Reykjavík Grapevine - May 2022, Page 28

That Reykjavík loves its burgers in
all forms—from vegan, vegetar-
ian, lamb, and standard beef, to
exotic flights of fancy—is well
established. So much so that even
restaurants that aren’t burger
joints almost always have a burger
or two on their menus. With so
many burgers to explore, and only
so many meals in one day where
it’s socially acceptable to consume
them (sorry, but nobody wants a
breakfast burger), we’re back on the
case with The Great Burger Show-
down Two: Burger Boogaloo.
2 Guys
Okay first things first, the name.
Iceland is full of places that are a
tad too comfortable with ‘inspired’
restaurant names. But as Robert
Aron, more popularly known as
Robbi Kronik, one of the owners
behind the venture, sheepishly
admits, ‘’It was supposed to be
just a working title, and now it’s
remained so.’’ First started as a
pandemic pop-up, they now have
a steady home by Hlemmur. It’s a
sparse, low-key affair with dart-
boards on one side and casual seat-
ing on the other, but the burgers
are far from boring.
SB: I’ll admit I totally judged this
book by its cover before eating here.
But it was definitely love at first
sight with the 2Guys burger—the
bun and patty align perfectly as if
it were run through a cookie cutter,
the cheese is perfectly melty, and
the size fits perfectly in your palms.
These are some of the tastiest burg-
ers in town. They use a generously
fatty patty, smashed to perfec-
tion—no dry edges here— with just
the right ratio of bronzed exteri-
ors to juicy insides. The buns are
toasted just so and the whole thing
is assembled with such precision
that the burger never slides or falls
apart. What is particularly striking
is that the chef lets the burger truly
shine, without the weight of unnec-
essary frou-frou. The simplic-
ity of the 2Guys aside, I do have a
soft spot for the crushed Dorito-
candied jalapeno-studded 2Pac. It’s
one of those damned things you
come up with at 2am, yet elevated.
Robbi takes great pride in making,
‘’an honest, no-frills burger’’ and
it shows.
VG: 2Guys make an interesting
promise just with its premises.
They are striving for 90s Hip-Hop
culture with burgers named 2Pac
and posters of Snoop Dog on the
wall. There are no two ways about
it, this is supposed to be a smooth
combination of nostalgia and the
holy grail in fast-food—hamburg-
ers.
2Guys manage to succeed in
every aspect here. The 2Pac is their
crown jewel and luckily it lives up
to its name The burgers are simple,
very well executed and offer a laid
back, nostalgic burger experience
with a load of charm and a touch of
humour. They are up there with the
best. All hail the new crown-prince
of burgers!
Hagavagninn
Hagavagninn received a lot of
attention when national pop icon
and hip hop star, Emmsjé Gauti,
announced that he, along with a
consortium of restraunteers, was
taking on the old hot dog stand by
Vesturbæjarlaug and turning it into
a smash burger sensation. Today
the restaurant is in the owner-
ship of just two of these founders;
Rakel !órhallsdóttir and Jóhann
Gu"laugsson.
SB: Hagavagninn were the first to
introduce smash style burgers to
Iceland. When they first opened,
they were sensational burgers
indeed. But our recent visit let me
Bur!ers Part 2: Hip
Hop Le!ends And
Dirty Politicians
We visited Búllan, 2Guys and Ha!ava!ninn, and found out that there
is a new serious player in the market
Words: Shruthi Basappa & Valur Grettisson Photos: Joana Fontinha & Art Bicnick
Food
Laugavegi 28
537 99 00
sumac@sumac. is
sumac. is