Sitting Pretty
The Old Cowhouse Restaurant-Café-Bar
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ocation wise, The Old Cowhouse Restaurant couldn’t be in a more perfect position for feasting your eyes upwards to the misty, craggy, moss-covered peaks of Eyjafjallajökull. It’s a welcome addition to Iceland’s ever-growing list of new amenities that have been popping up all over the country. The remodelled former barn, sits right beside Route No. 1 roughly 25km from Hvolsvöllur. Its unpretentious character and sweet bovine simplicity makes this a thoroughly enjoyable place to stop for lunch or dinner while travelling the south coast. Every weekend, The Old Cowhouse offers a reasonably priced ‘tea-time’ buffet, half price
for children 7–12 and free for kids under the age of 6. It features classic savoury and sweet dishes including the popular ‘brauðterta’, a staple found at virtually every party or special event in private homes around Iceland. If you are looking for traditional dishes, this one really does ‘take the cake’. Meals can be taken outside onto the patio, with its landscaped rock and flower garden—a must when the weather is sunny and glorious. The Old Cowhouse menu uses beef that comes straight from restaurant’s own cattle herds and offers a hearty and warming meat soup called Volcano Soup, served with home baked bread made with barley from the
nearby Thorvaldseyri Farm. On the menu, you can find two kinds of steak, 140g pure beef hamburgers served with the usual french fries, called the ‘Country Burger’ and the ‘Farmer’s Burger’ with fried mushrooms and onions. Getting your daily intake of fresh vegetables is easily accomplished with salads prepared from The Old Cowhouse’ own gardens or from neighbouring farms. Other possibilities include fish of the day, langoustine and for dessert, handmade ice cream from Fossís in Vík. A variety of wines and spirits are also on offer—check out the special Katla Geo Park beer! For a nice change of pace, the Old Cowhouse hosts numerous events through the year, including evenings of Icelandic folk music, an evening of traditional food, one of game (reindeer and geese) and a December buffet of traditional Icelandic Christmas dishes.
Large and small groups are welcome. Gamla Fjósið
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EMV
Hvassafell • 860 Hvolsvelli
+354 487 8822 oldcowhouse@gmail.com facebook.com/oldcowhouse
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