Reykjavík Grapevine - okt 2020, Qupperneq 29

carpaccio, “except for the pizzas.”
The menu and the wine list plays
it safe and don’t veer towards sta-
ples favoured and I suspect, strong-
ly dictated by the neighbourhood
(plans are underway for a contem-
porary wine menu that will change
shortly). It is a conflict that plays
out on your plate and belies the
kitchen’s fine dining roots.
The food however tries to bal-
ance what I’ve come to identify as
distinctly Icelandic dining expec-
tations with modern flourishes. A
beautifully cooked lightly salted
cod, is served with roasted cauli-
flower that is sneakily pickled as
well. The halibut, from Nora Sea-
foods is doused in a mysa-ferment-
ed cabbage sauce. The vegan dish
of grilled broccolini, pak choy and
dukkah like seeds is all bite and grit
and I really enjoy the smokiness the
grill lends them.
Working out the kinks
While in their previous avatars
these chef’s pared down the focus
into distilled flavours, here “more is
more” is really the mantra. The rib-
eye is expectantly fatty and juicy,
but the mashed potatoes alongside
also have brisket in them. The lamb
is excellent and the pickled mus-
tard jús carries the acidity that I’d
been longing for to cut through the
richness of the other dishes. Alarm-
ingly, almost every single dish is
served with a herb oil, the pres-
ence of which I discover to be the
handiwork of a young chef with an
enthusiastic trigger finger on the
squeeze bottle, although I question
its presence entirely. Given a little
more time, I think these kinks will
be worked out eventually as they
hit that stride between crowd fa-
vourites and their own signatures.
I marvel at the portion sizes
which are more than generous and
the continued bonhomie in the
dining room is an indicator of the
diner’s happiness and the attentive
sprightly service.
I sit back and wonder how cu-
riously full the restaurant is, how
much the locals have embraced
their neighbourhood restaurant
and ask myself if I’d leave the con-
fines and comforts of Reykjavik din-
ing for a meal here again. As if he’d
read my mind, chef Rúnar appears
with a dessert that has, I admit,
changed my mind. “You can’t leave
without desserts,” teases Rúnar. He
carefully pours what seems like a
gallon of cream into an expectant
mound of skyr ganache sprinkled
with frozen blueberries, rose petals,
and homemade granola. “It is for all
the ammas,” Rúnar says and as if to
confirm simply how good it is, my
7-year old upended the entire bowl
to catch every last drop.
Sjáland is located at Ránargrund 4
in Gar!abær.
The head chefs at Sjáland are Rúnar
Pierre Herivaux, Ví!ir Erlingsson
and Ólafur Ágústsson. Front of house
team; Almar Ingvi Gar!arsson, restau-
rant manager Styrmir Örn and Sig-
ur!ur Borgar Ólafsson.
29The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 08— 2020
See? Fine dining!
It might look like a sauna, but it's actually fine dining
Food
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EST. 2012REYKJAVIK