Balthazar, but expanding the for-
mula into some unexpected arenas
and cultural mélanges.
Cutting his teeth
Chef Fri!geir Ingi Eiríksson does
not seem the type to pull a Gor-
don Ramsey on his crew (although
Instagram tells me that Ramsey
atet at Eiriksson during his latest
trout run in Iceland). Slender and
softly spoken, it’s hard to believe
that Fri!geir cut his teeth in the
cut-throat environment of French
Michelin restaurants like Domaine
de Clairefontaine, where he was the
chef de cuisine.
Fol low ing h is st int there,
Fri!geir returned to Iceland, where
he and his father took over Hótel
Holt, one of Iceland’s oldest culi-
nary institutions. In 2017, after an
extensive and celebrated revamp of
the hotel menu, Fri!geir refocused
his energy on what would eventu-
ally become Eiriksson Brasserie.
“People here knew us through
fine dining after our stint at Hótel
Holt,” Fri!geir explains. “And we
wanted to signal to them through
the name and atmosphere [of Ei-
riksson Brasserie] that we weren’t
just doing another version of that.”
A divergent menu
The lofty space and reflective brass
railings of Eiriksson certainly har-
ken back to the Belle Époque roots
of the brasserie, but those his-
torical accents are broken up with
Scandinavian minimalist furni-
ture and, somewhat oddly, waiters
with string bow ties. Add to that the
4,000 bottle wine cellar encased
in a former bank vault and you got
yourself one odd duck.
The menu also reflects this di-
vergent style. On it, crème brûlées
sit cheek-to-cheek with tonka bean
ganache. You can pick out classics
like duck breast orange or wander
into the hinterlands of langoustine
tempura and enoki over charcoal
flatbread.
Italy is also well represented in
several ways, including a selection
of pizzas decked with truffles, goat
cheese, and other umami-boosting
toppings. “We liked having pizza
because I’ve never been abroad
wining and dining, even just for
a weekend, where people didn’t at
some point say ‘Let’s go grab a piz-
za!’ because we’re not just the sheep
generation, we’re the pizza gen-
eration—like it or not,” explains
Fri!geir. “We wanted to keep that
loose, family-style atmosphere we
know from Italy.”
“Opening a new place keeps you
on your toes,” concludes the chef.
“Personally, I’ve only managed to
go out to eat at my restaurant once
and that was for my birthday. But
I’m not complaining. Seeing this
dream come true and getting such
a warm welcome has been an amaz-
ing blessing.”
35The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 03— 2020
Pro-tip: Try the food
Food
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