Reykjavík Nightlife

This Night Club is approximately 2 years old. I have visited it twice during it firs year , and it appealed to me and my friends as a trendy spot with great dancing music and classy crowd. The place was the hottest spot, popular amongst local celebrities. My recent visit was a great disappointment, apparently in past year Austur took a dramatic downturn, what once was a stylish interior now looks shabby and tired. The classy crowd is els where, instead you are more likely to be robed or attacked by one of the guests or a staff members. I have heard from some of my acquaintances that Austur is now famous for scandals and fights, because of their "new" trashy contingent and foreigners in particular run a great risk of going there. I had hard times believing it until i witnessed it for myself last Saturday.

Dress Code: It looks like there is no particular dress code

This friendly upstairs pub offered polar beer on draft at 490Isk per pint. Excellent value for Reykjavik. We went in the early evening and watched Iceland v France Olympic handball. The bar did not do food, but the barman gave us salt sticks with each pint. Very good.

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Esja - bar is an excellent bar in the very center of down-town Reykjavík. It is a relatively new bar and I have only been there once, for a happy-hour before I went to the theatre. But I will definitely go there again. They have a happy hour so we visited early to make the most of it... We arrived at about 19:00 and there were a lot of people there, so the opening hours listed on their website are wrong...

I like the fact that the booths are by the window and have a good view. It is opposite Café París, which used to be my favourite café, mainly because of the view.

Esja - bar - we call it Esjan, like our "city" mountain, Mt. Esjan, has an age limit of 25 and it is quite a stylish bar. Sometimes we "older" generation just want to be with our age-group as it were, not that 25 is my age-group anymore though ;). It is a disco at night and is open until the wee hours of the morning. Probably until 5 in the morning, like most bars in this vicinity. Will go check it out at night soon...

Opening hours: September-April: Thursday-, Friday- and Saturday nights from 21:00 o' clock.
May-August: Daily from 11:30 o' clock.

In this location used to be the main pharmacy in Reykjavík, Reykjavíkurapótek - it was there for ages and I have fond memories from there as a child and miss the interior of that old pharmacy.

Dress Code: Maybe no sneakers.

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Thorvaldsen Bar is a restaurant during the day, but turns into a very popular disco at night during the weekend. It is open until 5 in the morning on Friday nights and 6 in the morning on Saturday nights. The nightlife in Reykjavík is infamous and it only starts at ca 1:30. I used to be very active in it a few years back but now I go there only occasionally.

The DJ is very good here and plays a wide range of music, and people going into this bar/disco are 25-60+ as opposed to some other discos where only very young people attend, good enough if you are that age, but I prefer to party with people who are older.

There are 2 small dance floors and 2 bars. Five of the people working there are Serbian people at the bar and as door-keepers, very nice people, but be on your best behaviour ;)

If you are ever in Reykjavík and want to go to a disco try out this bar. In this street and in parallel streets there are several other discos.

Dress Code: It is always advisable to dress up a bit while going to discos in Reykjavík, some have dress codes, mainly no jeans and sneakers.

Apotek is currently the most popular place to be out at night, where you can meet all the "in"crowd of Reykjavik.

Like most nightclubs in Iceland they are cafes serving cafe and light meals during day but when it get closer to midnight they change to nightclubs.

If you want to go to Apotek be there early because long cues tend to be there shortly after midnight.

Of course the prices are high, but you are in Iceland and you could afford to come here, so you should afford to enjoy it.

Dress Code: No sports shoes and jacket.

Oliver's is one of Reykjaviks most popular and busy bars, especially at the weekend.
The bar has a live DJ at weekends and there is often a queue to enter. The modern looking bar has a very lively atmosphere but leave it until later in the night before venturing in. Early in the night the bar is quiet and we were very surprised how much it changed as the night progressed. We had called in earlier in the night and the place was virtually empty. However around 11 the bar got really busy upstairs and downstairs.

Oliver's also serves good bar food during the day. The menu is fairly comprehensive with anything from burgers, paninis and salads to pasta, fish and meat dishes. The pricing of the food is fairly reasonable considering where you are!!!

The Rúntur (meaning 'round-tour') is Reykjavik's weekly pub crawl which has become increasingly famous around Europe. Reykajavik has a great social night life and the city centre comes alive on Friday and Saturday night with locals crowding into the many bars and clubs lining Laugavegur, Bankastr, Austurstraeti and the side streets leading from them. Don't be put off if the bars are quiet early in the night, the night only really gets going around 11 or 12 when crowds of revellers flock into the centre and start their tour from pub to pub seeking out the best places. The high price of alcohol doesn't seem to deter anybody, but most of them seem fairly well 'oiled' before they leave home :)
Great night (and morning) out and definitely something to be sampled when staying in Reykjavik.

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I always have the same problem with this section: Many places can perfectly fit in some sections at the same time, but I normally have the custom to add the spot with regard the use I gave it.

So, I went there for a drink (not necessarily at night).