Showing 1-20 of 20 results
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101 Hotel Bar
Frankly, we fear being ejected as riffraff from this beautiful granite-and-white-leather cocktail bar. Based inside the ultra-cool 101 Hotel, its long, thin, sleek, chic space is favoured by local glamourpusses and celebrities. Although it gets rammed to the rafters at weekends, it also closes early (at ) - dress to the hilt, and get on down there.
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Bar 11
This bar has calmed down in the last couple of years: it's now more of a place for groups of younger blokes to have a matey beer. It has a great jukebox (a rare thing in DJ-obsessed Reykjavík) and table football upstairs.
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Barinn
At the time of writing the jury was still out on Barinn. Its previous incarnation was a laid-back bluesy-grungy kind of place, but it's since been revamped and has yet to find its crowd. Its all much whiter and brighter, with chalkboard menus, bistro food and weekend DJs. Drop by to see how it's shaping up.
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Café Oliver
One of Reykjavík's newest café-bars, Oliver is the most in-vogue place for brunch, and for partying late in superstyle. DJs pump out the tunes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with long queues snaking back from the doors.
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Dillon
Beer, beards and the odd flying bottle…after changing hands the other year, atmospheric Dillon has turned into more of a RRRRROCK pub. There are occasional live concerts, and an unusual DJ in white-haired white-wine-and-rum-swilling 'rokkmamman' Andrea Jonsdóttir, a kind of female Icelandic John Peel.
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Glaumbar
This American-style sports bar is young, brash and boisterous, with a huge video screen showing matches, deafening music, and weekend DJs. It's where very drunk people tend to end up at dawn, thanks to its late opening hours (to ).
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Grand Rokk
This down-to-earth pub was once a great live-music venue, but in a recent shock-horror statement the owners announced that they're going to install large-screen TVs upstairs and turn it into a sports bar.
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Hressingarskálinn
Hressingarskálinn 'Hressó' to its friends, this spacious L-shaped café-bar serves a diverse menu til daily (everything from porridge to plokkfiskur ; mains. At weekends it loses its civilised veneer and concentrates on beer, bar and dancing till ; a garden out the back provides fresh air. There's also usually a DJ or live music on Thursday night. Wireless hotspot.
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Kaffi Brennslan
All kinds of folk frequent Brennslan, an unpretentious Art Deco café-bar - conventional types mix with the avant-garde. It entices a 20s and 30s crowd with beers from 20 countries, but it never gets so packed that you can't move.
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Kaffibarinn
This old house, with the London Underground symbol over the door, contains one of Reykjavík's coolest bars; it even had a starring role in cult movie 101 Reykjavík . At weekends you'll need a famous face or a battering ram to get in. At other times it's a place for artistic types to chill with their Macs. Wireless hotspot.
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MSC Iceland
The only specifically gay club in Reykjavík is a men-only leather bar, MSC Iceland .
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Ölstofan
Locals come to this no-nonsense bar specifically to avoid all that dancing rubbish. You turn up to drink beer and relax. It's one of the few drinking holes in the capital without music.
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Prikið
Atmospheric Prikið draws in a youngish crowd, particularly towards the end of the night - it's one of the later-closing bars ( ). Dancers grind away cheek to cheek on the jammed dance floor. If you survive the night you can come back at noon the next day for a 'hangover sandwich'.
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Q Bar
This is one of the smallest bars in Reykjavík. It's smart, stylish and minimalist, with tables outside in summer - perfect for a mellow early-evening pint. There's live jazz/blues on Thursday.
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Rex
Rex caters to an older, richer and more beautiful crowd than your average nightclub. It's a place where business deals are made over perfect cocktails, and where visiting celebrities can party in peace. Its three floors glow with rich red wallpaper, soft velvet seats and chandeliers.
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Salt Lounge Bar
A lustrous bar-restaurant attached to the Radisson SAS 1919 Hotel, Salt is gloriously upmarket. It's all clean Scandinavian lines, low luxurious seats and soft purple-toned lighting - and they even bring the cocktails to your table. It's not a place to get raddled in, but maybe one for early-evening drinkies.
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Sirkus
Our personal favourite, this kooky bar has dinky fairy lights, bus seats in the attic, an annual Tom Selleck Moustache Competition, and a loyal local following. DJs and bands play regularly, and there's a summer garden where you can snatch gulps of fresh air.
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Thorvaldsen Bar
This understated modernist bar is ultraposh, from the fusion-style food to the clientele. There are DJs from Thursday to Saturday - dress up well or you won't get in, and after midnight be prepared to queue…and queue. There's a tiny dance floor, and 'theme nights' on Caribbean Wednesday, Mojito Thursday and Sushi Sunday.
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Vegamót
Vegamót is another smart café-by-day, club-by-night - wear your best togs if you want to fit in. The buzzy balcony is a fine place to watch the fashion-conscious flocks. There are usually top DJs and a thronging dance floor. The minimum age here is 22.
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