Hard Rock Cafe: Reykjavik
You either buy into the Hard Rock thing, or you don't. Me and Sophie? We're so far gone down that road we can't think of any other way to go. If there's a Hard Rock in the city we're in, odds are good that we'll eat there.
No, it's not cheap. But also no, it's not cripplingly expensive.
Rock music, memorabilia, burgers and cocktails. Oh, and usually a shop. It's almost the same everywhere, and I enjoy that dependability.
Notice my use of the word "almost". Because each Hard Rock is different, and maybe it's such a small detail that you don't notice it, or you just don't care.
This marks the beginning of a series, of sorts. Each time we stick our forks into a Hard Rock, we'll document it.
So, with that said, here's my honest-to-goodness review of the Hard Rock Cafe, Reykjavik.
I can't decide if the Hard Rock in Reykjavik is in a great location, or not. It is slap-bang in the middle of town. (see map).
But if you're staying in a hotel that's not in the centre of Reykjavik then you already have a hoof of a walk on your hands (or... your feet, more accurately).
It took about 35 minutes to walk from the Grand Hotel Reykjavik to the Hard Rock Cafe. I actually don't mind. I enjoy the walk, and it really is the best way to see the town. You walk straight down, or up, Laugavegur, passing prettily dressed and lit up shop windows, the infamous art on the side of buildings, and all the while catching views of the beautiful scenery beyond.
If it's snowing? Even better.
And then look! You've made it to Hard Rock without even realising it.
Opening times: 11am - 10pm (11pm on weekends)
This is actually a little early to close for a Hard Rock, but it's in keeping with most of the businesses surrounding it. Other than some bars, and handful of eateries, most things are closed quite early (if you're used to the late-night bustle of London). For this Westcountry lass, this is quite normal.
Just make sure you get there with enough time to eat, drink and be merry.
It doesn't look like much from the outside. Compared to some other Hard Rock buildings, this one doesn't impress.
The shop is downstairs, and you go on up to eat. The shop; I don't really rate at this location. It didn't have a great range of items, and it felt like the layout was weird.
The Reykjavik specific items were cute as heck! Featuring a puffin. A rock-and-roll puffin, to be exact. That was really cool. My main interest is the pins, and they did have a really neat selection; the other Reykjavik special ones featured the Yule Lads and the Christmas Cat (I think?) but I didn't like how they were displayed, it made it difficult to fully browse them and I ended up not buying one because of that (severe regret now… I have to go all the way back to Iceland to rectify this situation).
We were seated instantly, and as we never need long to choose off the menu, we had our order taken quickly too. I had the atomic burger with spicy fries, Sophie had the hickory burger with sweet potato fries. And we almost always get an onion ring tower.
We opted for a refillable soft drink this time, rather than cocktails. We learned that lesson in Yokohama (the hard way); day drinking is not my friend. So I think I had a fizzy refill 4 times. Gotta get your money's worth!
The food was as good as expected. Again, I like that I can depend on a Hard Rock Cafe to deliver good food. It's yummy, and I expect nothing less.
If the memorabilia is your thing then here's a few names they have at this location: Slash, Van Halen, Justin Timberlake, KISS, Rammstein, Bjork, Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga.
Did we have dessert? This time, yes! They had a special "deep fried lavarock ice cream" and HECK YES to that.
It did take us longer than I felt was normal to flag someone down to get a dessert. Once we had our food, our server seemed to disappear. Someone kept magically appearing to refill my drink but they were gone in a flash. I felt like we were sat there for quite a long time, and then when we finally ordered our dessert, it took just as long to find someone to bring us the bill.
The service itself was great! The servers were really great, but where did they go?
Other things to note: The servers/bar staff can't take over a certain amount of cash when paying the bill? I think that's what the problem was. We had to wait for a manager to come and see to it. Which was weird. And left us standing there a bit awkwardly too. But the manager was lovely, and quickly took our pennies and we were on our way!
The toilets were clean and well kept. If that's something that makes or breaks a place for you. Good food, good atmosphere. A slightly disappointing shop. Disappearing servers. It worked out to just under £40 each for our meals. Bosh.
written by Sarah
