Kol Restaurant — Restaurant in Reykjavik

Overall underwhelming, underseasoned and overhyped.

Very disappointing experience. After seeing the reviews and listings as a fine dining restaurant in Reykjavik this was high up on our places to visit on our trip. Unfortunately we both had the tasting menu with wine pairing and were left underwhelmed I'm going to focus mainly on the food here but strongly suggest DO NOT GET THE WINE PAIRING but you can scroll to the end if you want more information on this. The staff, friendly and charismatic, were very unprepared and had a lack of knowledge about any of the dishes served which was worrying from the start. Then the food starting coming and we were delivered "this is beef" which was a very tasty Steak Tartare. We like to understand what ingredients have been put together and if possible a bit of back story from the dish but as I said the staff only said "this is beef" and left. The next course came as 2 seperate starters together of which we had to ask what we were presented with "salmon and tempura" - the descriptions were less than what we could have guessed already from the visible protein. Again both dishes were delicious with the salmon starter being saved by the yellow beetroot crisps and use of apple. Then the mains... The first main was "salmon" where my wifes was cooked perfectly mine was underdone - both were underseasoned and flavourless. The second main was again "beef" which was tough and also underseasoned. There were no exciting or challenging flavours from either main, both being very bland and boring as well as far too big a portion size for a 6 course meal. By this point we were stuffed even though we did not finish either main course. The desserts were great. Sweet and flavourful with a Yuzu sorbet being the star of the show. Presentation was all fantastic but having such underwhelming dishes with none being memorable to the palate means we would not recommend this restaurant - atleast not for the tasting menu! If perhaps all the reviews are warranted due to key items on their menu then the owners should remove the tasting menu all together. It did not feeling like an experience, journey or a good meal!

Now for the wine, the wine pairing served with the tasting menu is all very low grade cheap alcohol with again no explanation of which is which more than "this is a chardonnay". You would be better off saving your money and sourcing one very good bottle to enjoy with your dinner over having any of these wines. They were all very cheap and uninspired and I would be unhappy to drink them anywhere let alone somewhere described as fine dining. Big let down there.

Again I would reiterate the staff were very friendly and welcoming but maybe its an issue with understaffed or lack of training. In my opinion having tried many tasting menus this place just should not have one! There are many restaurants in Reykjavik alone that provide better tasting food at better value with a...

As a solo diner, I found myself stopping into Kol for an indulgent final dinner before my flight home. Taken in by the A-board outside boosting assorted menus, it was actually surprisingly hard to choose what to eat as it all sounded so good. As a terrarian, I was incredibly grateful to the staff for allowing me to swap out the salmon in the TASTE OF ICELAND menu for the Icelandic Burrata. Each course of this meal was a textural and flavour treat. Every course was delicious, and the portions sufficient to make this a filling meal.

They have a smart trick of leaving you with the cocktail menu only, before returning with the food and wine menu, so you're much more likely to order a cocktail. I for one live love a Waldorf Salad so couldn't resist ordering one. Not convinced it tastes of any of its famed ingredients to any recognisable level but it was enjoyable nevertheless, as was the glass of rosé that I ordered with my meal.

The beef starter yes incredibly tender, with a delicious sauce, and grapes which make the meat sing. The Burrata was creamy and delicious. It did hold together rather well, unlike some much more watery versions I've had. The table next to me had the charred salmon that I'd swapped, and said that it was the best salmon they'd ever eaten, but as it's not to my taste I cannot confirm either way.

The lamb was incredibly generous, and I had to abandon my portraits to make sure I could finish this juicy cut. Interestingly, this was also served with grapes, a fruit that I'd never seen paired with meat at dinner before but is represented twice on this menu. It works though, so whoever came up with it is smart!

I was nervous about the liquorice dessert but the brownie is textured now like a low-rise cake, and the flavours are very subtle so even if you're not a fan of liquorice, this is very enjoyable.

The toilets are at ground level and individual cubicles with sink inside, so it's another huge positive.

They are obviously experienced with tourists, and it was interesting to see that they could mostly guess which language server to send to each table. There was a distinct effort to provide excellent service, from the little things like presenting the menu open to the correct language pages, to checking with the kitchen if the set menu could be adjusted to substitute a dish.

At £115 it's the most expensive solo dinner I've ever had, but the quality of the food, ambience, and staff made it a...

Delicious food, amazing staff, and fantastic ambiance. I got the scallops and foi gras as a starter. They were very well cooked. Nice and charred on top and smooth and buttery in the middle. I would have liked a tad bit more colour but it was good regardless. The foi gras was unbelievable. So smooth and buttery. My first time trying foi gras as i have been vegetarian/vegan and for some time pescetarian for a large portion of my life and have just started experimenting with new meats. But I think regardless, the foi gras must've been very well cooked. We also ordered a portion of the duck tacos to share. Again, my first time really trying duck and it was very juicy and delicious which is very difficult to obtain with a naturally dry meat like duck. I would have perhaps recommended against such heavy seasoning on the duck. While it was delicious, i would have liked an opportunity for the duck to also express some flavours. However, would definitely recommend their tacos. For mains i enjoyed the salmon which was delicious. I was highly impressed by the rare cook of the salmon inside but the char and grill marks on the outside. I always judge a chefs skills by their ability to cook salmon and i must say they did not disappoint. Generally, interesting combination of fennel and grape with the salmon. However, for me personally the sour flavour was occasionally too over powering. My partner got the lamb which was well cooked, perhaps a little too well done. I do like meat on the rare side, especially with beautiful icelandic lamb. Interesting inclusion of the white chocolate on the plate. I have seen that done often and i think it was incorporated well here. Would recommend. For dessert we had the large dessert plate including a scoop of the bounty, skyr ice cream and milk chocolate mousse. We both liked the milk chocolate mousse the least. There was an off flavour that we could not place. However the bounty was absolutely delicious. On the recommendation of our waiter we ordered the skyr ice cream and did not regret it. For me, considering my relatively acidic and sour main, I could have done without. However, was very happy to have tried it. For my partner, it was the best dessert that night. Overall, good food (perhaps disproportionally high prices for the food at times but you're in Iceland- that's just how things are) and great service. When we return to Iceland we would strongly consider...