Kaffibarinn is the granddaddy of Reykjavík bars/clubs.
Featured prominently in a gazillion guidebooks and magazine articles over the years, Kaffibarinn is probably the best known bar in the universe Reykjavík.
Founded back in the early nineties by some really, really fun people whose names escape us, this Reykjavík institution featured prominently in a little film called 101 Reykjavík (and even more so in that book we’ve been meaning to read).
Basically, what this means is that as you enter, you are more than likely to get a strange feeling, like you’re walking into a set. Sort of like Central Perk or Cheers, except there won’t be much of a laugh-track, and everybody probably won’t know (or care) about your name.
Still, given the somewhat elevated T/R ratio (Tourist to Regular Person), you might be interested to know that the Rs don’t seem to be very hostile to the Ts, or, you know, at least not the relatively cool ones.
Over the years, Kaffibarinn (not unlike a lot of its patrons) has both settled down a bit and grown larger, but there is life in the old girl yet. During the day, it’s a nice laid-back kind of place, perfect to hang out and pick up foreign chicks meet people, update your MySpace profile and talk about your film school assignment. But at around midnight on Friday and Saturday, it begins to flex its muscles and show its teeth.
(By the way: we don’t know if Damon Albarn still owns that 1 percent or whatever it was. We went there to check, but we didn’t see him anywhere. Maybe he was in the back, doing the dishes, but somehow we doubt that.)
Kaffibarinn is on Bergstaðastræti 1, just off Laugavegur (just follow the noise or look for the queue). Open till 1 in the morning from Sundays to Thursdays and till 5 on Fridays and Saturdays. Rated R for salty language and occasional nudity.
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2 Comments
hi i came for a weekend break to iceland , and people i met were very friendly , andi had a great time in your capital city , wow , wot great nite life , i enjoyed the flight , and i enjoyed hospitality of the staff on the flight . the service was second to none , keep up the good work ..
i will certainly be coming back to iceland , i might even try and find a job in iceland ,he he he ……… as i enjoyed it so much .feel free to email me on norwich2airports@msn.com
if any one has any questions on iceland ..
thanks
ICELAND IS GREAT PLACE TO VISIT , ITS A PITY YOU STOPPED THE SERVICE FROM STANSTED AIRPORT ..
7 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] Once worn simply for keeping warm in the Icelandic wilderness (see completely authentic accompanying photo), these days you’re just as likely to see the Icelandic jumper on one of those hipsters in one of those hipster bars downtown. [...]
[...] Most bars offer free WiFi: just pull your computer out of your backpack and click to connect to the network. But make sure it’s the right brand of computer; Icelanders are generally trendier than most other nationalities, spending more money on over-priced hardware than anybody else, per capita. Of course, if you don’t own a Mac, you can always paint your PC white and slap an apple-shaped sticker on it — which would probably go down well in bars like Kaffibarinn where D.I.Y. fashion always wins you extra cool points. [...]
[...] Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. « Because Nerds are Cool inIceland [...]
[...] 2. Bring batteries. To keep going and going and going. You’ll need stamina and durability to party like the locals. The bars and clubs in Reykjavik are kind of like Icelandic nature, wild and untamed (unless you hit the town before midnight, when you’ll find it similar in other ways — desolate and frigid). Hot spots include Kaffibarinn and for the “happy” folk, Q-Bar. [...]
[...] Even the price of beer in a Reykjavík bar has reached the level where you could potentially afford to buy us one. (Just kidding.) [...]
[...] Looking for Kaffibarinn? Oh, just walk down from That Big Church and turn right. What about the main square? Walk down from That Big Church and turn left. Going to Thingvellir? Walk down from That Big Church, turn right and walk for about 36 hours. (Okay, so it doesn’t work with everything.) [...]
[...] Our adventures will start almost immediately with an off-venue gig at Kaffibarinn, a bar previously owned by Damon Albarn and the location for a lot of the action in the film “101 Reykjavik”. Our official Iceland Airwaves gig slot takes place at Faktory, one of the new official Airwaves venues, the day after. On Saturday we will be playing an off-venue outdoor show at Nikita Garden. There are rumours of additional gigs too. We board the plane and strap ourselves in. We can’t wait to get there. [...]
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