The Fish Can Sing: A New Restaurant in Reykjavík - Remodelista
Located along the old harbor in Reykjavík, Iceland, Mar is a seafood restaurant with a sophisticated interior and menu that are salutes to the sea, its inhabitants, and the history of Iceland’s fishing industry. Like the name of the restaurant, the signage is in Latin; this one informs diners of the menu style: “an Icelandic offering of pure and delicate Latin American and Mediterranean-style cuisine.” HAF Studio sets the tone of the restaurant with a color palette of black and pale wood, white, teal green, and deep orange. Paneled walls of black-stained wood reference the weathered wooden houses traditional to Iceland’s fishing community. A map highlights the chef’s points of gastronomic inspiration; it was designed by Siggi Odds, who HAF commissioned to create of the restaurant’s graphics. Overhead pendant light bulbs are caught, like buoys or fish, in a web of colored rope–a kitschy concept that HAF presents in a high style way. The designers livened up the room by mixing black bentwood chairs with single chairs in unexpected colors. The bar is sheathed in brass. Prints of seabirds and a breaching whale are framed on the wall. Mirrored fish swim against a single teal blue wall in the back of the restaurant. Tables are set with custom ceramics by artist Guí°ní½ Hafsteins. Their organic shapes and colors are inspired by the seabird, skarfur, a kind of raven. HAF interwove standing metal bars to wine storage along the wall. For those visiting Reykjavík’s, another must-see is Spark Design Space, a concept shop detailed in our recent post, The Hub for Iceland Design.