Inournewseries,AChef ’sGuide,weasktheworld’sbest
chefstosharewheretoeatanddrinkintheirhometowns.
This month, we hear fromRAGNAR EIRÍKSSON.
A CHEF’SGUIDETO...
Reykjavik, Iceland
I
n a pastlife,RagnarEiríkssonwasat the
helmofDill,Iceland’sfirstMichelin-starred
restaurantandanoperationthatzeroedin
ontheingredientsandfoodtraditionsof
NorthIceland.Today,hisfocusis onVinstukan,
a smallnatural-winebarthatrepresentsReykjavik’s
newfoodanddrinkorder.
“WhenI movedbacktoReykjavikin2014,the
citywasa globaltourismhotspotandrestaurants
cateredforforeignvisitors,”saysEiríksson.“They
had,moreorless,thesamemenu.Thingshave
calmeddownsinceandtherestaurantsceneis
renewingitself.Menusandspacesarebeingdesigned
withlocalsinmind.Whenit comestoattracting
visitors,‘trythelocalcuisine’hasbeenreplaced
with ‘try the local ingredients’, not just puffins.”
Handmade dumplings
and izakaya vibes
Everyoneis ravingaboutMakake,
a newdimsumandJapanesetapas
barin anoldsailor’scanteen.The
menuis mostlyhandmadedumplings,
butthesmallplatessuchasbraised
daikonwithred-misobuttersauce
arereallyexciting.Thetablesare
madeofbeercratesandthelights
featurerepurposedBundaberg
ginger-beerbottles.
Italian comfort eating
NorthernItalianrestaurantLa
Primavera is one of the city’s greatest
comebackstories.It originally
openedin 1993 inReykjavik’sHouse
ofCommercebutclosedin2011.
Then,in 2018 aftera briefandvery
successfulpop-up,therestaurant
decidedtoreopenonits25th
anniversary.Therestaurantis inside
theMarshallHousebytheharbour
whichis almostinthemiddleof
nowhere,yetyou’llalwaysfindit
busy,dayandnight.Thesmallmenu
ofregionalItaliandishesalsoseems
likeit’sreturnedfromthe90sand
includesclassicslikevealMilanese
anda creamytomatofettuccine
with beautiful local langoustines.
36 GOURMET TRAVELLER
WORDS
&INTERVIEW
JESSICA
RIGG.
PHOTOGRAPHY
LILJA
JÓ
NS
(RAGNAR
EIRÍKSSON),
UNNUR
MAGNA (VINSTUKAN) & GETTY IMAGES
(REYKJAVIK MAIN PHOTO).