Iceland now has three Indian restaurants, all in Reykjavik. The original and probably the best (although I write without actually tasting the food) is called Austur Indiafjelagid (which I believe translates to East India Company, but I could be wrong!) and is situated at 56 Hverfisgata in Reykjavik. When I visited in 2000 it was the only Indian restaurant in Iceland and had been established for 6 years,  proudly proclaiming itself to be the most Northerly Indian restaurant in Europe. At the time I reported that "unless they decide to open one in places like Hammerfest, Murmansk or the wastes of Lapland (or I suppose on the North side of the street!) then it’s likely to retain that title". Well, if the other two are on a more northerly side of the street then it rather spoils this advertising slogan!

The Austur Indiafjelagid seemed well appointed with a fairly dark but comfortable interior seating about 60.  The manager and waiting staff all appeared to be Icelandic but the head chef - Mr Pramod Nair - is Indian and started his career with the Taj Group of hotels, working mainly in Kerala before going to London in 1999 to become head chef at the excellent Malabar Junction (a restaurant specializing in Keralan cuisine) in London WC1 before leaving London to join the Austur in 2001. With that background the food should be good.

However, unfortunately I didn't try it as although it advertises food at "affordable prices" this certainly isn’t synonymous with ‘cheap’. Everything in Iceland is expensive unless you come from Tokyo, and the restaurant is no exception. As an example I priced up the meal my wife and I had enjoyed the week previous on a visit to a local ordinary high street curry house. Starters of Onion Bhajias and Chicken Chat, main dishes of Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Jalfrezi, one Mixed Vegetable Curry side dish plus one Pillau Rice and one Nan had cost £22.65. In the Austur Indiafjelagid the same dishes (only substituting Prawn Chat Masala starter for Chicken Chat starter) came to a whopping £75.35!! And that was without drinks (which run out at £10 per pint in an ordinary bar) and service. Fond as I am of curry I decided to give it a miss and wait for the £22 version the following week. Therefore I’m sorry, dear readers, but I can’t give you an indication of the food.

Since my visit I am told that there are now two other Indian restaurants - one called Shalimar, about 25 seats, which serves Pakistani food and is run by a Pakistani/British family, and a restaurant/take-away which seats 10 to 15 and is called Austerlanda Hradlestin (which means Oriental Express) which opened in about May 2003 and is owned by the same people who own the Austur but also with an Indian chef. As both opened after my visit I can't tell you the address or what they look like.

Malcolm Wilkins - July 2003