Continuing our Icelandic trip along the South Coast, Jenny and I came across the twin sea-side town of Eyrarbakki. This place was once the main trading post along the south coast of Iceland, and has a long heritage of fishing. The trading element has long since passed onwards to more modern ports, but the town itself is still clinging to the edge of the island. We were in search of local lobster and, having failed to get in at the better-known Við fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri we wound up at the Rauða Húsið.
Even though it was a busy holiday weekend we were quickly seated by one of the efficient team of young waitresses. Starters - what's it to be? I avoided an invidious choice by having the starter selection - a taste of lobster soup (very rich), tempura langoustine tails and chicken liver pate. A bottle of cold Thule beer from the northern town of Akureyri washed it down very nicely.
The lobster here seem to grow rather smaller than the ones we see from Maine - perhaps better described as large langoustine. One never sees the front part of the creature at all - it's just the tails that appear. The local Icelandic style is to split the tail shell and draw the meat over the shell - which is then grilled. It looks a little odd at first sight, but is very effective! We both opted for a large plate, served with garlic butter on chopped lettuce - this worked very well indeed, with the hot butter wilting the lettuce and making a nice yet rich background to the lobster tails. And as we had 9 or 10 each, that's plenty of meat!
Rauða Húsið, Búðarstíg 4, 820 Eyrarbakka, Iceland Tel +354 483 3330 www.raudahusid.is.
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