Review of Bastard Brew & Food: Drinks, Darts & Delicacies

With the rare glimpse of good weather on a Thursday afternoon, the team at work jumped at the chance for fun, so we went out for food, drinks... and some shenanigans. As we were all craving different things, we decided to go to Bastard Brew & Food in downtown Reykjavik for a good time.

Some in the group had gone before, but for others, including myself, it was a first-time visit. It turned out to be the perfect place to enjoy a bit of the sun, get different kinds of food, and throw small pointy things at a wall, otherwise known as playing darts.

Cocktails under the elusive sun

Bastard Brew & Food has two happy hours daily, from 3 PM to 6 PM and 10 PM to 1 AM.

Bastard Brew & Food has a huge selection of cocktails and some unique beers, including their own brews. We were craving some tasty food, and I was especially excited to try the warm cheesy pretzels, which I had heard great things about.

We arrived around 5 PM and started with some drinks as it was still happy hour. We wanted to try some of the most popular drinks at Bastard, so we got the Bloody Bastard, Silver Surfer, Bastard Mule, and Bastard Zombie. As the names imply, they're all either unique twists on classic drinks or original creations by Bastard Brew & Food.

Making the Bloody Bastard is a dramatic process.

The Silver Surfer was my personal favorite, which is a bit sour and very fruity, with a lemony taste. The Bloody Bastard was a Bloody Mary with a twist of celery-infused vodka, which is done in-house. It's a solid option if you love the classic tomato-based drink!

The Silver Surfer and the Bloody Bastard cocktails.

The Bastard Mule and Bastard Zombie were also really fun. The first was a Moscow Mule upgraded with lime and red grapefruit and, of course, served in a copper cup. The second was a strong but tasty one, with a rum blend, falernum, orange, passion fruit, cinnamon syrup, lime, absinthe, and tiki bitters... how exotic! We highly recommend it!

The Bastard Zombie and Bastard Mule cocktails.

Instead of the more fun cocktails, some in the group went for beers, specifically the Hazy Bastard and Amber Bastard. They're brewed by Bastard Brew & Food, so it was the obvious choice to try. You can even see the brewing take place behind a glass wall by the bar!

They have plenty of other interesting selections to choose from as well. This makes Bastard a great spot for trying some of the local beer or if you just need to answer that beer craving after a day of exploring.

You can even order a special beer float to taste their range! It includes a Hazy and Amber Bastard, as well as Icelandic classics Sólveig and Úlfur, which are some of the must-tries for beer lovers visiting the country.

The Hazy Bastard and Amber Bastard beers are brewed by Bastard Brew & Food.

As the sun had decided to grace us with its elusive presence, we took the chance to enjoy our drinks outside on the patio. It has a glass roof, partial side walls, and heaters, so it can actually be a nice place year-round, no matter the weather. There are even string lights and plants all around to make it extra cozy!

Bar food bonanza!

We took some time chatting and enjoying our first round outside, but eventually, the sun decided that we'd had enough nice weather for the day and abandoned us. Taking this as a clear sign that it was food time, we headed back inside for some refills and to check out Bastard's beckoning menu.

"Hmm, what should we order?"... "Everything!"

We got to our table and moved on to the next order of business: ordering some food. Our group of six was craving different things; some just wanted to snack on things, while others wanted a larger meal. Because of this, we formed a genius masterplan to order a bunch of different things to share.

After contemplating our choices, we ordered some of the more popular dishes on the menu, along with some that came highly recommended by our waitress. This included the "Bastard of Louisiana" chicken strips, soft tacos, flatbreads, pretzels, and more.

Bastard Brew & Food has a special gin and tonic menu with all sorts of options.

It was also time for another round of drinks which included more beer, a limoncello spritz, and a gin and tonic. I chose the Tanqueray with strawberries and lime, but there are a total of 13 different gin and tonics on their menu, including some with Icelandic gin!

Tacos from left to right: Tiger prawn, cauliflower and beef brisket.

With something tasty in hand to quench our thirst, the feasting could begin! The first dishes to arrive were the tacos, of which we got three different types: beef brisket, tiger prawns, and deep-fried cauliflower, which is one of the vegan options on the menu.

Both the beef and cauliflower ones were fantastic, and the prawns were, to quote my coworker, "deliciously crunchy with a hot aftertaste." We highly recommend getting a few different ones to try.

The cheesy chorizo flatbread patiently waiting to be devoured.

Next to arrive were the flatbreads. There are a few options to choose from, and we went with the chorizo and cheese, and the goat cheese and pears. The former was amazingly cheesy, though not quite as pretty to look at as the latter one, pictured below.

The goat cheese and pear flatbread is a great choice for cheese lovers.

As I have a deeply rooted hate for goat cheese, I'll trust the reviews from my team members, who said the goat cheese one was super good, pairing well with the sweet pear flavor. It's a solid option if you like goat cheese! Both were perfectly crispy and fun to share, so try one of the different flatbread options if you're planning a visit.

The Fat Bastard burger is served with spicy mayo, Tindur cheese, tomatoes, and onion. It has a side of tomato relish, pickled jalapeno, pickles, and fires.

One of our team members went for the iconic Fat Bastard burger while the rest of the team stole some of his fries. The burger was "really tasty" and "a good amount of cheesy," which is appropriate as it features the Icelandic aged Tindur cheese.

The Fat Bastard burger is one of the more popular options on the menu, which is unsurprising as burgers will always remain the perfect companion to a cold beer. I can at least personally testify that the fries were a nice salty balance of soft and crispy!

My coworker getting ready to strike, weapon in hand.

Another main that we ordered was the Bastard of Louisiana, the most popular item among Icelanders on the menu (according to the staff!). These crusted chicken strips are served with BBQ sauce, fries, and blue cheese dip. It delivered on the promise of being crunchy and saucy and was, overall, a very good dish. I would definitely order it again.

The fish of the day is fresh every day!

We also wanted to try one of the specials of the day and went for the fish. This time, it was locally caught cod served with potatoes and tomatoes. They also have a non-fish option that changes daily, along with a hamburger of the month, to keep the menu interesting and fun for repeat guests.

The winner of the night! 6 people fought hard over those two pretzels... those two delicious warm and soft pretzels oozing in hot cheese...

Then, the absolute highlight of the dinner arrived as the pretzels were served. They're warm, slightly crisp on the outside, and perfectly soft on the inside. They're nicely salty and pair perfectly with the delicious jalapeno cheese dip, which oozes and stretches when you dip in the pretzel.

The combo really turned out to be well worth the hype, and we all agreed that the pretzels were worth a visit on their own. No visit to Bastard should ever occur without a pretzel!

Beverages & Bullseyes

An Amaretto drizzled dessert was a great way to top off the night

Many in the team have a bit of a sweet tooth, which meant there was no skipping out on dessert. As we were all very full at this point, we simply decided to share one.

The dessert of choice was the warm caramel roll, which was served with whipped cream. You can choose to include amaretto drizzled on top, which we did for the full experience. All this made for a magical treat, with plenty of cream and warm caramel to soothe our sugary cravings.

The decor at Bastard Brew & Food is really fun! Check out the different areas to see all the quirky art prints.

At this point, we had to surrender as we were practically bursting from all the food. The bright side is that we'll have to do a return trip to try some of the other items on the menu, especially their bottomless weekend brunch!

We didn't want to call it a night yet, so we (figuratively) rolled ourselves up the stairs to the darts area for a game. It's a pretty convenient setup, as they have bar tables on the side and QR codes where you can order straight from the bar downstairs using your phone.

This was perfect for a last round of drinks, which included another Silver Surfer, my favorite cocktail of the evening. We could also enjoy their late happy hour, which runs from 10 PM to 1 AM every day!

Take my word for it: that shot hit the bullseye. Promise!

As a complete novice at darts, I can't say much about our team's performance, but it was great fun nonetheless. We really enjoyed the friendly competition! Eventually, it was time to head home, though, but overall, this was a great night.

Bastard really delivered as a fun hang-out place with delicious food and great drinks. We'll definitely be making a return visit soon, especially for those dreamy pretzels...

So, if you're in the downtown Reykjavik area and are looking for a cool place for the evening, Bastard Brew & Food is definitely the way to go! As it's very popular, we highly recommend booking a table at Bastard ahead of time to ensure availability.

Conclusion: Bastard Brew & Food is a great place for beer or cocktails. You can pair your drink with a full meal or a smaller snack and trust that it will be tasty. This, along with the quirky interior, cozy patio, and darts area, makes Bastard a great place for a fun night out!