Reykjavík Grapevine - nóv. 2020, Blaðsíða 29

Food
Somethin! Honest,
Somethin! Fresh
Hosiló, the restaurant that made it throu!h the pandemic
Words: Jess Distill Photos: Art Bicnick
Restaurant
Hosiló is located at Hverfisgata 12.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that
opening a new restaurant in the
middle of a global pandemic was
a pretty risky thing to do. But the
current climate and the air of un-
certainty that hangs over us didn’t
deter Númi !orkell Thomasson,
Atli Ottesen and A"alsteinn Rag-
nar Benediktsson, the founders of
Hosiló.
The new restaurant, which
makes its home at Hverfisgata 12,
opened in October and has enjoyed
steady business, despite the waning
tourism industry in Iceland. “We
never had too many concerns about
opening during the pandemic, we
just threw ourselves into it,” Númi
says, with a shrug. “We really want-
ed a small restaurant, so it could
just be us three working and doing
what we love—this place fitted ev-
erything we wanted to do so we just
went for it.”
Living the dream
“The good thing about having a
small restaurant is the three of us
do everything, all the laundry and
cleaning, everything,” Atli contin-
ues. “There’s no staff to rely on our
income. We’re not responsible for
anyone feeding their children. It’s a
nice position to be in at this point.
Most days we constantly have ten
people inside.” At full capacity, and
with no restrictions, the restaurant
seats around 30 customers. “We
have a good clientele, people who
knew us before. We’re very fortu-
nate.”
The three friends started work-
ing together back in 2005, and
dreamed about running a business
together. “We were always talking
about doing something together,
beyond what we were already do-
ing, which was working for other
people. We’ve always talked about
opening our own restaurant,” says
Númi. After opening a restaurant
in the Westfjords, and then working
together again at Café Oliver and
Snaps Restaurant, the offer to open
Hosiló came to them in the summer
of 2020.
Honest food from all
over
So what does Hosiló bring to a
town that already has so many res-
taurants and bars? With a small,
eclectic menu that changes weekly,
Númi, Atli and A"alsteinn pride
themselves on their fresh produce
and good, honest food. “All of the
decisions we make are based on
what we would want if we were
out eating,” says Atli. “The key is
to have a small menu. Something
honest, something fresh. We serve
food from all over the world, France,
Italy, Asia, Northern Africa.” Work-
ing with local vegetable and fish
suppliers, the menu—which al-
ways consists of a meat dish, a fish
dish, a vegetarian dish, ice cream
and cheese—is never advertised
ahead of time, keeping everything
a surprise until the customers sit at
their table. “We've been fortunate,”
says A"alsteinn. “We haven’t had to
do any advertising. It’s all been just
word of mouth. It’s been very good.”
Clearly what Hosiló thrives on,
and what should ensure its popu-
larity and longevity, is the passion
that the three friends put into the
restaurant and the hands on atti-
tude they have towards running it.
They work simply for the love of it,
spend time with their customers
and involve themselves in every as-
pect of the process from beginning
to end. They are obviously having a
lot of fun and their tight friendship
makes for an incredibly vibrant,
welcoming atmosphere that is sure
to attract customers for years to
come.
29The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06— 2020
The happiness we should all aspire to
Food
Stop by every week for a di"erent meal
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