Reykjavík Grapevine - okt. 2021, Blaðsíða 29

29The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10— 2021
thing I’d order for a Friday movie
night.
Shruthi: Flatey always delivers. The
young pizzaiolo however, would do
well to rotate the pie regularly so
that the crust is evenly cooked. The
yeasty bottoms were both under-
and overcooked in the same slice,
but kudos to them for making sweet
potatoes and hummus on pizza a
thing!
Samúelsson Matbar
Valur: I was quite taken by Samúels-
son. The veal was perfect and a great
pagan option. The meat was ten-
der and tasty, something that you
don’t often find in Iceland. The fish
was the star, though. Perfect meal,
perfect fish, everything was perfect
here. Samúelsson was one of my fa-
vourites; they hit all the notes and
did so impressively. I wasn’t a fan of
the truffle fries, though. They didn’t
add much to an otherwise perfect
meal.
Andie: Why is anyone still serving
veal here in anno domini two thou-
sand and twenty one? Haven’t we
all agreed this is the kind of thing
that ought to go the way of foie gras?
Well, hypocrite that I am, I did still
enjoy their chicken salad. Very good
use of dark meat, savoury, crunchy,
and even light.
Shruthi: I’ll admit I wasn’t exactly
chuffed when I read their menu. But
boy was I blown away. The veal rib-
eye sandwich was hands down one
of the best over-the-top sandwiches
I’ve had. Samúelsson’s target audi-
ence will love the fatty, tender meat
and it also manages to be well priced
by Icelandic standards. The chicken
salad is piled high, with fried ca-
shew nuts in every craggy morsel
making it a satisfying lunch. I felt
the fish dish could’ve used a little
restraint, but overall this was a sur-
prise treat.
Smi!jan Brugghús
Valur: Smi!jan Brugghús is one of
those hidden gems in the country-
side. You won’t find this place down-
town Reykjavík, only in Vík í M"rdal
and this new food hall. Nonethe-
less, this place serves some of the
best chicken burgers and wings in
Iceland. The beer selection is both
inventive and well-executed. I would
drive to the end of the world to have
just one more bite or another glass
of the mango passion fruit beer.
Andie: Often when you’re served a
chicken burger, the result is a per-
fectly round disk of dense, dry, fla-
vourless “meat” pressed like particle
board. This was absolutely not the
case with these folks, who served up
juicy and crispy dark meat, breaded
and fried to perfection. Very likely
the best chicken burger I’ve ever
tasted. The fries are great, too.
Shruthi: Lemme just say, if these
guys were in Reykjavík, they’d sweep
the Best Burger category clean. I love
that the beef burgers are proper; no
brioche bun madness, just a good
solid burger that is so goddamn en-
joyable to sink your teeth into! Juicy,
tender patty, great balance of ratios,
an overall great burger. I also really
appreciate that they aren’t heavy
handed with their sauces. Sorry,
sjoppuborgari. Their chicken burg-
er (it wasn’t a sandwich) and wings
may have just made Selfoss a culi-
nary destination. What I’d also like
to point out is that the consistency
between their original Vík outpost
and this new one is admirably on
point.
Menam
Valur: I don’t really know where to
start here. Menam was impeccable.
It serves fantastic Thai food at an
affordable price and the quality
was not only high, but it felt like it
was cooked with immense love and
respect. Menam is good, and they
can only get better. Hands down my
favourite and most unexpected ex-
perience of our visit.
Andie: Now this was something re-
ally special. Soft but firm savoury
noodles served with loads of veg-
gies, all of them brimming with fla-
vour. I have absolutely no notes. Just
a great job all around.
Shruthi: I would have to go back to
sample their proper Thai menu, but
as a self-confessed lover of all things
stir-fried I can say that their noodles
are likely the best I’ve had here in
Iceland. Hear me out, cooking on
the wok is a real test of skill and ex-
perience and Menam manages that
signature wok hei smokiness that’s
sadly amiss in almost any other res-
taurant offering stir fried dishes. If
you drive to Selfoss for one thing,
make it these noodles. Restaurants
with passionate owners are a whole
nother thing and Menam is very ably
helmed.
Dragon Dim Sum
Valur: I liked dim sum. It was good,
but the dumplings were not as
mind-blowing as expected. Felt like
everything was done right, but it
also felt like they are still trying to
find their groove here.
Andie: I really wanted to like this. I
really did. Unfortunately, the mush-
room dumplings really didn’t work.
They tasted a bit like they had used
dried mushrooms that had been
soaked in water before cooking
(something I’ve done before, so I’m
familiar with the taste) and it didn’t
help that there was something san-
dy in one of the bites I took. The
dumpling dough is really quite ex-
traordinary though, and I enjoyed
the dipping sauce, so maybe they
were having an off night.
Shruthi: I was nervous about this
franchise venture of Dragon and
wondered how dumplings (a noto-
riously challenging set of dishes to
make) would translate to an out-of-
town franchise format. I was pleas-
antly surprised that the flavours
and presentation were close to the
parent, although the dipping sauces
were a let down for me. On the other
hand, I find that the already sauced
and dressed dumplings seldom
need a dip alongside and I enjoyed
the vegan cashew red curry number
and the shrimp dumplings.
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