At Cafe Loki, all of your Icelandic culinary dreams will come true.
The butter yellow building seems like a bit of a tourist trap. It is located across from one of the most visited landmarks in Iceland, Hallgrimskirkja, or Hallgrims Church. It even spells “tourist trap” in maroon colored font on the edifice, figuratively speaking. In actuality, it says “Cafe Loki Icelandic Traditional Food”. However, given the restaurants location, and that its title includes “traditional” and “food”, tourists seemingly make up an important part of its demographic. The autograph book in the entryway of the café further exemplifies this.
Nonetheless, once inside the dining room, it does not scream gaudy, and little did I know, it would soon be home to some of my fondest memories of Iceland. It is simply decorated, most walls painted neutral in color, the seating a mix of light brown tables and booths. A smattering of locals and tourists decorate the landscape. It is a small establishment, and the faint scent of fish and culinary wonderment permeate the air. I have come here with one delicacy on my mind, something that I have wanted to try since I saw Andrew Zimmern eat it on his show, Bizarre Foods: Kæstur hákarl, or “treated shark”. In short, this delicacy has been around since Viking times. It is hung to dry for several months, left to ferment in its own juices until it is deemed edible. Even then, it is hardly my idea of a movie time snack.
The shark comes to us served in a small white ramekin. It has been cubed into a few small pieces, a small Iceland flag spearing one of them. It wreaks of ammonia, and the putrid smell assaults your senses before you even taste it, ammonia burning your nostrils. I was warned about this so called delicacy, but, with a deep breath, and maybe even a slight longing to taste this unruly protein, I spear a cube and put it in my mouth. Maybe it’s my mind blocking the nightmarish taste of the rubbery elasmobranch fish, or it could be that I tried chewing it for as long as possible without actually trying to taste it, but the actual eating of it was not as bad as I anticipated. Rather, it is the aftertaste that encapsulates this culinary experience, the ammonia and other revolting juices that set the back of your throat on fire, raising your body temperature to a truly uncomfortable degree. Has my throat disintegrated to a pile of smoldering embers? Then, suddenly, the onslaught of the criminal is restrained, cut through with a shot of Brennevin, a clear schnapps deemed Iceland’s signature distilled beverage. While the flavor of the schnapps remains muddled against the uproarious taste of the shark, it certainly helped to ebb the burn that had taken over my mouth, and I felt something of a patriotic Icelander after the event. My sincere thanks goes to the wait staff that recommended drinking this beverage after the shark.
While Kæstur hákarl is not something I would eat on a regular basis, the memory is one of pure fondness and a wish to return. I remember sitting in Café Loki, completely happy, and utterly spiritually free. I had crossed off the shark from my Iceland bucket list, and had tried other delicacies to boot. The rye bread ice cream with rhubarb syrup makes for a most welcome surprise after the shark, the rhubarb sauce submitting a bright contrasting tang to the sweet richness of the chocolate studded ice cream. Even something as unfamiliar as mashed fish can be easily stomached after the shark.
Go on and try it, what are you waiting for?
I first wrote this review for TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g189970-d1960952-r467398473-Cafe_Loki-Reykjavik_Capital_Region.html#REVIEWS
The Taste Tester 