Dine with the Chef of the Year A Breath of Fresh Air at Sjávargrillið
T
he Icelandic restaurant scene is quite When deciding on the new menu and the competitive business, so it may theme for Sjávargrillið, Gústav scoured come as a surprise to some to hear about the country for inspiration, looking for a chef in his 20’s opening a new restaurant the taste and essence of Iceland. A s a in downtown Reykjavik. Sjávargrillið, on Skólavörðustígur, is the brainchild of Gústav Axel Gunnlaugsson, who received t he top honou r of being na med t he Icelandic Chef of the Year in 2010, the youngest ever to do so, at the age of 23. Despite his young age, Gústav, has cooked for many of the most esteemed seafood restaurants in Iceland and in London. In fact, when you read this, he will recently have competed for the honour of being the Nordic Chef of the Year in 2011. Gústav has now decided to use his experience, education and his undisputed talent in his own brand new restaurant, named Sjávargrillið, or the Sea Grill.
It should come as no surprise that Gústav is most comfortable working with fresh products from the sea, as he was born and raised in the small seaside town of Húsavík in the north of Iceland. “The brilliance of working with seafood here in Iceland is that we really have the best and freshest materials available. We literally get the fish directly from the fishermen themselves,” he says.
A s the name implies, it is the grill that is Gústav’s favourite method of cooking and it should come as no surprise that the Grill Feast Menus, with f ish, meat or lobster, are already becoming the most popular dishes. The feasts are served on grills which Gústav had specia lly made for the restaurant
a nd of f e r a t h r e e -me a l ove r v ie w of Gústav’s talents. During lunch hour, Sjávargrillið offers the ‘Fish of the Day’ course, which is selected each day from the finest fish the day’s catch can offer. Sjávargrillið is located on the lively Skólavörðustígur, running down from the cathedral and on sunny days, it is the optimal location to enjoy a light seafood result you’ll see the cosy interiors made dish or coffee outside, while gazing at the from driftwood collected from Icelandic bustling street life of Reykjavik. shores and some innovative use of scrap – VAG Sjávargrillið iron from aba ndoned f ish processing plants. For the menu, Gústav utilises as Skólavörðustígur 14 • 101 Reykjavík many of the Icelandic seasonal products as +354 571 1100 info@sjavargrillid.is are available, including various wild and www.sjavargrillid.is tasty plants which can survive the harsh arctic climate.
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