Iceland has been one of the most gorgeous places we have ever seen.
Everywhere you looked, sublime beauty was everywhere! We hiked a tectonic plate, swam in a lagoon, toured a lava cave, and the list goes on! Will be sharing about all these soon. But first, I wanted to share with you all a stunning restaurant destination that I highly recommend on your visit to Reykjavik.
After a day of touring beautiful Iceland, we booked a dinner at the Nostra Restaurant and Wine Bar in the City Centre. It’s right along Laugavegur, the main street featuring several high street stores and restaurants, and is nicely located on the second floor with floor-to-ceiling windows featuring a nice little view of this quaint town.
We were greeted by Abraham and he promptly stored our jackets and had us seated next to the window. Apparently, “Nostra” means “to pamper”. That’s what this restaurant desires, where diners would enter and simply get spoiled with simple yet exuberant choices that allows the restaurant to do their magic. The chef loves playing with food and would, at times, serve new culinary innovations to their guests. Of course, the restaurant would announce that the dish is new. People really enjoy such concoctions and sources of excitement.
We certainly have quite the appetite so we decided to have 6 courses tonight.
Welcome Starter: Mini Sourdough Bread Balls with Homemade Salted Butter
To start off, we were served some bottled water with some hot mini sourdough bread balls with salted butter. There’s also a black chip topped with small strawberries. I always like these welcome culinary gifts. Abraham then introduced the chef’s philosophy in cooking… apparently if the ingredient doesn’t contribute to the flavor or experience, then it doesn’t need to be there. Let’s see how this goes!
First Course: Icelandic Shrimp & Cod Tartare
This dish was so soft and fully with a nice blend of shrimp and cod. It isn’t fishy at all, but instead very pleasant with a very evident citrus and sweet flavor. The wrap was so soft which set the stage for the cold cod and shrimp tartare.
Second Course: Potatoes ‘Vichyssoise’ Sauteed with Leeks, Wine Cooked Karl Johan Mushrooms & Dill Chips
Wow! The aroma is incredibly wonderful upon arrival. This is quite a comfort dish served with a unique and delectable foam. It was warm and delicious with the potatoes and onions being so evident. It reminds me of a potato salad but served warm.
Third Course: Bbq Carrot, Pistachio, Horseradish & Skyr
This is a revivifying and excellent use of a carrot, I must say. This restoring carrot really tasted and had the texture of BBQ. The carrot tips were used as greens with pistachio, horseradish and skyr as dressing. It seriously doesn’t taste like a carrot at all, but more like meat. It has that semi-hard texture on its exterior but has a super soft inside, almost like a proper bratwurst. I’m seriously impressed of what can be done with a carrot.
Fourth Course: Plaice, Salsify, Peas, Caviar & Sauce ‘Nage’
This is another dish whose aroma was absolutely fantastic. It features the Icelandic white fish: plaice topped with caviar. The fish was so soft while featuring slightly crispy skin. The caviar was amazing and full of flavor. The served sauce accented both the fish and caviar as it really brought the entire dish together.
Fifth Course: Lamb Cuvette, Hay Baked Sunchokes, Roasted Sunchoke Puree, Sunchoke Crust with Parsley and Sage, Garnished in Sauce ‘Gastrique’
Iceland is really known for their lamb. This exquisite lamb was first cooked then blow torched for additional style points. The lamb was so soft, flavorful and very clean tasting. The taste was excellent and marvelous. The lamb texture reminds me of high quality sashimi. There’s no blood and no aftertaste. Apparently, lamb in Iceland are treated in a very special way. They are fed with nutrient-rich and fresh grass and generally left alone to roam the land. Tonight’s lamb is from the Icelandic Fjords where they are allowed to eat sea weed which also introduces a more natural salt flavor in their meat. If there’s a dish that is a “must-have” in Iceland, this is certainly it. This one absolutely excellent.
Palette Cleanser
Before we go on to the last course, we were served a very pleasant palette cleanser. It was a slightly tarty sorbet with olive oil and lovely crisp garnishing.
Sixth Course: Fresh Strawberries, Grilled Strawberry Sabayonne & Raw Strawberry Sorbet
The last course is the Fresh Strawberries, Grilled Strawberry Sabayonne & Raw Strawberry Sorbet flash frozen with liquid nitrogen. If you like strawberries, this dish will make you fall in love with it again. The texture of this dessert is absolutely amazing – like ice cream but so much more creamy. I could identify three kinds of texture upon each bite. It starts off super cold in the palate, then melts into a natural strawberry texture. I found my husband wiping the sauce clean ha-ha. Apparently, Iceland has greenhouses for strawberries, berries, and even different kinds of tomatoes. This dish started as a mixture, then was poured liquid nitrogen, and eventually got mashed to get the texture right. How excellent.
The booking we made was from 7:30 PM to 9:45 PM. I’m impressed as we literally walked out of the restaurant right at 9:45 PM. excellent execution and delivery, Nostra! Bravo!
Thanks to Nostra | Laugavegur 59, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland | +354 519 3535