Vox Brasserie & Bar (Hilton Hotel)

Hotel restaurants have a bad rep, with menus catering more to the harried traveler than the dining enthusiast. What Vox serves up at the Hilton Nordica, however, is a bold showcase of distinctly Icelandic ingredients with none of the tired foam- and spherification clichés.

High ceilings, ritzy leather seating, and traditional service signal that this is a classic brasserie done well. The restaurant itself prides itself on its wine selection, and fittingly, a beautiful glass vault occupies pride of place.

Young Chef Davíð Örn Hákonarson returns to home ground bringing with him a surreptitiously bright flair. Consider his signature dish; a delicately poached egg atop a mound of smoked potato puree, a quenelle of Baerii caviar its crowning glory. There are as many versions of caviar and eggs as there are restaurants, yet here the creaminess of the potato gives way to pickled onion, crisp bread and lovage oil. At once warm and cold, creamy and crunchy, with pops of briny roe, it feels like a summer avatar of latkes and caviar. For vegans, seasonal vegetables are dressed to impress. We sample white asparagus with a zingy salted lemon sauce, their puckery edge further highlighted by the dried olive crumble. Pair the dish with a dry Domaine de la Motte Chablis and you’ve got a satisfying, light meal.

Dining at Vox makes for entertaining people watching, there are guests rehashing their day’s travels, local businessmen shaking down deals and very likely a young couple on a date. Service never seems to falter, no matter who you are, and not even with the younger apprentices earning their stripes on the floor.

The flag bearers of local cuisine are all on display. The lamb, like all Icelandic lamb is grassy and its intensity nicely tempered with a date infused sherry sauce. Creamed potatoes get a facelift with a sprinkle of whole chervil pods adding that touch of licorice flavor Icelanders so adore. The salted cod gets to shine with a nage-like sauce.

In lieu of desserts, opt for a digestif, presented from a selection, on an impressive bar cart. Pick one of many Icelandic, vaguely medicinal quaffs or end in style with a 1953 Baron de Sigognac Armagnac—elegant and refined, it makes for an excellent nightcap.

Published, October 2019.