Reykjavik café catalog and observations

When touring the best of Reykjavik’s very eclectic and happenin’ café scene,  I noticed some interesting cultural observations in my three short days. I'm not sure if they tie back to Icelandic culture in general, or if the practices evolved simply for practical reasons. Either way, here is what you are likely to experience in Reykjavik’s cafes:

• People bring their kids. Whether they are toddlers babies you will see a lot of little kids in Iceland’s cafes.
• There if often no wifi, so it’s not exactly a laptop culture.
• Many cafes are open early (around 7:00 or 8:00am and stay open late 10:00 or 11:00pm and serve alcohol.
• All cafes serve chocolate in its many forms: chocolate bars, hot chocolate, swiss mocha, etc.
• There are often more people reading newspapers and books than people on their laptops or phones.
• There are no sizes for coffee (small, medium, large or 8oz, 12 oz, 16oz). Instead there are only two was you can order: single shot or double shot.
• There are no syrups or flavored sweeteners – just plain sugar you can add yourself.

Now, as for the cafes themselves, let me introduce you to a few of my favorites:

Mokka

My favorite place for it’s film noir atmosphere. We came in the morning before dawn, when the morning darkness felt like night. The coffee was excellent and the low tables and booths felt like great places for telling secrets.

Stofan Café

Amazing atmosphere with eclectic furniture and style. Both the top level and basement are very well lit and spacious. The coffee was good but not any better than Mokka or the other places I liked. That being said, if I lived in Reykjavik I would be a regular here.

C is for Cookie

With few hours in the Reykjavik winter, we headed to C is for Cookie at still-dark 8:00am for before our flight to Isafjordur. The White Chocolate Mokka was perfect, and I enjoyed the living room ambiance and chill vide of this café.

Reykjavik Roasters

This is probably the most popular coffee join in Reykjavik and arguably the best coffee in town. For some reason, it didn’t  quite fit with me. There were very few places to sit, the coffee was average, and I just didn’t fall in love with it like I do other places.

Laundromat Café

More of a restaurant than a café, this is a place you come to socialize, not play on your laptop. It’s usually crowded and noisy, but the drinks were outstanding.

Babalu

A quirky café, popular for it’s eccentric atmosphere and the fact that it is open very late. The coffee is nothing to brag about, but working among the barrage of decorations was an interesting experience.

LA Street Style Day 1

After a 9-year absence, my fashionable friend Emma returned to LA from Japan this summer. I flew down from Portland to meet with her. Emma and I lived in LA in the mid-2000s and have a lot of good memories together. To honor our friendship, I dug through my closet and picked out a few dresses that I bought back in 2007-2008 when we lived in Orange County together. This is a dress I wore 10 years ago, and one I haven't worn agin until this trip. All items pictured vintage and purchased at various stores around LA. I'm pretty sure this dress came from Goodwill. 

Emma, on the other hand, went with the opposite theme. She bought an entire new wardrobe for this trip. 

And of course, we took a ton of selfies on our first day together.

\

Reykjavik Diary Excerpts

I am writing from the airplane over Greenland. I can’t be sure of that because it’s complete dark and will remain that way for several hours. We’ve traveled north to indulge in some of that excellent winter darkness. Maybe it’s the excitement. I haven’t been to Iceland in five years. It holds a special place in my heart because this is the first adventure my partner and I went on together. This is where I began my blog. With the colorful front doors of Reykjavik.

    - November 23, 9:49pm plane over Greenland

We got off to a rocky start in Reykjavik. After sitting touch at a Thai restaurant and not being served, we gave up and ate an expensive meal that burned my tongue at Cafe Loki. I was uncomfortable in my many layers of clothing, which were itchy and hard to walk in, and made me sweat underneath. The weather was also grating on me. We arrived on a particularly windy and rainy day where the rain blew into my face no matter which direction I looked. There were so many English-speaking tourists that I am convince Reykjavik has lost its magic. It is not a city of nostalgia, it a packaged place with a pre-determined experience.

At 2:55pm on the day we arrived I am so so so tired. I hate this cafe and the fact that we have to sit facing the bathroom. And the fact that I just spent 24 dollars of two coffees and a chocolate bar.

-       Reykjavik Roasters, November 24, 2:55pm

The sun is already coming up in Reykjavik. I mean, we can’t see the sun but the sky is getting lighter. As we move norther though, we’ll be chasing the darkness. Perhaps we will arrive in Isafjordur at dawn. It will be 11:00am.

I will always remember this morning - walking in the dark in a silent and empty Reykjavik while eating a buttery croissant. It felt like 9:00pm but it was just before 8:00am. My body grows tired with the darkness.

       - C is for Cookie, November 25^th 8:35am

The Amazing Food on Iceland AIr

This might be the only airline I blog about twice. My fascination and love for Iceland began before I ever set foot on the land, and that’s all thanks to Iceland Air. Five years ago I blogged about Iceland Air and the amazing Icelandic candy bars I had on the plane and I haven’t stopped thinking about it ever since.

Now, before I get into food, I should mention that there are some other notable differences on the plane. 

A safety video without an airplane.

Iceland Air advertises it’s country to you at every opportunity. They even use their safety video to feature their county’s amazing geography and outdoor opportunities. Honestly, for someone with flight anxiety, it was calming to watch a  safety video with the same standard instruction, overlaid with images of the aurora and waterfalls. It made me feel like I wasn’t actually on a plane.

Elves on the luggage bins

Each of the overhead compartments are guarded by elves. I don’t know if that’s lucky or just by design.

The food
I’m one of those people that almost always cannot stomach food on an airplane. Not only are those meal trays disgusting, but the general experience of being in that circulating air makes me feel sick, so I usually never eat anything but a few dry snacks on a plane.

For Iceland Air I made an exception: I knew I wanted their Icelandic chocolate  bars again, but this time when I saw their gorgeous new menu of offerings, I ended up eating everything they had.

On the way from Seattle to Reykjavik I ordered the Tapas Bar, which consist of two Spanish cheese (Manchego and something else), prosciutto, salami, and crackers. The meats and cheese were of exquisite quality, comparable to the finest I’ve purchased from local markets.

The drink in the picture is called Malt-Applesin, which is one part malt soda and one part Applesin soda, an sweet, malty, creamy, frothy, delicious holiday mix.

My partner ordered three mini cheeseburgers which were hot and tasty, as well as an Applesin (which by itself tastes like Orange soda), and a Kropp bar, which I ate most of.

The whole way to Iceland I had my eyes on the Christmas feast special, but it was only available on flights from Iceland, so I had to wait until the end of my trip to try it.

When I boarded the plane on the way  back I was ready:

2 kinds of fish, 5 kinds of meats, 3 breads, butters, and jelly.

It was excellent and expensive, but worth every krona.