Norðurbakkinn - þar sem þú vilt vera

The book café on the north bank - the place where you want to be

May contain traces of advertising.*

"Þar sem þú vilt vera" - where you want to be. At least that's the slogan of the restaurant "Norðurbakkinn" in Hafnarfjörður, Norðurbakki 1 (North Bank 1). It's not a "bakarí" (= bakery), but a "bókakaffi", one of the book cafes that is so popular in Iceland.

I had previously noticed "Norðurbakkinn" on Instagram, they are very active there and always post nice pictures of delicious small dishes, cakes or a lavish breakfast, and at first glance I was also drawn to the beautiful red counter they have there. in love!

The owner invited us for breakfast at 10 a.m. on Saturday. She wasn't there when we came, but her daughter knew about it and welcomed us very nicely and friendly.

One of the most popular dishes are the pancakes with syrup, powdered sugar and fresh blueberries. They cost just under €9.50 and will fill you up in a really pleasant way. My husband chose the " pönnukökur með sýrópi og smjöri " because he wanted something sweet for a change and was really happy with it.

I had, also on the recommendation of the house, the bagel with salmon (" beygla með lax, rjómaosti, rauðlauk og kapers "), i.e. with cream cheese, red onions and capers. The salmon slices were cut nice and thick for my standards - and with the capers on the side it was really something special and tasted very tasty and interesting. (Memo to myself: I definitely need to buy capers and try them out!)

At breakfast we were given the latest newspaper and were able to prepare for the first Iceland game at the World Cup in the evening. So exactly the mix of nice food, reading and a cozy atmosphere that you expect in a book cafe.

By the way, cultural events, readings and musical lectures are also regularly offered there.

At a glance:

The Norðurbakkinn book cafe is located in Hafnarfjörður. The menu is not typically Icelandic, but very nice. There are rather small, light dishes.

The filter coffee ("uppáhelling") costs 450 ISK, a little less than €3.60 (as of June 2018). The hot drinks (various coffees, hot chocolate and tea) cost on average around 600 ISK, or just under €4.80. For a small additional charge of around €0.50 you can choose between soy or oat milk with your coffee or a shot of syrup.

The brunch ("bröns") is the most expensive dish on the menu at 2,990 ISK (just under €24), but you also get the full program: scrambled eggs, pancakes with syrup, plus bread/croissant with cheese, ham, homemade jam still salad and fruit.

There are also salads, grilled cheese, sandwiches, onion soup, changing soups of the day, cakes and the pancakes and the salmon bagel. On average, a dish costs just under 2,000 ISK, or just under €16.

Norðurbakkinn is open on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and on weekends from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

PS: Just noticed on Instagram - on June 30th, 2018 a second "Norðurbakkinn" opened in Stykkishólmur, Aðalgata 20. We're coming to Stykkishólmur in July, let's see if we can take a look!

* Legal notice:

Technically speaking, this is advertising because we were invited to dinner. But we only went to restaurants and bars that we had previously heard good things about and that we found exciting - for a variety of reasons. In that respect, we were honestly thrilled and when we burst into praise, we really mean it.

[Translated from here.]