Reykjavík Grapevine - Aug 2023, Page 34

The Reykjavík Grapevine 11 / 23 34Food
But these are thoughts easy to push
aside as you sip on their carrot-or-
ange-seabuckthorn juice (1900 ISK).
There is no other breakfast in town
that feels as exclusive as this one,
making you feel like you have one
extra zero in your bank account.
HJÁ JÓNI
Thorvaldsensstræti 2
7:00-10:30 daily
We went to this newest addition with
zero expectations and walked out
with giant smiles plastered on our
faces. Even if it isn’t advertised as
such, the everyday breakfast buffet
is open to everyone, walk-ins and
hotel guests alike. At 7900 ISK for
two, this is the most bang for your
buck breakfast deal by a mile. With
their tall windows overlooking Aus-
turvollur, this is perfect for a cosy
morning date, business meeting,
or a grown up group outing. What
we especially enjoyed was their
table side serving of warm dishes.
Translation? Expect a cute stack of
fluffy, warm pancakes made to order.
Poached eggs that haven’t been
sitting around dully. And in case
you forgot where you were, the shot
glasses of lysi, lemon slice in tow,
serve as a firm reminder you’re still
in Iceland.
HRAÐLESTIN
Grandagarður 23
11:00-16:00 weekends
Hear me out on this one, sure it is
being offered as a brunch, and only
on the weekends, and only at their
Grandi outpost. But when you are
the lone star in a sea of sameness,
it is but our responsibility to shine
light on this South Indian breakfast
nee brunch. The masala dosa (3290
ISK) is a golden tube of crunchy
delight, surrounded by bowlfuls of
sambhar, coconutty chicken cur-
ry, ginger spiked alu palya and two
kinds of chutneys. Dosa is a crispy-
soft, griddle cooked Kannadiga
breakfast-tiffin dish made from a
fermented rice-lentil batter. Tech-
nically demanding, this is a hard to
execute dish, especially this North
of warmth. But here, the dosas and
the accompaniments have consist-
ently gotten better. You tear off a
bit of dosa, scoop up one chutney,
one sambhar, one curry at a time,
an explosion of varying flavours in
each bite. Psst… you can tack on
an extra dosa to your order. They
also offer steamed idlis, with crispy
medu vadas, perfect for some
sambhar dunking, and big-as-my-
face stretchy bhaturas with a clove
scented kheema masala. Washed
down with a cup of steaming hot
masala chai, this slightly late break-
fast slaps like no other.

SÆTA SVÍNIÐ / Hafnarstræti 1-3 / Tel. 555 2900 / saetasvinid.is
990 1.690
HAPPIEST
HAPPY HOUR
IN REYKJAVÍK
ICELANDIC GASTROPUB
We went to this newest addi-
tion with zero expectations
and walked out with giant
smiles plastered on our faces.
When you are the lone star in
a sea of sameness, it is but
our responsibility to shine light
on this South Indian breakfast
nee brunch.