24 hours to the fullest in the Icelandic capital
In a country of overwhelming nature like Iceland, with charming little towns and where for miles and miles you can come across only horses and sheep, its capital Reykjavik, where 65% of the country's total population lives, can go unnoticed.
After the 2008 crisis, he also had to reinvent his leisure, his cultural life. But nine years later it has been transformed into a great little European city full of artistic activity (from ceramic and textile workshops to old and new museums, such as the Photography Museum or the Marshall House) ; and, above all, of gastronomic activity. Attentive to what is happening on the other side of the ocean that surrounds them, their foodie scene has gained in variety and quality.
And in beer. In Iceland, the consumption of beer was legalized in 1989, so they are still taking a run and have eagerly signed up to the trend of craft beers . For you, as a tourist, when you have traveled the entire island without finding a trace of bars, you will appreciate a good bar.
Here anyone would become a Catholic
For all this, we assure you that spending at least 24 hours in Reykjavik, it will be worth it. 24 hours not including the Blue Lagoon.
BREAKFAST TIME
An important meal in the city. They have a sweet tooth, but they also like to have a hearty breakfast. And eat breakfast all day. There are many cafes that offer breakfast all day and brunch every day of the week.
Kaffivagninn
It is probably, the oldest restaurant in the city. A small cafe-restaurant in the old port (which is now being modernized with new designer shops and cool restaurants and bars) that serves breakfast from 7 to 11: its light version with classic porridge or with fruit; and the Icelandic version with eggs and smoked salmon. You will take it surrounded by retired sailors in full morning gathering. Weekend brunch includes pancakes and french toast.
Reykjavik
**Prikid**
The oldest cafe in the city. Open since 1950, its privileged position on a corner of the busiest street for Icelanders and tourists, Laugavegur, makes it a very popular place, especially at breakfast time. The good? that its time of breakfast spreads all day, so you can go at any time to enjoy their great yankee version dishes.
**Kumiko**
One of those new places in the old port. The first japanese tea house of the city that has become fashionable for its fairytale cakes and its three-story brunches.
** Braud & Co **
For an even quicker breakfast, or a mid-morning or mid-afternoon scone. East artisan bread maker It is one of the most modern places in the city. Young men with beards and tattoos knead the bread and buns on the other side of the glass that reaches your hands very warm. Their cinnamon rolls (snudurs, if you dare order them in Icelandic) should be a must on any visit to Reykjavik.
TIME TO EAT
If you have listened to us and you have had a good breakfast between chest and back, plus the cinnamon bun with a mid-morning coffee, when lunchtime arrives (which in Iceland starts very early, at 12), no you will be very hungry, so do the tourist because yes, because you have to do it.
**Baejarins Beztu Pylsur**
The hot dogs Iceland's most famous are served in a tiny stall in the middle of the street whose logo is a running sausage. Carries open since 1937 and politicians and celebrities have passed through there. You should order it with everything: the raw onion, the sweet fried onion, the ketchup, the sweet mustard and the remoulade, their special sauce. It is also one of the cheapest options you can eat on the entire trip. Four euros a puppy.
**HAPPY HOUR (OR TO END THE NIGHT) **
In a country where half the year sees little sunlight, it is normal for happy hours in bars to start early. At four in the afternoon in most places, in some even earlier you can already find a selection of beers at half price and, bearing in mind that they can cost you around 10 or 12 euros there, you should take advantage.
** Kex Hostel Reykjavik **
The Reykjavik hostel bar-restaurant is one of the millennial (and not so millennial) meeting points in the Icelandic capital. With live music at night, in the afternoon it comes alive at its Happy Hour (from 4pm) with beers at half prices, its house wines (which can be Spanish) and a selection of snacks from its gastropub (very recommended for dinner too). If they have the caramelized wings on sale, go for it.
** Skúli Craft Bar **
One of those bars that today you could find in almost every European city, with a blackboard with more than 20 different types of beers. And if you already ask them about the list of bottled ones… Here they take this drink that they worship very seriously because it hasn't been in their lives for even 30 years and they change the list every so often.
**Microbar**
It's not as micro as its name suggests, but it is on the ground floor, in a completely wooden place where people come to taste beer. You can order small glasses from the 10 taps they have or just five.
Kaffibarinn
A classic of the city, full of university students, which is better to go during the week. It's perfect for quiet Happy Hour beers (or Spanish wine again) or for drinks and dancing at the end of the night. Ask to Damon Albarn.
TIME TO DINNER
Hlemmur Mathöll
One of the newest places in Reykjavik where the fashion of the food markets. It was an old station now converted into a lively space, especially at dinner time (which starts very early). You will find offers of Icelandic food, a Braud & Co office, but also ice cream and even tacos.
dill
It is the first restaurant with Michelin star. Its chef, Ragnar Eiriksson, follows the line of the new Icelandic cuisine that looks again at its own resources, from the meat to the multitude of herbs that grow there, to renew its dishes.
social sushi
On an island, the fish has to be good. And yet, it is not everywhere, but it is in this Japanese fusion with Latin American cuisine known until recently as Sushi Samba.