This isn’t solely about the Reykjavík restaurant Matur og drykkur, nor musings on the venerable cookbook whence it’s named, but rather a discourse on Icelandic food and drink (that is, matur and drykkur) from the eyes of a mostly-American tourist. (We’ll get back to the full recollection of the trip next post; this digression felt absolutely necessary with the number of food photos I took!) Prior to my first visit to Iceland I heard two schools of thought when it came to food and drink on the island:
Expensive and boring
Gastronomic wonderland
The latter viewpoint was espoused solely (though vociferously) by my friend Samer, who has written an excellent guide to Reykjavík dining.
After a few visits, I understand where the misapprehensions of school of thought Nº1 arise… even if I think it’s completely off-base. Food in Iceland is expensive (as it is on so many islands), but the cost difference between uninspired and sensational isn’t as dramatic as it might be elsewhere. If you’re already spending a lot for a meal, why not spend an incremental percentage more to have a fabulous one?
The good news is that even if you’re on a strict budget, there’s always the option of the best hot dogs ever. (Technically, the best hot dogs in town but I’ll go with ever.)
My first visit was marked by a lingering cold that I could feel coming on as I waited in the lounge at LAX (another story entirely, but that was the start of a bizarre LAX-LHR-HEL-KEF routing, courtesy of oneworld, not to mention my first flight on the Dreamliner) and it meant soup soup and more soup. I found some pho early on which I’m fairly certain was good (it was hard to tell with zero tastebuds working well), but I spent a better part of the trip eating Kjötsúpa (translated simply and literally as “meat soup”).
I had eaten the soup probably about four times, thinking it a perfectly pleasant vegetable-heavy, brothy thing, before my cold had lifted enough for me to notice that the predominant flavor was in fact lamb. There’s something so comforting and earthy about lamb when you’re sick. And having had it well on another trip, all I can say is I must have been really sick to be able to taste none of that lamb flavor the first few times.
Fine dining in Reykjavík has been a bit of a revelation – somehow managing to pull off white-linen, in-the-Michelin-Guide dining without the stuffiness and (I think) at very reasonable prices for that caliber of meal. The lamb theme continued at a visit to Grillmarket with my mother last summer; I have truly never had a better piece of that meat. We were also able to try puffin, which was interesting but not entirely my thing texture-wise. Imagine if a duck ate sardines and there’s puffin.
Nostra, meanwhile, was the site of the most luxurious dinner I think I’ve ever had: foie gras, fresh truffles, caviar, port, oysters, Churchill’s favorite Pol Roger champagne, gold. Like literally, gold on the dessert. It was decadent perfection with thoughtful, creative preparations; the foie, for example, was frozen and then grated over rutabaga. Genius. Oh and the beef tallow mashed potatoes! I could go on. If you ever have cause to be in Iceland for New Year’s Eve – and you really should, particularly if you like fireworks – try to get a reservation at Nostra. I’ve now dined there twice and could probably go back a hundred more times and still crave it.
And it’s not to say that Nostra is merely a special occasion place, though it can be your special occasion. From reindeer to charred leeks to kohlrabi cream cheese “dumplings,” it was all brilliant and my compliments as ever to Chef Carl and his team.
If fish is what you’re in the mood for, Messinn has you covered. There’s a location in Grandi with a spectacular buffet (try all the fishes) and another easily accessible on Lækjargata. Their offering comes in the form of Fiskipönnur – fish pans – which are the best possible iteration of an Applebee’s skillet. Excellent excellent fish (the joys of being on an island) with sauce and veggies. Done.
And then of course, the aforementioned Matur og Drykkur, a brilliant restaurant also out in the Grandi neighborhood (which itself is foodie paradise). That was also the site of a NYE dinner, though sadly at the tail end of my cold. We had some truly perfect smoked lamb; it’s traditionally done over dung fires which I know sounds odd, but the taste is unreal, all earth and funk and Iceland. The duck breast was equally perfect, with the prettiest potatoes.
Another particular favorite Icelandic treat is the licorice ice cream from Valdis – if lamb is the savory note that sticks out most in my mind when I think of Icelandic food, then licorice must be its sweet counterpart. They recently opened a location closer to downtown which means more in my future.
My favorite combination was Salted Licorice and Passion Fruit, two flavors that were honestly meant to be together. I think licorice pairs so well with bright, acidic fruits – a sitruuna-lakritsi (lemon-licorice) ice cream while waiting for the ferry at Kauppatori in Helsinki was one of the great delights of my first visit to Finland. At any rate, lacking that, you can make your own combination at Valdis, and you can’t really go wrong.
And let’s not neglect the drykkur. My favorite brewery has an outpost in 101, Mikkeller & Friends. A newer addition is the brilliant Session, for beer people, by beer people. It’s actually a brilliant beer scene, particularly considering that beer has only been legal there for the past 30 years after a long period of prohibition in the 1910’s.