Eiriksson Brasserie

When a former Landsbanki bank building on Laugavegur became a restaurant, the owners did something clever: they kept the vault. The result is Eiriksson Brasserie, a European-style restaurant where the wine cellar sits inside an actual bank vault and the private dining room has more security features than most embassies. It is a neat metaphor for what the restaurant does well — taking something substantial and historical and making it into a place you actually want to spend time.

The Kitchen

Fridgeir Ingi Eiriksson, the head chef and co-owner, trained at Domaine de Clairefontaine, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Lyon. That French foundation shows in the technique, but the menu leans more Italian than French — pasta, risotto, and Mediterranean-inflected meat and fish dishes dominate. The cooking is confident and precise without being overwrought.

The menu changes with the seasons, but you can typically expect well-sourced Icelandic fish and lamb prepared with European flair. The pasta dishes are genuinely good — made in-house and treated with the kind of respect that many Reykjavik restaurants reserve only for their seafood courses.

The Setting

The restaurant channels a 1950s European brasserie with its warm lighting, dark wood, and leather seating. It is cosy without being cramped, and the former bank architecture gives the space a solidity that modern restaurant fit-outs cannot replicate. The ground floor dining room seats a comfortable number, while downstairs — through the vault door — the wine cellar and private dining room offer something genuinely unique.

The Vault

The old bank vault now houses approximately 4,000 bottles of wine and serves as a private dining room. Eating dinner inside a room designed to store money, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling wine, is an experience that photographs well and feels even better. It is available for private bookings and is worth enquiring about for special occasions.

Practical Tips

Reservations. Recommended, particularly for dinner on Thursday through Saturday and for the vault dining room.

Budget. This is mid-to-upper range for Reykjavik. A two-course dinner with wine will run ISK 10,000-15,000 per person. Not cheap, but competitive with similar-quality restaurants in the city.

Location. Laugavegur 77 is at the quieter, Hlemmur end of the street. A pleasant walk from downtown, or a short stroll if you are staying near Hlemmur Square.

Best for. A proper dinner out — the kind where you sit down, take your time, and appreciate both the food and the surroundings. Also excellent for a special occasion, particularly if you book the vault.

Eiriksson Brasserie does not chase trends or compete for social media attention. It is a well-run brasserie with good food, a remarkable wine cellar, and the quiet confidence that comes from knowing exactly what it is. In a city where restaurants open and close with alarming frequency, that steadiness is worth celebrating.