Café Babalú — Restaurant in Reykjavik

Found in the heart of downtown Reykjavík is this seemingly quirky cafe, with its kitschy bohemian vibe, that left a lot to be desired. The price is extravagant, even considering its prime location. The store layout is cramped and crowded. There is an upstairs area reserved for larger groups which is isolated and removed from the vibe of the bustling cafe downstairs. And the service? Abysmal. I went in with a group of 5 and was told to find our own seats upstairs; we had to go down the stairs to order and then we’re asked to transport our own drinks up rickety flight of stairs - which I am not complaining about, despite how sketchy it felt transporting two hot beverages up 15 steps. What really got me is the awful service. My food was delivered to me - grill cheese and tomato soup (that was mediocre at best despite costing $30 CANADIAN DOLLARS) by this unsmiling female server, who dropped my meal off unceremoniously and told me I needed to get my own soup spoon downstairs… what boggles my mind is it cost me $45 dollars for two drinks and a meal and the server couldn’t even put a spoon on my plate when she came from the kitchen where the spoons were located?? This one off experience wouldn’t have left such a sour taste in my mouth if I didn’t witness the same unsmiling server then reprimand a table next to us for not having their table card visible and therefore forcing her to have to “track their table down” even though this location doesn’t have a lot of tables to start with... which just seems lazy to me. Also, they were painting/renovating so the entire second floor smelled like paint flumes. ALSO, WHAT REALLY GOT ME WAS THE FACT THAT THE SPOONS THAT I WAS TOLD I NEEDED TO GRAB FROM DOWNSTAIRS WAS RIGHT BY THE STAIRS THAT THE SERVER HAD TO WALK PASS TO SERVE MY MEAL TO ME. This cafe feels more like a “serve yourself” venue but has the prices that do not reflect the lack of amenities available. SAVE YOURSELF SOME MONEY AND GET YOUR DRINKS FROM A CONVENIENCE...

Ahhh this little quirky coffee shop is so much fun! My husband and I stopped in our first morning in Reykjavík after our red-eye. All I needed was a STRONG, fresh cup of coffee and Babalú came through!

On our first visit I sipped on an Americano and my husband an unflavored latte which we munched on delicious Ham and Cheese grilled sandwiches. I’m still biting myself over the fact I forgot to order a bowl of tomato soup because that would have been the only thing that could have made these little sam-sams better than they were. Thick, hot slices of ham with gooey melted cheese paired with salads drizzled with some creamy, delicious dressing. I can only imagine how amazing it would have been dipped in soup. That would be my recommendation.

Apart from the food, the entire cafe is a freaking trip. Gadgets and gizmos aplenty indeed. Very reminiscent of my grandparent’s too-cluttered home, but here I love it. The downstairs Star Wars themed bathroom is the best part. It’s not just themed - it’s a whole freaking immersive experience.

I can’t recommend this unique little cafe enough! Good food, friendly service and a fun,...

The only positive side about this cafe is its extravagance. Lovely and chilled to seat and relax but the service… terrible. Queued for over 15 minutes to order, in front of me there were only two people who ordered literally two drinks each and maybe a slice of cake (which was ready and just needed to be plated).

The kitchen is an open kitchen, you can see and hear all the staff talking. There were 3 servers and 2 cooks, all of them just having a nice time and a chat uncaring of the people waiting, at this point I had 4/5 people waiting behind me.

The organisation was poor, the staff polite to customers but loudly swearing in the kitchen and just being very slow in general.

My apple crumble was microwaved in front of my eyes and soaked in maple syrup, the cookie was good, the hot chocolate was cold by the time I got to my table and the coffee was ok. All this for...