Atlantica - 01.09.2003, Qupperneq 42

A newcomer on the Reykjavík culinary scene, Vox at the Nordica Hotel is already creating quite a
stir. Touted as the best restaurant in Iceland by food connoisseurs of the city, it offers the talents
of Bocuse d’Or bronze medal winner and member of the prestigious Academié de la Bocuse d’Or,
Hákon Örvarsson. Situated in the stunning Nordica Hotel, Vox follows the hotel’s designer style:
minimal yet warm in hues of white, beige and brown, with mosaic touches, paper lanterns and
warm wooden floors. The establishment is divided into a bistro and a restaurant parted by an
impressive glass wine “cellar”. The former offers light meals and snacks, and the latter is a more
formal and luxurious affair. Here, Örvarsson and his team conjure up truly artistic cuisine, in a
style influenced by the French tradition yet remaining somehow all his own. Starters include melt-
in-the-mouth veal carpaccio, mosaic of foie gras, and sautéed langoustine with avocado purée
and ginger oil. On the main course menu you’ll find beautiful classics with a twist such as
chateaubriand with a Zinfandel sauce and shallot confit, and paupiettes of salmon and langous-
tine with peas, spring onion, potato gnocchi and aniseed flavoured glace of langoustine and olive
oil. Among the array of delicious desserts is an original take on that traditional Icelandic dairy
product, skyr. Here it is concocted in three different ways on the same plate, as a smoothie, an
ice cream and as a bavaroise. The wine list is extraordinarily impressive, featuring around 600
wines from around the world and the finest champagne vintages. If you’re after a unique gourmet
experience, try the five-course taster menu where wines are selected for you to beautifully match
each course. At lunchtime you can indulge in a multicultural buffet, offering everything from fresh
Mediterranean dishes, sushi, smoked salmon and Indonesian-style curries. From the exquisitely
bound menus to the Conran-designed Wedgwood bone china, every fine detail has been careful-
ly considered at Vox, which should propel it to fame outside of Icelandic shores. AMB
Vox bistro and restaurant, Nordica Hotel, Sudurlandsbraut 2, 108 Reykjavík.
For reservations, tel. (+354) 444-5000, fax: (+354) 444-5001. Open daily.
Thrír Frakkar
This cosy French-style restaurant tucked
into the charming Thingholt area of the
city is renowned for its fabulous seafood.
The relaxed atmosphere of Thrír Frakkar
resembles that of a French bistro, appro-
priate because Thrír Frakkar translates
into ‘Three Frenchmen’ (or ‘Three Trench
Coats’). What makes Thrír Frakkar differ-
ent from other fish restaurants in the city
is the varied menu, which ranges from tra-
ditional plokkfiskur, a gratinée of fish and
potatoes with onions served with sweet
rye bread, to sumptuous bacalao (salted
cod). It’s not all about fish, however, as
chef Úlfar Eysteinsson is well known for
his use of original Icelandic ingredients
such as whale meat and puffin. This
autumn, watch out for game on the menu,
featuring reindeer, guillemot and lightly
pan-fried seal with a wild berry sauce.
Scandinavian fans will be able to snap up
Eysteinsson’s new cookbook, available in
Norwegian and Danish in bookstores this
September.
Thrír Frakkar, open for lunch Mon-Fri from
11.30 to 14.30 and dinner 18.00 to 22.00,
Baldursgata 14, 101 Reykjavík,
tel. (+354) 552-3939
The Pearl
If you like a fabulous view with your meal,
head to Perlan, the restaurant at the
space-age Pearl. Perched high above
Reykjavík, the circular, glass-covered
restaurant slowly spins, offering guests a
360° view of the Reykjanes peninsula.
Look out to the sea, and then on to the
lights of the world’s northernmost capital:
it’s mesmerizing. But the view is only half
of the dining experience. Starting mid-
October is their famous wild game buffet
featuring delicacies such as reindeer,
guillemot, wild duck and ptarmigan, and
wild salmon and trout. Mid-November
sees the start of Perlan’s special
Christmas buffet, for which foreign visitors
often specially fly in to experience. With a
buffet table that’s over 20 square feet in
area, the chefs putting on a carving show,
and a view to die for, you’d better make
those reservations straight away.
Perlan, Öskjuhlíd, 101 Reykjavík,
tel. (+354) 562-0200
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