- Bib Gourmand, Eat, Italian Restaurant
Reykjavik’s Top Bars & Cocktail Bars: Travel Guide
- Casual Dining, Eat, Go, Iceland, Reykjavik
- Share
Reykjavik Top Cocktail Bar Guide
Reykjavik is spoiled for bars and restaurants much to my surprise. Europe’s most northern capital city welcomes millions of tourists and hundreds of thousands of Icelandic people. This influx creates a pool of thirsty visitors looking to dinner, drinks and nightlife. Reykjavik answers the call with an impressive variety of watering holes offering lots of local beers, and - my favourite - shaken, strong cocktails. Nearly a week in Reykjavik allowed me to drink around with some standout options but I did not manage to get to many.
The Highs
The Lows
The Highs
The Lows
ROK
ROK restaurant and bar serves chilled cocktails, wine and draft beer (including Brio) with a partial view of the Hallgrimskirkja. The bar is small and always buzzing, even during the week. Dinner reservations are essential and it takes 24 hours to book in advance. You can call on the day but expect a table after 9.30 PM if at all.

An extensive cocktail menu covering staple classic martini-style cocktails to their own interpretive twist including a Cuba Libre (ISK1990, US$15, £11, €12), caipirinhas and mai tais. The ROK whiskey sour is light with a punchy bourbon note (ISK2490, US$21, £17, €18) and the There is a very broad whiskey and single malt whiskey selection. The vibe is sophisticated but casual with dark walls, strong wooden beams and tables with cowhide-style.

The best part is happy hour stretches from 4 PM to 7 PM and includes a bottle of Moet paired with cantaloupe and liquorice (ISK7900, US$58, £44, €49) or by the glass (ISK1990, US$15, £11, €12).
ROK Restaurant, Frakkastígur 26a, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, ROK website
You cannot complete a cocktail bar guide in Reykjavík without mentioning KOL. It’s a staple and, good news, merely around the corner from ROK above. This dynamic duo holds down this corner of Reykjavík within stumbling distance of Hallgrimskirkja.
You need reservations here on a weekend or Friday night. The bar is casual but the food here is serious with a strong seafood menu in particular. Delicious brunches laced with cocktails make sure your weekend start right. This is a strong alternative to dinner.
The Reason for Treason is for the whiskey lovers: Irish whiskey with golden sherry, IPA and grapefruit bitters. Something for Mrs EatGoSee who enjoys her whiskey drinks. Gin fans can indulge in the scarlet Sloe Gin Fizz with slow gin, lemon juice and silky egg whites. I enjoy a long tequila-based drink so the Cyanide and Happiness (also named after one of my favourite satirical comics) laces reposado tequila with orgeat, green chartreuse and lemon juice.
KOL Restaurant, Skólavörðustígur 40, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, KOL website.
An extensive cocktail menu covering staple classic martini-style cocktails to their own interpretive twist including a Cuba Libre (ISK1990, US$15, £11, €12), caipirinhas and mai tais. The ROK whiskey sour is light with a punchy bourbon note (ISK2490, US$21, £17, €18) and the There is a very broad whiskey and single malt whiskey selection. The vibe is sophisticated but casual with dark walls, strong wooden beams and tables with cowhide-style.
The best part is happy hour stretches from 4 PM to 7 PM and includes a bottle of Moet paired with cantaloupe and liquorice (ISK7900, US$58, £44, €49) or by the glass (ISK1990, US$15, £11, €12).
ROK Restaurant, Frakkastígur 26a, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, ROK website
KOL Restaurant
You cannot complete a cocktail bar guide in Reykjavík without mentioning KOL. It’s a staple and, good news, merely around the corner from ROK above. This dynamic duo holds down this corner of Reykjavík within stumbling distance of Hallgrimskirkja.
You need reservations here on a weekend or Friday night. The bar is casual but the food here is serious with a strong seafood menu in particular. Delicious brunches laced with cocktails make sure your weekend start right. This is a strong alternative to dinner.
The Reason for Treason is for the whiskey lovers: Irish whiskey with golden sherry, IPA and grapefruit bitters. Something for Mrs EatGoSee who enjoys her whiskey drinks. Gin fans can indulge in the scarlet Sloe Gin Fizz with slow gin, lemon juice and silky egg whites. I enjoy a long tequila-based drink so the Cyanide and Happiness (also named after one of my favourite satirical comics) laces reposado tequila with orgeat, green chartreuse and lemon juice.
KOL Restaurant, Skólavörðustígur 40, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, KOL website.
Bastard Brew & Food
Just off Skólavörðustígur – one of Reykjavik’s main bar and shopping streets, Bastard Brew & Food may grab your attention with its name but it will keep you with its cool decor, impressive darts hall and extensive cocktail menu. This Bastard Brew & Food offers a popular Bottomless Brunch on weekends for ISK6490 (US$48, £36, €40).

Bastard Brew & Food curates an extensive gin menu including local and imported gins for you gin lovers. My personal favourite is the fresh, thirst-quenching Grapefruit Cooler blending Gin, grapefruit lemonade, cherry bitters, lemon (ISK2000, US$15, £11, €12). My standout favourite cocktail at Bastard Brew & Food was the punchy Paloma with a big hit of tequila over pink grapefruit lemonade (ISK 2300, US$17, £13, €14). Their eponymous Bastard Sour is laced with bourbon and IPA syrup with an extra siphoned layer of beer foam on top making it both strong, rich and light (ISK 2300, US$17, £13, €14). The mai tai is a little sweet but a good introduction for those who wanted to try (ISK 2500, US$18, £14, €16).

The vibe is casual with a small bar churning out quality cocktails. Tables and booths for large groups plus an outside, covered terrace. You can sit outside to sip one of their own homebrew beers.
Bastard Bar, Vegamótastíg 4, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Bastard Brew & Food website.
Bastard Brew & Food curates an extensive gin menu including local and imported gins for you gin lovers. My personal favourite is the fresh, thirst-quenching Grapefruit Cooler blending Gin, grapefruit lemonade, cherry bitters, lemon (ISK2000, US$15, £11, €12). My standout favourite cocktail at Bastard Brew & Food was the punchy Paloma with a big hit of tequila over pink grapefruit lemonade (ISK 2300, US$17, £13, €14). Their eponymous Bastard Sour is laced with bourbon and IPA syrup with an extra siphoned layer of beer foam on top making it both strong, rich and light (ISK 2300, US$17, £13, €14). The mai tai is a little sweet but a good introduction for those who wanted to try (ISK 2500, US$18, £14, €16).
The vibe is casual with a small bar churning out quality cocktails. Tables and booths for large groups plus an outside, covered terrace. You can sit outside to sip one of their own homebrew beers.
Bastard Bar, Vegamótastíg 4, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Bastard Brew & Food website.
Sure this may be where a good taste goes to die but it is where good times come to dance at the funeral.
Saeta Svinid Gastropub
Harbourside gastropub among a litter of restaurants. The food focuses on Icelandic ingredients churning out dishes like Icelandic Blue Mussels and a traditional flatkaka bread among others.

We are here to drink though. The cocktails come fast from the efficient bar including their towering blush Mai Tai (ISK2790, US$20, £16, €17). The cocktail menu ranges from classic Manhattan martinis (ISK2690, US$20, £16, €17) to locally-inspired drinks like Crowberry made with tequila anejo, crowberry, wild thyme syrup and lime juice (ISK2790, US$20, £16, €17).

Saeta Svinid Gastropub is slightly pricier than its peers in the area. The service is as quick as the free WiFi and people looking to throw their feet up after a long day’s sightseeing will enjoy the laid back pub-like atmosphere. Treat yourself with their one-litre pitchers like their Moscow Mule (ISK4990, US$37, £28, €31).
Saeta Svinid Gastropub, Hafnarstræti, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Saeta Svinid Gastropub website.
Named and themed after the 1998 classic movie with Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and many others. The Lebowski Bar is, in my view, Reykjavik’s version of a dive bar. It stands out among adjacent bars on Low lighting, Americana memorabilia and plenty of beers on tap for those who want fraught beer as an option.

Plenty of colourful characters enter the bar especially at night and on weekends.
Lebowski Bar is situated in the middle of a string of bars in Reykjavik and just a stone’s throw from Bastard Brew & Food above. Lebowski Bar contributes another whiskey-based classic to the small bar crawl I am conducting all in the name of EatGoSee food blog research. The Old Fashioned is smooth, strong and aromatic leading with Angostura bitters and a big twist of orange peel (ISK2450, US$18, £14, €15).

The Aperol Spritz is off-menu but available to order.
Lebowski Bar, Laugavegur 20a, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Lebowski Bar website.
Perched on a busy intersection, Solon Bistro and Bar sits at the corner of Bankastræti and Ingólfsstræti within a quick walking distance of Reykjavik’s Punk Museum. The food is light with vegan-friendly options like the trio of cauliflower tacos (ISK2590, US$19, £15, €16) or the pescetarian-friendly fish and chips (ISK3890, US$28, £22, €24).

You came here to drink though. Solon Bistro and Bar puts out eye-catching lounge chairs blazoned with Aperol logos. Aperol Spritz is the speciality here (ISK2190, US$16, £12, €14). but the cocktail menu expands into brunch-time classics like Mimosas (ISK2290, US$17, £13, €14). These were the most memorable Aperol Spritz cocktails during my time in Reykjavik. Oh, and trust me, I sampled around.

The service here is relatively quick. Lots of local Icelandic beer on draught including Eglis Gull (ISK1350, US$10, £8, €8) for those who do not want cocktails. Solon Bistro and Bar also offers a brunch menu on weekends including big French Toast stacks (ISK1990, US$15, £11, €12) and pork ribs that look glossy and delicious as they are carried across the restaurant floor.
Solon Bistro and Bar, Bankastræti 7a, Ground Floor, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Solon Bistro and Bar website.
Everyone loves a cunning linguist and Pablo Discobar achieves maximum intrigue long before you step through the door. Placed within mere metres of some of the other named drinking holes recommended in this list, Pablo Discobar does not disappoint with its Mexican and Latin American theme. Sure this may be where a good taste goes to die but it is where good times come to dance at the funeral.
Oh, and it was voted Iceland‘s best cocktail bar in 2017! Its happy hour is two hours long giving you enough time to decide whether it deserves the award again in 2020.
Tequila definitely has a presence on the menu with Don Julio spilled everywhere. Some superb margaritas including the Big Ass Margarita (ISK2400) or the strawberry margarita generously poured into a towering hurricane glass.
The brave could also try the Puff the Magic Dragon cocktail made with white rum, whites chocolate syrup and cocoa puffs!
Pablo Discobar, Veltusund 1, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, website.
Sitting among a row of bars and restaurants, The American Bar stocks an impressive array of bourbon, whiskey and rye as you may expect. It is one of the largest bars I found in Reykjavik with long booths perfect for big group gatherings. The walls are covered with Americana memorabilia and a giant Americans flag hangs framed on a back wall. It screams good time and long boozy sessions with friends.


The Whiskey Sour was one of the best whiskey sours I had in Reykjavik, tying with Bastard Brew & Food (ISK2500, US$18, £14, €16). The American Bar whiskey sour is more conventional for those looking to slip into a classic while listening to Bruce Springsteen over the stereo. Whiskey and bourbon fans have a lot to enjoy from Manhattans to Old Fashions (all ISK2500, US$18, £14, €16). Truth be told, I need a break from whisky so brunch favourites like Bloody Marys or Espresso Martinis are also available.


You can come to the American Bar for a single drink at the bar or for long, slow boozy sessions before heading back into the city.
American Bar, 10, Austurstræti 8, Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bar website.
Now, this is more of a restaurant than a bar but you’ll want something to soak up all these drinks above. Local Spanish tapas bar and restaurant pumping out late 90s merengue music and serving a mixture of Spanish tapas and Icelandic small dishes in a tapas-style.

The tapas bar is opposite Saeta Svinid Gastropub (above) in this popular area of Reykjavik towards the harbour.
You want to come to Tapas Barinn for the sangria menu. A classic red wine sangria in goblet glasses or by one-litre pitchers. Tapas Barinn also serves white wine sangria and cava-based sangria too including a fruity, zesty passion fruit sangria (ISK2290 / 4590, US$17/34, £13/26 €14/28).
Tapas Barinn offers a happy hour from 5 PM to 6 PM with half price on sangria, wine, beer or cocktails by the glass.
Tapas Barinn, Vesturgata 3b, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Tapas Barinn website.
We are here to drink though. The cocktails come fast from the efficient bar including their towering blush Mai Tai (ISK2790, US$20, £16, €17). The cocktail menu ranges from classic Manhattan martinis (ISK2690, US$20, £16, €17) to locally-inspired drinks like Crowberry made with tequila anejo, crowberry, wild thyme syrup and lime juice (ISK2790, US$20, £16, €17).
Saeta Svinid Gastropub is slightly pricier than its peers in the area. The service is as quick as the free WiFi and people looking to throw their feet up after a long day’s sightseeing will enjoy the laid back pub-like atmosphere. Treat yourself with their one-litre pitchers like their Moscow Mule (ISK4990, US$37, £28, €31).
Saeta Svinid Gastropub, Hafnarstræti, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Saeta Svinid Gastropub website.
Lebowski Bar
Named and themed after the 1998 classic movie with Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and many others. The Lebowski Bar is, in my view, Reykjavik’s version of a dive bar. It stands out among adjacent bars on Low lighting, Americana memorabilia and plenty of beers on tap for those who want fraught beer as an option.
Plenty of colourful characters enter the bar especially at night and on weekends.
Lebowski Bar is situated in the middle of a string of bars in Reykjavik and just a stone’s throw from Bastard Brew & Food above. Lebowski Bar contributes another whiskey-based classic to the small bar crawl I am conducting all in the name of EatGoSee food blog research. The Old Fashioned is smooth, strong and aromatic leading with Angostura bitters and a big twist of orange peel (ISK2450, US$18, £14, €15).
The Aperol Spritz is off-menu but available to order.
Lebowski Bar, Laugavegur 20a, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Lebowski Bar website.
Solon Bistro and Bar
Perched on a busy intersection, Solon Bistro and Bar sits at the corner of Bankastræti and Ingólfsstræti within a quick walking distance of Reykjavik’s Punk Museum. The food is light with vegan-friendly options like the trio of cauliflower tacos (ISK2590, US$19, £15, €16) or the pescetarian-friendly fish and chips (ISK3890, US$28, £22, €24).
You came here to drink though. Solon Bistro and Bar puts out eye-catching lounge chairs blazoned with Aperol logos. Aperol Spritz is the speciality here (ISK2190, US$16, £12, €14). but the cocktail menu expands into brunch-time classics like Mimosas (ISK2290, US$17, £13, €14). These were the most memorable Aperol Spritz cocktails during my time in Reykjavik. Oh, and trust me, I sampled around.
The service here is relatively quick. Lots of local Icelandic beer on draught including Eglis Gull (ISK1350, US$10, £8, €8) for those who do not want cocktails. Solon Bistro and Bar also offers a brunch menu on weekends including big French Toast stacks (ISK1990, US$15, £11, €12) and pork ribs that look glossy and delicious as they are carried across the restaurant floor.
Solon Bistro and Bar, Bankastræti 7a, Ground Floor, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Solon Bistro and Bar website.
Pablo Discobar
Everyone loves a cunning linguist and Pablo Discobar achieves maximum intrigue long before you step through the door. Placed within mere metres of some of the other named drinking holes recommended in this list, Pablo Discobar does not disappoint with its Mexican and Latin American theme. Sure this may be where a good taste goes to die but it is where good times come to dance at the funeral.
Oh, and it was voted Iceland‘s best cocktail bar in 2017! Its happy hour is two hours long giving you enough time to decide whether it deserves the award again in 2020.
Tequila definitely has a presence on the menu with Don Julio spilled everywhere. Some superb margaritas including the Big Ass Margarita (ISK2400) or the strawberry margarita generously poured into a towering hurricane glass.
The brave could also try the Puff the Magic Dragon cocktail made with white rum, whites chocolate syrup and cocoa puffs!
Pablo Discobar, Veltusund 1, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, website.
American Bar
Sitting among a row of bars and restaurants, The American Bar stocks an impressive array of bourbon, whiskey and rye as you may expect. It is one of the largest bars I found in Reykjavik with long booths perfect for big group gatherings. The walls are covered with Americana memorabilia and a giant Americans flag hangs framed on a back wall. It screams good time and long boozy sessions with friends.
The Whiskey Sour was one of the best whiskey sours I had in Reykjavik, tying with Bastard Brew & Food (ISK2500, US$18, £14, €16). The American Bar whiskey sour is more conventional for those looking to slip into a classic while listening to Bruce Springsteen over the stereo. Whiskey and bourbon fans have a lot to enjoy from Manhattans to Old Fashions (all ISK2500, US$18, £14, €16). Truth be told, I need a break from whisky so brunch favourites like Bloody Marys or Espresso Martinis are also available.
You can come to the American Bar for a single drink at the bar or for long, slow boozy sessions before heading back into the city.
American Bar, 10, Austurstræti 8, Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bar website.
Tapas Barinn
Now, this is more of a restaurant than a bar but you’ll want something to soak up all these drinks above. Local Spanish tapas bar and restaurant pumping out late 90s merengue music and serving a mixture of Spanish tapas and Icelandic small dishes in a tapas-style.
The tapas bar is opposite Saeta Svinid Gastropub (above) in this popular area of Reykjavik towards the harbour.
You want to come to Tapas Barinn for the sangria menu. A classic red wine sangria in goblet glasses or by one-litre pitchers. Tapas Barinn also serves white wine sangria and cava-based sangria too including a fruity, zesty passion fruit sangria (ISK2290 / 4590, US$17/34, £13/26 €14/28).
Tapas Barinn offers a happy hour from 5 PM to 6 PM with half price on sangria, wine, beer or cocktails by the glass.
Tapas Barinn, Vesturgata 3b, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland, Tapas Barinn website.
You May Also Like
Loading...
- Arabic Restaurants, Casual Dining, Dubai Restaurants, Eat
- Dubai Restaurants, Eat, Fine Dining, Japanese Restaurants, Michelin Guide Dubai, Spanish Restaurants