Kaffibarinn Bar — Restaurant in Reykjavik

I echo another user's comments about this establishment: it isn't visitor-friendly. We'd read good things about Kaffibarinn and decided to patronize this establishment, but the bartender seemed more interested in chatting with the locals than taking our drink order, and when one of my friends tried to take a close-up photo of the candles set into alcoves in the pillar at the center of the room, the bartender suddenly became very interested in us: enough so that he left his post at the bar, made a beeline for us, and scolded my friend for taking the photo. The local crowd gathered there was no friendlier to us. By comparison, other establishments that we visited in Reykjavik and throughout Iceland were much friendlier. While I recognize the resistance that the locals must feel toward the exponential growth of tourism in Iceland, particularly in Reykjavik, tourism is responsible for about 30 percent of the country's export revenue, and for better or for worse, it is stimulating an economy that faced crisis just over a decade ago. Establishments like Kaffibarinn that cultivate a reputation as xenophobic do so at...

I was recommended this bar - while the beer and atmosphere were nice, the staff were arrogant and rude. Did not even look at me when I ordered and told us off for using our phones and taking a single photo of our beers. When asked for an explanation, it was apparently due to all the famous people and respect for their privacy - we were one of two groups in the whole place, no sign of anyone even remotely famous...

Great place to go if you can pretend not to be a tourist, otherwise expect the coldest and rudest...

Fantastic for a night out. Arrived solo at 1.30am and I walked straight in. Got much busier by 2am but unlike London, there's a stream of people coming and going so it was never overcrowded. Drinks (G&T) are Reykjavik prices (ISK 1400). Staff is friendly as are the fellow clubbers. Music was some fantastic house music from the DJ. Good mix of locals and tourists - I made some friends which I rarely do on trips (2 canadian girls + 1 local guy) and we headed out to another place later til 4am. All in all,...