Atlantica - 01.10.2006, Side 74

72 AT L A N T I CA
Eat, Meat & Fish
ICELANDa
SPECIAL PROMOTION
SJÁVARKJALLARINN Not easy to find, but
always a winner. Try Sjávarkjallarinn’s exotic
meat and seafood sampler and you will not
be disappointed. Perhaps you’ll have candied
roasted quail followed by delicate sushi,
monkfish and gorgeous reindeer. Or you
might get to sample some tender kangaroo.
The waitstaff is friendly and helpful as they
guide you through the languid meal that
might be – no matter how well heeled you
are on the food circuit – among the best
you’ve had. Almost everything, from the an-
ise-infused bread topping to the mocha and
orange crème brûlée with candy that pops in
your mouth, is out of this world. 511-1212.
HUMARHÚSID The “Lobster House”
opened up downtown 11 years ago, special-
izing in lobster, seafood and meat dishes.
Try the lobster bisque, prepared with cream,
brandy, and lobster, or the whale sashimi
served with licorice-soy sauce. For your main
course, try the popular “five times” lobster
– lobster cooked five different ways – or
another special of the house, the popular
tenderloin of horse. And for dessert, the
white chocolate crème brulée will treat you
right. 561-3303. www.humarhusid.is
TVEIR FISKAR At Tveir fiskar the menu
changes regularly, according to Gissur
Gudmundsson, the restaurant’s owner. But
this change makes perfect sense, because
an adherence to freshness is Gissur’s motto:
“If it’s not fresh today, you won’t see it on
the menu.” One constant at Tveir fiskar is
the quality dishes served, regardless of what
the fish of the day happens to be. And the
dining experience is enhanced by the elegant
atmosphere of this restaurant, perched on
the edge of Reykjavík’s historic harbor.
511-3474. www.restaurant.is
THRÍR FRAKKAR Come on. Try it. Aren’t you
curious as to what whale actually tastes like? At
the homey restaurant Thrír frakkar, whale is for
sale, served as a Sahsimi appetizer or a whale
pepper steak. If the fishy meat doesn’t appeal,
there are numerous Greenpeace-approved
meals at what is perhaps Reykjavík’s top seafood
restaurant, including smoked puffin. Try the
specialty, plokkfiskur, a seafood mash with
potatoes, au gratin.
552-3939. www.3frakkar.com
SILFUR Take an unbeatable location, an
award-winning chef who isn’t afraid to go out
on a limb, and some mighty fine cocktails, and
you’ve got yourself Silfur, the shiny new addi-
tion to Reykjavík’s fine dining set. Get to Silfur
early to choose from one of the city’s best drink
menus, offering everything from Veuve Clicquot
by the glass to an amazing blueberry mojito and
a passion fruit caipiroska. Silfur (which means
“silver” in Icelandic) offers New French cuisine
on a menu that encourages patrons to order sev-
eral small dishes and tour a variety of fresh local
and international ingredients on offer. Whether
you are a party of 2 or 10, the best way to go
is to order the Silfur’s Flavours menu, a five-
course set menu chosen by chef Thórarinn
Eggertsson, Iceland’s 2005 chef of the year and
a silver medallist in the 2006 Scandinavian chef
of the year. Designed to encourage customers
to try things they might not normally order,
the Flavours menu delivers creative combina-
tions like langoustine and avocado, foie gras
and tuna sashimi, pigeon and apple buerre. The
menu comes with highly recommended wine
pairings and is, from beginning to delicious end,
a foodie’s dream. Open weekdays for lunch,
dinners every night of the week. On Fridays and
Saturdays, Silfur seats for dinner until 11:30PM,
which makes this not only one of the best tables
in town, but also one of the latest.
578-2008. www.silfur.is
ROSSOPOMODORO To indulge in a
real, down home taste of Little Italy, plant
yourself at a window table in Rossopomo-
doro and plan to stay the night. Its authen-
tic Southern Italian cuisine, prepared by
coupling the finest Italian olive oils with the
freshest Icelandic ingredients, means that the
thick pomodoros and rich cream sauces are
fit for Italian nobility. Trust the chefs, Mario
Nosenzo and Rafaelo Cecchini, both Italians,
and their recommendations. They’re masters
of their craft.
If the homemade gnocchi topped with a
delicate four-cheese sauce or the baccalao
filet with red pepper, onion, tomato and basil
don’t make you drool, the pizzas certainly
will. The oven is authentic – built from
scratch by four Italians from Napoli – and
you can tell. The crust, made from imported
Italian farina, is thin and crispy on the out-
side and just-soft on the inside. When topped
with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil,
you’ll have to restrain yourself from ordering
a second to go.
The décor has the contagious energy of
southern Italy and the understated minimal-
ism of Scandinavia. The result: sophisticated
comfort. Though you’ll inevitably be stuffed
from your freshly made pasta, make room
for the warm chocolate soufflé served with
fresh whipped cream and pistachio gelato.
You might just feel like you’ve officially
landed in the Mediterranean.
561-0500. www.rossopomodoro.is
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