Mat Bar, Reykjavík

Trendy tapas bar in Icelandic

May contain traces of advertising.*

The Mat Bar serves very modern Icelandic cuisine inspired by, among other things, Asian influences - an absolutely exciting and fascinating mix, I think! Technically speaking, this is called “fusion cuisine”, i.e. the combination of different food cultures and the mixture of classic local ingredients with exotic ingredients from completely different regions of the world. In this Icelandic tapas bar there are small dishes, "bites", but there are a lot of different ones.

Unfortunately, our schedule didn't work out differently, so my husband had to go to the Mat Bar alone on the last day of his hiking holiday in Iceland, while I had already flown back to Germany - which I was really very sorry about. I would have loved to go with you!

My husband, on the recommendation of the house, chose the " Matbarsmáltið ", i.e. the Matbar menu for 6,940 ISK per person.

The menu is only available in the evenings from 5 p.m. It consists of 7 small courses, with dishes changing depending on the season and using the freshest ingredients they have. (It is also possible to order the menu as a vegetarian version or without meat but with fish.)

Let me introduce you to what the menu included at the end of June 2018 when my husband was invited to eat there:

First the first two courses were served - and with each plate that was placed on the table, what there was to admire and taste was lovingly explained.

There was lumpfish roe and whipped ricotta cheese, with a fermented chili sauce and plenty of chives, and there was the typical Icelandic Flatbrauð. My husband was thrilled, although you can't really entice him with roe. He thought that was the great thing, that the typical Icelandic lumpfish roe became so hot thanks to the chili and he simply enjoyed it. And the flatbread was also really tasty - "best in the very dark places," says my husband.

These are lamb hearts with Asian Xo sauce (which is made from dried mussels and ham and gives dishes a very special flavor), buttermilk and raspberry juice.

The third course was Þorskkinnar , cod cheeks with lemon kosho, a spicy Asian sauce, pickled red onions, toasted breadcrumbs and sorrel.

The fourth course was beetroot glazed with balsamic vinegar, with celery and horseradish puree, grated walnuts with chili and chervil.

The fifth and sixth courses were, so to speak, the main course:

There was a good piece of lamb belly, along with red onions, fennel and cabbage salad and what's on the front is actually mustard sauce.

And here grilled kale with pickled onions, pickled chili, pumpkin seeds and kelp.

Finally, for dessert there was almond granita (a kind of grainy, sorbet-like frozen lemonade) with Icelandic strawberries, caramelized white chocolate and sweet balsamic dressing and hot chilies.

"It's done. I'm so full!" - that was the last message from my husband that evening from the Mat Bar. He sounded very satisfied and was completely thrilled. We definitely have to go there together again, was his conclusion.

Now I, Ursula's husband, have to speak out. The food at Mat Bar absolutely blew me away. Each course was such a great combination of different flavors in itself. The basis was always something Icelandic, which was then combined with a completely different taste: roe with chili sauce, lamb hearts with fruity raspberry juice, ... And with seven courses, one taste experience followed another. During the first courses, the waiter asked how it tasted and I started raving about it. Later I just beamed at him so that he didn't have to ask anymore. You could obviously see my enthusiasm!

At a glance:

The small snacks such as smoked almonds with olives or Flatbrauð with kale pesto cost on average just under 1,000 ISK (as of June 2018), the vegetable dishes are around 1,500 ISK (e.g. for grilled kale, grilled asparagus or fennel), the fish dishes are in Cut at 1,850 ISK (e.g. for the lumpfish roe or grilled squid), the "fish of the day" costs 2,850 ISK. A meat dish costs around 2,400 ISK. The large Mat Bar menu currently costs 6,940 ISK.

The Mat Bar is open Tuesday to Saturday from 3 p.m. to midnight, the kitchen closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends.

It generally makes sense to reserve a table for a meal at the Mat Bar, as it can get very crowded depending on the time of day.

* 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 out in praise, we really mean it.



[Translated from here.]