A new steakhouse just opened in Reykjavík a few weeks ago called the simple name Steikhúsið – The Steak House, in Tryggvagata 4, 101 Reykjavík, making it the newest steakhouse in Reykjavík and perhaps the newest restaurant in Reykjavík also.
We were looking forward to dine there because we love to try something new and also there is a lack of decent steakhouses in Reykjavík so a new steak house is a welcome addition to the restaurant scene in Reykjavík.
When we arrived we were welcomed by one of the owners, who was going to serve our table that evening, he told us about the restaurant and their pride in the kitchen, namely their charcoal oven where they cook their steaks. They have also adopted to technology where their Vine and drinks menu is presented digitally on an Amazon Kindle allowing them to easily update their very wide and varying selection of vine.
Since we generally like to be surprised and we like the restaurants we visit to present us with what they think is their flagship courses we asked them to put together a menu for us which they happily did.
The first course to arrive was a spring roll filled with smoked guillemot and dates, dressed with Japanese mayo and bell peppers jam, a really interesting combo of traditional Icelandic sea bird infused with eastern influence, a fun and tasty appetizer but we agreed that we could only eat about one roll each.
Orange lobster balls with ginger pesto and orange sauce were our next appetizer to try out, it was delightfully garnished in a minimalistic way, the balls the selves were really tasty and melted in our mouths but what surprised us the most was the ginger pesto that was fitted wonderfully with the balls.
Now it was time for us to try out some beef! To our table was brought BBQ ribs topped with roasted sesame seeds and coleslaw on the side. On the outside it was a little too blackened in the charcoal oven but when you got to the meat on the inside it was tender and really juicy.
When you visit a steak house you wouldn’t expect to be able to get high quality seafood dishes but think again! Seafood and watermelon stick with southern salsa and tartar sauce is defiantly something worth considering on the menu, a fun contrast between grilled seafood that consists scallops, lobster and prawn and a grilled watermelon and really delicious.
Next up was the real reason we wanted to visit the Steakhouse, the steaks themselves, lamb ribeye and beef ribeye grilled in the charcoal oven with béarnaise sauce and cold pepper sauce, sweet potato fries, veggie tempura. You could literally smell the charcoal of the steaks and it also brought unique and interesting flavour to the perfectly cooked and tender steaks.
For deserts we were served two types, cheesecake with liquorice and passion fruit sauce and a sundae duet with two types of ice cream, meringue and toffee sauce which both tasted superbly but in our opinion the cheesecake stood out as the winner of the two where the combination of liquorice and cheesecake just work!
Prices are quite fair for this class of restaurant where starters range from 1.500 ISK / 12,50 USD to 2.250 ISK / 19 USD, main courses from 3.200 ISK / 27 USD to 5.800 ISK / 48 USD and deserts have a fixed price of 1.500 ISK / 12,50 USD.
We were really pleased with the over all experience, the service was really good and we just visited them on their first week they opened so we definitely be there again when they have worked out all of their opening quirks, which are honestly not that many for a restaurant in an opening week.
Only thing I’d like to add to this critique is the environment. I really like the interior of the place. When I was there I got a window seat which I usually like, but the windows face a busy traffic street and back of Sægreifinn restaurant.