GRILLIO

Radisson SAS Saga Hotel; tel.: 525 9900; fax: 525 9909 On the top floor of this modern hotel with fine views over Reykjavik is the Grillio Restaurant — one of Iceland's best. The hotel is situated a few minutes from the city centre in the quiet grounds of the University of Iceland. For this coming winter the menu and the wine selection in the Grillio has been dedicated to Icelandic art and especially the painter Tolli. Chef de cuisine Bjarni Gunnar Kristinsson proposes some interesting dishes. Here is a selection: duck liver parfait and goose liver with grilled langoustines, fresh starry ray with herb «beurre blanc» and potato puree or supreme of duck with exotic fruit and saffron sauce.

THE GALLERY RESTAURANT

Hotel Holt, Bergstaoastraeti, 37; tel.: 552 5700; fax: 562 3025 The Hotel Holt is a small, intimate quality hotel with 42 rooms centrally located in a quiet street near the main business centre. The Gallery restaurant is known to be just about the best in the country for food, but it also has another claim to fame and that is a remarkable art gallery, the most important in Iceland. There are almost 400 works presenting a veritable panorama of modern Icelandic art from the 19th century to the present day. There are drawings and paintings also in the bar and in the hotel rooms. Turning to drinks the Gallery has a truly remarkable selection of cognacs and whiskies; there are 60 different cognacs to choose from and no less than 120 brands of malt whisky — that alone is worth a trip to Iceland! Two dishes to consider are: lightly smoked cod with leek and potato puree with ñåð sauce and fried breast of duck with bacon polenta, pepper and potato puree and orange sauce.

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