Uppi

Above the Fish Market: Reykjavík's Upper-Floor Bar in Context

Reykjavík's bar scene has developed along two distinct tracks over the past decade. The first is the high-volume, late-night corridor along Laugavegur and Austurstræti, where the emphasis is on throughput and a rotating crowd. The second is a quieter tier of drinks-focused rooms that draw on the credibility of an existing culinary operation — bars that exist in conversation with a kitchen reputation rather than independent of it. Uppi belongs to the second category. Positioned on the upper floor of Fiskmarkaðurinn at Aðalstræti 12, it takes its name literally: the Icelandic word for "upstairs." The translation is direct, and so is the concept.

Fiskmarkaðurinn has held a firm position in Reykjavík's serious dining conversation for years, making the bar above it something more than an afterthought. In cities where the drinks programme attached to a respected restaurant is often the weakest element, the upper-floor format here works in the opposite direction: it gives the bar its own physical and conceptual space, separated from the dining room below by a staircase and a shift in register.

The Spirits Collection and What It Signals

In Reykjavík, a thoughtfully curated back bar is still a differentiator. Iceland's import market for spirits has improved significantly, but the gap between a venue that treats spirits as a commodity and one that treats them as a programme remains wide. Uppi sits in the latter group. The positioning of the space as a drinks destination rather than a pre-dinner waiting room is evident in how the selection is assembled: the back bar reads as a collection rather than a list, with depth across categories that rewards a guest who wants to spend time with it rather than default to the familiar.

This matters in the context of Reykjavík's premium bar tier. Venues like Kramber and Hotel Borg by Keahotels in Reykjavik occupy the same general bracket of refined drinks spaces in the city centre, each with a distinct identity. What separates the serious players in this tier is consistency of curation: whether the bottle selection reflects editorial thinking or simply the available distributor catalogue. At Uppi, the restaurant pedigree below creates an expectation of quality that the bar programme has to meet, and that pressure tends to produce better results than a standalone operation without the same accountability.

For guests who use a spirits collection as a proxy for programme depth — the way a sommelier's wine list reveals their education and priorities , Uppi offers material to work with. The approach mirrors what certain internationally recognised bar programmes have done in other cities: Kumiko in Chicago and Jewel of the South in New Orleans both built their identities around specific spirits philosophies, using the back bar as a signal of intent before a single cocktail is ordered. Uppi operates in a smaller market with different constraints, but the underlying logic is the same.

The Location and What the Address Means

Aðalstræti is one of Reykjavík's oldest streets, running through the core of the 101 postal district. The address places Uppi within walking distance of the majority of the city's central hotels and within the densest cluster of serious dining and drinking options in Iceland. For visitors staying in the 101 area, it requires no transportation planning. For those outside it, the city's compact geography makes it accessible regardless.

The old town positioning also means the surrounding block carries a concentration of venues worth mapping. Iceland's regional bar scene extends well beyond the capital , Götubarinn in Akureyri, Gott restaurant in Vestmannaeyjar, and Prýði in Vestmannaeyjabær each represent the drinks culture developing outside the capital , but Reykjavík's 101 district remains where the density is highest and the programmes most competitive. Uppi's placement at the centre of that district is logistically direct and editorially appropriate for a bar with serious intentions.

Format and How to Use the Space

The upper-floor format shapes the experience in practical ways. Separation from the restaurant below means the ambient register is different: less service choreography, more room for a conversation to develop over a second or third drink. In Reykjavík's bar culture, where the transition from dinner to drinking often happens in a single venue, Uppi occupies a logical position in the evening's sequence. It functions well as a destination in its own right rather than purely as a post-dinner continuation, though the connection to Fiskmarkaðurinn makes it a natural extension for guests already in the building.

For context, the bar-above-restaurant format has been a productive one in cities with strong dining cultures. It allows a spirits-focused experience to develop without competing directly with the kitchen for the guest's primary attention. The model is visible in well-regarded programmes internationally , Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu operates with a similar logic of serious drinks in a space that benefits from culinary adjacency. Reykjavík has fewer examples of the format, which gives Uppi a specific position in the city's drinks geography.

Planning a Visit

Uppi is located at Aðalstræti 12 in the 101 Reykjavík postcode, putting it at the centre of the city's walkable core. Given its connection to Fiskmarkaðurinn, checking both operations' schedules before arriving is advisable, particularly during quieter shoulder seasons when hours may contract. The venue does not require the same advance booking pressure as a tasting-menu restaurant, but the upper-floor format means capacity is limited, and evening arrivals during the summer tourist peak , roughly June through August, when daylight stretches past midnight and foot traffic in the 101 district is at its highest , can fill the space faster than visitors expect.

For those building a broader Reykjavík drinks itinerary, our full Iceland restaurants guide maps the wider picture across the capital and the regions. Internationally, guests who gravitate toward spirits-led bar programmes in other cities , Superbueno in New York City, Julep in Houston, or Náttúrufræðistofnun , will find Uppi operates in a recognisably similar register: a curated back bar, a defined sense of what the space is for, and a location that makes it easy to fit into a considered evening in the city.