Kopar

After a long day that included a lengthy coach journey to hunt down the absolutely incredible Northern lights, an extensive meander through the centre of Reykjavik to familiarise ourselves with our surroundings

we’d inflicted upon ourselves a state of food deprivation.

 The Nordic people are extremely friendly, so when asking them “where can we eat our weight in delicious food” they all seemed to sing from the same hymn sheet. 

A restaurant called Kopar was the hot two syllable word on everybody’s lips. Famished and quite frankly desperate, we chucked on a pretty outfit, strapped on a pair of boots, not totally appropriate for trudging in the cold weather but whatever! 

Fur Gillet from The Kooples which you can find here 

White and Gold leaf blouse from here

Black Skater Skirt and Studded Boots from Topshop which you can grab here 

Salivating at the thought, we headed over to taste this heavenly dining experience that the Icelandic people raved about. It’s safe to say they weren’t wrong.

Kopar is a treasure to Reykjavik. The unassuming restaurant sits proudly on the marina in the centre of the city, overlooking the string line of boats placed on the harbour.

The restaurant embraces the true rustic edge that Iceland has over the rest of its Nordic counterparts. Luckily upon pre-warning, we’d managed to call up a few hours before and book a table- however warning travellers this restaurant gets seriously busy on a Saturday night!

We shuffled through the bucolic settings to our table and came face to face with our beautiful view for the night

Stunning isn’t it!

Kopar prides itself on using the freshest ingredients that are sourced from local products, both from land and sea, to create an adventurous menu to be sampled by all.

 A glass of Montalto Famiglia from Sicily for me and a round of Violet Mojito’s for my companions we were itching to try the food!

Trawling the menu over seeded butter and a fresh bread basket, never a bad thing, we’d decided on our first [wo]man vs food round.

Lightly fried spicy crab cakes that lay so innocently on a power-packed fluffy remoulade and sweet ‘n’ sour lemon sauce.

Creamy Goat Cheese parcels and Honey Salad accompanied by Rucola, the sweetest candied walnuts and contrasting sour pears.

Oh sweet Cheesus.

With round one being such a success we couldn’t possibly cheat out on round two!

A fanfare Lobster and Crab risotto packed full of delicious flavours enhanced by a shellfish sauce and fennel salad for me. Jaw droppingly amazing.

And a Zucchini “Spaghetti Style” with chick pea balls accompanied by freshly sourced white beans, cherry tomatoes and grapes crowned with hefty shavings of parmesan and basil.

Needless to say- the plates left the table significantly emptier than when they arrived.  

Que mandatory “I’m so full” remarks and “I can’t possibly eat anymore” comments... while skimming over the dessert menu. Enter round 3...

Soft Daim Cheesecake with tangy raspberry sauce, skyr sorbet and sorrel. Skyr, unbeknown to myself, is an Icelandic cultured yoghurt that is somewhat of a specialty in Iceland.

 It’s fresh and zingy which complements the softness of the daim cheesecake- definitely a recipe that I’ll be recreating!

For good measure we also opted for the brownie and after-eight ice cream laced in a coconut caramel sauce. While the brownie could’ve been slightly more gooey, the after-eight ice cream was bloomin’ fantastic!

Full and significantly high in spirits we took a stroll around the harbour and joined the Nordics to dance the night away Icelandic style! 

Aðila! 

Iceland- Day 1

“I want to visit [fill in the gap] before I die!” is something that I hear all too often.

Plans are made, conversations over empty & rattled bottles of wine are had and hypothetical travel itineraries are thrown out into open air. It was upon one of these nights a few months ago that my trip to Iceland was booked. 

Like any pre-booked event, I had 4 months to prepare and the night before is when I found myself chucking all of my not so warm belongings into an industrial sized suitcase for my trip to the land of Ice. Luckily my friend H, who’s a regular ski bunny, assisted me in pulling together a warm and toasty wardrobe to keep me warm as I descended into the land of Santa.

3 hours and a strangely equal time zone later...

I landed in Iceland.

Fresh faced, dreams of Christmas in my eyes and a fur headband to keep me warm [really just a vague attempt to make my ski jacket look chic in Iceland as the hole in the headpiece is not so warming.]

After a battle between the bureau de change and myself, we headed towards The Hilton Reykjavik Nordica- our home for the next few days. The truth is, we primarily chose the Hilton because it’s a short 15 minute walk from the city centre but is still far enough to enjoy the scarcity and space that Iceland refreshingly provides to a London City girl- but it really is so much more than that.

The staff are ridiculously friendly and always at your beck and call should you need anything to enhance your trip. 

The general decor of the hotel is very minimalist and modern but brings a hint of homeliness with the strategically placed open fires and bar areas[ happy hours daily from 5pm-7pm for my friends that like to have a regular holiday tipple]. 

The rooms are extremely clean and simplistic which did just the trick seeing as we were barely present in our rooms [Reykjavik gallivanting is key in a trip to Iceland]. The on-site restaurant is called Vox and serves up a scrumptious balance of local well cooked foods heavily influenced by the local culture. The hotel boasts a wonderfully simple vibe improved by the vibrant crowd that this hotel attracts. 

Hunger Looming, we meandered down to the Hotel Lobby for some fantastic wine by an open fire accompanied by the Hilton Nordica’s delicious High Tea menu [forever a Brit.] 

Much to my surprise, Iceland apparently doesn’t produce its own wine but the imported stuff tastes just as good by an open flame. A delicious stand of meat infused sandwiches, the Roast Beef was a personal favourite, and desserts, the white chocolate mousse with berries is a must, appeared in front of us and disappeared in under 5 minutes- hungry we were.

Significantly wined and dined after an almost 24 hour day, we retired to our hotel rooms to sink our tiresome heads into the plump pillows that adorned our beds.

Having successfully taken over the hotel bars and eatery, we’d need a snooze to conquer Reykjavik the following day...