Apotek Restaurant

Iceland just doesn’t do bad food, everywhere we went from a junk food kebab shop to nice restaurants the food was amazing. Apotek is a shining star in Reykjavik fine dining scene and comes with an amazing atmosphere, friendly staff and awesome food.

We made the reservation 2 days before (highly recommended) and after a long day absorbing the beauty of Iceland to and from the Black Beach we were hungry and tired in a good way craving some good food and a bath before heading to bed only to be woken up to snow clad city and head to golden circle. (nostalgia…!)

We arrived slightly early because it was Saturday night and were seated and provided the drinks menu which had an impressive selection of drinks and cocktails. We patiently waited for a little looking around and absorbing the atmosphere and ambiance. The interior was absolutely plush and beautiful, almost on the side of lavish and comfortable luxurious yet not pretentious. We still felt at home in parkas and jeans. You could see the chefs working on food in one corner and the smell of food wafting through to our curious noses. The place was full with a lot of people waiting and soon after we got our table.

I was wondering how many ways this place had to amaze us because the crockery and cutlery was so beautiful I wanted to put them in my bag and take them instead of eating in them, absolutely gorgeous!!!

We chose Salmon, beef short ribs and minke whale with puree potatoes instead of doing 2 courses separately. In a few minutes we got sourdough bread with butter which was absolutely divine and after a long day tasted even better, it was gone in 5 minutes and a chuckling waitress offered us more but we wanted to keep it for the food.

The salmon arrived with some salad and mushrooms in an amazing sauce. Cooked to perfection it was not only tender but also had the signature salmon style without the fish smell. The short ribs came covered in a slice of cheese and were awesome; served slightly colder the combination just made the concept perfect and finally the star of the show, minke whale. The last time I’ve had whale was at Fish Market and that came with horseradish and soy sauce, this one however came in slightly bigger pieces and potato puree. The taste was amazing and every bite yielded a slightly different taste which was an exhilarating experience.

By the end of meal we were very nicely full and asked for the bill which came around £50 per person which was pretty standard for Iceland. We thanked the staff and left to enjoy the rest of night in this amazing city and country.