Matarkjallarinn — Restaurant in Reykjavik

From all the fine dining places in Reykjavík I've been to recently, this one was the biggest disappointment since I had very high expectations from the reviews. Food was edible, but nothing special - not matching the hype in the reviews nor the high price you pay for it. We ordered panfried scallops and slow-cooked cod for starters - both meals seemed like they were prepared in advance, and they were overfilled with sauces and nuts which camouflaged the taste of the fish - slow-cooked cod is so hyped on the reviews and I was very disappointed when I actually tasted it - completely bland, plus all these sauces and nuts made the taste of the fish get 'lost' in the meal. Panfried scallops were maybe 3 on the plate. We liked a lot the pretzels and a spread they serve before meals, pretzels were really good plus they didn't charge us for it! For mains we had beef-pepper steak and glazed lamb. Prices for both don't match the prices on the website (on the website both are 8200 ISK, on the bill both were 8490 ISK). Both were okay, again, nothing spectacular. I prefered the beef, but the potato thing they serve it with (looks like Moussaka) was tasteless. For desserts we had chocolate 'Lion bar' and Risamaland (not on the website). Chocolate 'Lion bar' is overhyped as well on the reviews, the Risamaland was more interesting but lacked flavour. Cocktails were good and strong (we ordered Angelica Tradition and Eldrablóm Fizz) and seems they put proper amount of alcohol in them. Overall okay food, not bad, but not worth the 37 000 ISK we spent on everything. Food lacks flavour, comes cold, seems prepared in advance and also for the price and 'fine dining' title, food lacks more original and interesting presentation on the plate and actual taste. Service is okay, but not on the fine dining level - waiters and waitresses don't seem trained enough for the high end restaurant service. Toilets are very nice and clean plus they have a lot of things for guests such as tampons, pads, deodorants,...

My rating of the place: Food ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tender meat and very tastefull, great food and set menus Service ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ polite, funny, always had an eye at the table and very knowledgeable Place: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Is placed centrally near the water, cosy. Perfect for a date as they have hygienic products at the bathroom

Some minor personal preferences: It can be a bit dark To much cheese on one of the starters

Lovely to see a vegan set menu and great homemade alcohol free drinks

Detailed review:

Amazing place! Cosy , good food and prices and our young server was professional, kind, good humor and had a lot of knowledge about the food and the drinks.

We where 3 that got the dream menu and one got the cod. As an aperitif we bought a cocktail (which they have plenty of variety and also some special ones) their homemade lemonade which was delicious and a half bottle of champagne, which where kept during the meal as well with brilliant refill when needed.

The food was delicious the dream menu contains 4 meals, 2 starters an head course and the dessert. an extra plate was brought to the one that didn't have the menu, so that a tasting of the starters was possible.

When it was time for the dessert the waiter asked if the ones that didn't get the set menu wanted to have a look at the menu. Absolutely fantastic how our server always had an eye for the table, he was always polite and funny when at the table and also told us a bit about the dishes when they where served.

One of the best services we have had. Price is very fair, the drinks are bit expensive. However they do not ask for a tip, as it is calculated, but at this place you really want to give one :)

Give this place a try when...

Cozy decadence. Just off the square, this basement setting gives the sense of a secret luxury. We needed reservations as this isn't really a secret and people know about the quality. Service was quick to take drink orders and then soon after took meal orders. My wife and I got the pre-fixe, Discover Iceland, and Surf and Turf. This is the best method to get a bit of everything. There was pretzel bread to start the table. Slow cooked cod with truffles and smoked lamb. Was a treat I especially appreciated the amount of truffle. The other was seared scallops which was tender and rich. I then got an extra course with smoked char which was closed to a raw texture that had a freshness to it, but the horseradish icecream was a triumph. The horseradish was there but the heat was not, so the bite with the smoked char and icecrwam was almost a refresher before the meal. This maybe should have been an amusbuche. For mains, roast lamb filled with mash. This was tasty but by far my wife's main was the best. It was seasoned beautifully and had such a punch of umami that makes you sad when the steak is gone. Finally, I had the rubarb pie (which was really a crisp) the rubarb was sweet and tart nice balance and the crisp was crunch and buttery. My wife's chocolat bar was like a long truffle. So light but fudge and rich. It also had a quennel of raspberry sorbet which made such a delightful bite with the chocolat and raspberry. While they had an ok cellar we both got the smokey Pablo which was sooo good that we had a few between us. A bit like a matured long island ice tea. Staff was attentive, polite, and timely. Parking is a little difficult but the whole city is...