Messinn á Selfossi

The restaurant "Messinn" in Selfoss

May contain traces of advertisement.*

In Selfoss, a small town in southern Iceland about 50 km from Reykjavík, the "new city center" was opened in summer 2021. Historic buildings from all over Iceland are being rebuilt in Selfoss, creating a lively city centre with shops, restaurants and pubs, a food hall and apartments on the upper floors. Also a cinema is planned. 13 houses of the first construction phase have now been successfully completed. In my opinion, the result is really nice and I like to be in the "new city center" (after all, our cottage is nearby and we are regularly in Selfoss).

In the summer of 2022, the fish restaurant "Messinn" has been opened in one of these "new old houses".

End of October, we had an invitation to eat at the restaurant and try it - and we're really delighted with both the food and the atmosphere.

We were there on a Friday for lunch. In the restaurant it was very cozy. Apart from us, there were mainly Icelanders in the restaurant. Some people came in work clothes, alone or in small groups, obviously during their lunch break. Some were older couples or even whole families who enjoyed their lunch here.

The name "Messinn" means "the mess", i.e. the dining room on a ship. The name of the restaurant is also implemented very consistently in the interior design, lovingly down to the last detail. We were thrilled by the benches in the bunks on the wall, the ropes as an optical room divider or the dangling glass fishing floats.

Such glass floats used to be used by fishermen: Glass balls were tightly enclosed in artfully knotted bags made of ropes.  They served to keep the ends of the fishing nets above water. Nowadays, mostly balls made of plastic are used, which are far not as beautiful as the old glass floats, but much more robust.

The restaurant "Messinn" is a fish restaurant specializing in daily fresh fish. On the menu there are various appetizers to choose from. From bread basket with butter to char tartare, saltfish salad or fresh fish soup with bread and butter. In terms of price, the starters range from € 6.60 to € 26 for lobster and king prawns).

For the main courses you have the choice between fish burgers, fried fish (cod) with french fries and chili mayonnaise or pasta with seafood (for the equivalent of around 22 to 25 €).

The special highlight of the menu are the fish pans:

In large, cast-iron pans, the food is served directly from the kitchen to the table.

All pans contain changing, seasonal vegetables and Icelandic potatoes as a base - and then there are different kinds of fish, seafood - and also a vegan version with tofu.

The pans are really big and they invite you to enjoy and share the good food; So you can also order two different pans very well, e.g. for three and then eat together delightfully.

My husband had lúða, the halibut pan - fresh fried fish in white wine and cream sauce with fresh wild mushrooms and he was completely thrilled. In fact he raved about the various wild mushrooms (which is not so typical for him).

I had gellur - cod tongues fried in garlic butter and served with plenty of fried vegetables, lots of butter, chili and lemon as well as cold cocktail tomatoes and freshly plucked roquette. The dish gets its very special charm from the different consistencies, partly soft, partly rather firm, partly crunchy, and the different temperatures between the warm and the cold components. 

 

The "gellur" is actually not the tongue of the fish, but the muscle that is located below the chin of the animal. The muscle meat is enclosed by its own skin. You have to fry it longer than fish fillet and it becomes firmer, but melts on the tongue when eating and leaves a slightly salty aftertaste. Traditionally, cod tongues are fried lightly floured in Iceland and Norway - and then taste really great. 

For dessert you could choose between a súkkulaði brownie or a crème brulée, both served with fresh berries and ice cream (price equivalent to just under 15 €). We were already very full after our fish pans, but it looked so delicious that we could not (and did not want to) resist.

We then opted for the crème brulée, with a scoop of ice cream, a very tasty, light sorbet, blueberries, strawberries and a kind of granola, cuddly, crunchy oatmeal. The portion was served to us without any problems with two spoons - and tasted really good.

Our conclusion 

We definitely enjoyed our food at the "Messinn" in Selfoss and can honestly and warmly recommend the restaurant. The portions were really plentiful and we became very full in a very, very pleasant way.

I'm looking forward to eating there again - and just enjoying this wonderful meal without a camera!

* Legal note:

Formally this article can be graded as advertisement, since we had been invited for the meal. Anyhow, we have chosen only restaurants, which we had heard good things about and which we estimated as interesting. Accordingly we're really delighted, and if we fall into words of praise, these are meant honestly.

Bóndadagurinn

Man's Day

Supposedly, there is an old custom in Iceland that on this day, early in the morning, the master of the house has to hop around the farm three times barefoot and on one leg. In doing so, he wears only a shirt and a single trouser leg, while dragging the other trouser leg behind him. In return, his wife makes him happy with a particularly good meal, such as sourly pickled ram's testicles or singed sheep's head. Doesn't that sound tempting?!?

Bóndadagur - January 20th, 2023 

Bóndadagur is celebrated on the first day of the month Þorri. This month is the fourth winter month in the old Icelandic calendar. Þorri starts on Friday in the 13th week of winter (between 19th and 25th of January). This year, 2023, Bóndadagur falls on January 20th (2024: January 19th, 2025: January 24th). It the past it was mainly a farmer’s day. Nowadays it’s celebrated as husband’s day or man’s day.

The traditions around the Bóndadagur have only been handed down orally. The first written source about festivities on this day is a letter from 1728 to the Icelandic scholar Árni Magnússon. The name Bóndadagur can then be found in Jón Árnason’s Icelandic folk tales of 1862/64. Only from the twenties of the last century the term Bóndadagur can also be found in other written sources.

But, in fact, I’ve never seen a halfed-clothed man hopping around on that day. The old custom seems to be somehow forgotten.

With this in mind I wish you: 

Geðilegan bóndadag! 

Appelsínukaka með kremi á tvenna vegu

Orange cake with double frosting

We are sitting here in the Icelandic winter wonderland with mountains of snow. Outside it is cold, again and again below 0 °F (resp. -18 °C). So you prefer to make yourself comfortable inside the house, with a wonderfully crackling fireplace, hot cocoa and a freshly baked cake. - Here I have a recipe for a wonderfully fluffy orange cake with two kinds of glaze for you - with icing and chocolate glaze on top.

Actually, grated orange peel is provided in the recipe, but I didn't get organic oranges here in the local supermarket, so I helped myself with orange flavor. Targeted shopping can sometimes be a bit difficult here in Iceland. So you just have to be flexible.

Ingredients

180 g flour

160 g sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 pinch of baking soda

60 ml oil (taste-neutral)

4 eggs

90 ml cold water

1 pinch of ground vanilla

grated orange peel

90 g soft butter

240 g powdered sugar

3 - 4 tbsp whipping cream

100 g baking chocolate

Preparation

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites thoroughly until stiff.

In a bowl, mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder and baking soda and make a deepening in the middle.

Add the egg yolks, oil, water, ground vanilla and grated orange peel to the deepening and stir with a spoon.

Carefully fold the egg whites into the dough.  

Place in a loaf tin (12-14 inches resp. 30 cm) with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 40 minutes (toothpick test!).

Let the cake cool down well in the tin and then carefully remove it from the tin.

For the frosting, mix 50 g butter with the icing sugar and whipping cream and pour over the cake.

For the chocolate glaze, first slowly melt 40 g butter with the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat and then brush the cake with it. 

Let the glaze set in the fridge and then serve. 

Bon appetit! - Verði ykkur að góðu!