Tales of the Table · Lost Tables · Lækjargata 2a · 1920–1998
Tunglið: the cinema, the moon and the fire
If you book a table at Grillmarkaðurinn, you're sitting on one of the most storied plots in Reykjavík nightlife.
From 1920 to 1987 the corner was home to Nýja bíó, one of the city's first cinemas. In 1987 it became Tunglið – “the Moon” – and in the early nineties it was the club in town. In 1994 the band Ham played its farewell gig there beneath a mural of President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.
Down in the basement, the tiny Rósenberg cellar hosted everything from biker rock to the first rave nights.
On 30 July 1998 the building burned. A new house went up on the plot, and since 2011 it has been home to Grillmarkaðurinn – a restaurant, fittingly, built around fire.
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