Skál

Bartender Sonia is awesome, The a Ginger Boy is delish! Every dish is simply and delectable. Highly recommend the broccoli, trout and the organic black Angus steak!

Possibly the most uniquely addictive granola I’ve ever eaten. I ordered granola because I wanted something fast, it is not usually a go to for me. It was a perfectly balanced mix of charred seeds and dried fruit, a tangy yogurt and bruleed bananas. I wish I could have it right now…
Also, I kind of like the clean open design the place has now and the chill staff.

Skal took my reservation for today but was in fact closed. I thought that might be the case, since it was a semi-​snow day in NYC, and so I asked about it in my online reservation request, but only received a reservation confirmation. I called to follow up, and left a voice mail message. It was not until I showed up in person that I found out that they were closed. Not a huge surprise, but rather disappointing — many restaurants are open tonight, and Skal only gave indication that they were open.

Amazing Icelandic restaurant with a beautiful vibe. I enjoy sitting at the bar, especially on weekends. The crowd is cool/​casual smart. The food is interesting and representation is always great.

I went to Skal this past Saturday with a group of 7 and we reserved our table via their website
.
The service was outstanding. Everyone there was friendly, attentive and had a great sense of humor. We were offered a private room in the back and it was perfect — cozy, could have seated 10, but with the floor to ceiling windows, you still had a great view. I can imagine eating there in the spring/​summer is awesome.
Onto food and drinks, first off try Brennivin. Having returned from Iceland, I developed a taste for it. The wagyu beef app was cooked perfectly and the quail egg drag through is a great compliment. The pork belly/​scallops and hangar steak were cooked wonderfully as well.
We did not eat dessert but were treated to a shot of Icelandic vodka infused with beets. Interesting!
Again, the service shines here and really made our evening.

Used to be the location for Les Enfants Terribles, the beloved French brunch place in the neighborhood. When Les Enfants closed and Skal replaced in turn, it at first on appearance did not look much different, expect it was finally open-​aired and less mysterious. I had high expectations for Skal and wanted to know what Icelandic food was, especially for brunch.
Came to Skal for a first date with my now BF, and even though the food was not memorable, the drinks were. We tried the cocktails and they were pretty strong. It felt a bit girly and I kind of wish this would’ve been a GF’s brunch date instead of a date date.
We came to watch the World Cup games, but the angles were just horrible and not accommodating for viewers from different angles. To be fair, we did sit outside because it was nice, but the TVs were so small it was ridiculous to see. I had ordered the dessert, and it was oddly very wet and soggy, or maybe I just didn’t understand Icelandic food. The wait was extremely long for food, and even if a World Cup match was on, it doesn’t mean the cooks should be putting their jobs on hold to watch. It took a ridiculous 40 minutes for anything to come out… Service was beyond slow, even if there were literally 2 or 3 other tables in the house. I would probably come back to try dinner, just for the memories.

Great, cozy, quiet spot for a date.
Having been to Iceland, was a little disappointed the local beers, cod and lamb were missing from the menu.
That said, staff was friendly and they played the entire nirvana unplugged album — which i prefer to Bjork. Service was inattentive and a tad slow out of the kitchen.
Broccoli and Brussels sprouts were hearty — a meal in itself. Scallops were tasty but parts of the short rib were dry.
I wanted to love this place — but main course and service left an average impression on me. Skip dinner and get a drink with brussels sprouts.

I had lunch here on a sunny September Friday, and the whole experience was great.
The décor and the people are cool and unpretentious. The pork belly sandwich was very well prepared with a high-​quality piece of pork belly — and a good side of greens.
Lunch and Carslberg for $ 20? — I’m definitely coming back here.
Best way to get there is by Citibike, there’s a rack around the corner.

For a city where many a chef and restaurant group hide behind concept and gimmick to help stand out, it’s going to be seem inappropriate for me to lament that Skal doesn’t play enough towards Icelandic cliché. This is the city’s Icelandic restaurant and without knowing this going into a meal one could easily take the dark birds, unvarnished woods and nautical knick-​knacks as being standard directions for a New American place.
Part of the problem is that the «New Nordic» techniques that dominate Reykjavik’s upscale dining scene have in 2014 intermingled so thoroughly with the Downtown/​Brooklyn aesthetic it’s hard to see exactly part of this meal is imported and what is something endemically New York.
Still I’d hoped the meal would at least play more frequently with lamb, herring, cod and the pickled foods that might be found in the small wooden homes of the Circle Road. I’d be thrilled by some new executions on these dishes — and please hold the troll, Blue Lagoon and Björk references — in this sole outpost for the country’s cuisine.
On to the restaurant at hand, as opposed to the one in my mind. We stopped in late one evening for a snack and a couple of cocktails. We went with a hearty order of dark bread and a few roasted Brussel sprouts. There was a strong hand in the kitchen — the sprouts had none of their potential bitterness in the taste, while the bread was wonderfully hearty and butter tasted hand-​whipped (even if it was not, I’m not sure). The stark, strong cocktails would have formed a strong barrier to the windy, sleet filled nights I remember encountering on a visit to the island several years ago.
So it’s a solid restaurant and one that’s continued to evolve since opening. The price point of the entrees have slipped a bit — everything’s now in the 20s — but the entrees if anything seem to be getting more conventional. Is there a need for another restaurant in the city where four of the six entrees currently on offer are short ribs, pork berry, pork collar and duck confit? Please be more distinctive!

After an exhaustive search for a nice dinner spot on my last trip to NYC my wife & I decided upon Skal. After looking at pretty much the same menu over and over we thought Skal would bring something different and they didn’t disappoint.
After looking over menu after menu I pretty much knew exactly what I was going for when I arrived at Skal. Unfortunately many of the options I had picked, that drove me to this restaurant to begin with, were not on the nightly menu. Bummer. I pouted for a good 5 minutes then decided to just dive in.
The salt cod croquettes with horseradish remoulade were amazing, some of the best I’ve had. That said, they are very small and that’s a trend that would continue throughout the night. That said, the waitress is pretty upfront about the portions and guiding you through with the right amount of options. The dish I will remember most was the smoked mackerel with sour Onions, walnuts and shaved foie gras. Again, a small portion but perfectly executed.
Enjoyed it but with so many amazing restaurants in New York, I’m not sure I’ll return.

**Review only for drinks**
This place is always an afterthought, not really the main destination, but somewhere (because of geography) as a last option. Have I ever walked into this place sober? Probably not, but I digress.
The staff here are always nice. Never had a surly bartender, always a nice guy wanting to chat and help out. That is cool really.
First time here, no idea what I ordered. The last time i was in here, ordered up an Icelandic beer, yes this place is now Nordic themed. Prior, it was a French place.
And the Francophones still come here, so I guess some people are in denial.
Icelandic beer was $ 14 and the bartender made sure to warn me that was the price. Well, not every day you can get Icelandic beer on tap. So, I surrendered.
Of course endless chatter ensues and somehow the owner of the restaurant starts a conversation. And what I remember is something about hot Chinese men with long hair, something about hot Blondes in Scandinavian land and learning that Barzinho is also owned by him. Did you also know that the owner of this place and Barzinho is also a model? Yup, now make a dash here so you get some seriously expensive imported draft beer and eye candy that satisfies those cravings.

TLDR summary: good (not great) food, does not exemplify Nordic cuisine, would be up for going back but would not seek it out.
I went with a friend and we got a bunch of plates: brussel sprouts, cod croquettes, grilled octopus, and asparagus salad. I like the ambiance and outdoor seating. Though we were seated within the restaurant, the walls are giant windows that are lifted so it felt as if we were sitting outside. I left feeling a little disappointed, as my previous Nordic cuisine experience was at Broder in PDX, and I was hoping this would be of similar quality.

We came for a birthday brunch — not only was the food excellent, but we chatted with one of the passionate and friendly owners for a long time. What a wonderful story of NYC neighborhood love.
Highly recommended: ricotta pancake with rhubarb and smoky maple syrup, Brussels sprouts with fried egg and oysters. Ask for some of the homemade banana infused bourbon. Mmmm…

could not get a table even tough we had a reservation, decided to have a drink while waiting for a opening, Felipe our bartender suggested couple of yummy cocktails «omg» best we ever had, he convinced us to make him company, we have so much fun and i was extremely pleased by all the elements, food was amazing and, cocktails were out of this world, but the service and attentiveness of Felipe was the cherry that topped our beautiful experience, luv SKAL

In the middle of Chinatown, this Scandinavian adorable bistro bar lies in the heart of the craziness in chinatown. Since we just had Dim Sum, we were only there for their brunch cocktails. As I am sitting at the bar with this cute Brazilian bartender, I noticed a window into the open kitchen. The food that was coming out was like food porn. The perfect egg over hash and salmon. I was so intrigued that this is on my to do list for when I am back in NYC.
All and all, friendly staff and an atmosphere you can’t like quantify.

This place is Scandinavian. but not exactly.
The part-​owner was working at the bar that night. He was very friendly, knowledgeable about cocktails, and very French. The bar offered a full menu, which I thought was really great. Except they were a bit anal about keeping the bar area really clean and food-​less. I felt super guilty when my table cloth shifted a little bit exposing an area where food can potentially contaminate the beautiful bar. Oops.
Started with the Salt Cod Croquettes — I have a problem with this dish because it was a bit dry and just not very exciting. I wasn’t seeing anything new in this dish that I was expecting when I think: Nordic Salt Cod Croquette? The name was definitely more exotic than the dish itself.
Charred Broccoli– not understanding the crazy hype on this dish ether. Not that I am not excited about Broccoli (I’ve had much more amazing broccoli dishes elsewhere, ex: Gorbals in LA), but I love vegetable and this was very ordinary. I want to say I can make this at home myself with little efforts.
Berkshire Cheek with buckwheat porridge– This was a good dish because the porridge was very tasty. The cheek was forgettable, but nonetheless, at least it some-​what Nordic.
Atlantic Cod– Fish was cooked really well, but overall it was very bland.
I was tempted to order dessert because of the raving reviews on the celery parfait. But I was very quickly discourage after the meal.
As you can see, this is not a very exciting reviews because my experience here was not very exciting. The cocktails were great, but food just fell completely flat. In a city like New York City, you can expect genuinely delicious food, or just very mediocre places trying to be very delicious. Unfortunately this place is the latter. If you’re looking for true New Scandinavian experiences, I suggest Pearl & Ash down the street, which is phenomenal and will knock your socks off with their originality and Nordic flavors.

There is nothing inherently appealing about Nordic food.
Karry L who recently took a trip to Iceland returned with stories about fermented shark or drowned penguin or something — intellectually a must-​try, but it’s not apple pie or fish and chips, you know? I figured: a trendy new spot in a zip code with one of the lowest median household incomes in NYC, touting the cuisine of one of the blondest populations of the world, probably can’t avoid highlighting excessive severity in its dishes.
I was completely wrong. Skal’s food was simple, unsurprising — comforting at its best and bland at its worst.
I’m glad I waited until this recently to consume fully raw beef for the first time — Skal’s version of tartare comprised larger, hearty pieces, not the fatty E. coli paste that usually comes to mind. I was missing the littleneck clams that these were supposedly mixed with, and even the SeriousEats guy got a pretty daisy cradled atop his significantly more pulverized-​looking pile of meat (
). Flavor was subtle — so your first bite may be anticlimactic — but I ended up really liking this. It was as clean as a beef dish can get, but still interesting and strangely satisfying.
To my dismay, the Berkshire pork cheek was glazed in something that resembled barbeque sauce. I liked the accompanying greens and toothsome wheat berries. The meat was very tender and the touch of mustard that came through with a nice brightness saved the whole dish from being commonplace.
The Chatham cod was boring. The fish itself was tasteless, with no spring and a vacuum of flavor that somehow affected the other items on the plate. I mean, I remember *enjoying* the non-​cod parts of the plate, I just have no memory of what they were.
Are you seeing a pattern yet? Berkshire ≠ Nordic. Chatham ≠ Nordic. I doubt the tartare was made from Icelandic cattle, either.
The smoked mackerel had more potential to be characteristically Icelandic, but as it was, it was the most forgettable item of the night. An hour later I couldn’t remember that we had ordered it at all, and I still can’t recall any part of the experience of eating it. (It’s not me, it’s you.)
In keeping with the example set by the food, Skal’s atmosphere is actually pure, mild pleasantness (excepting the cool black stuffed crow presiding over the bar). The walls are painted sky blue, the plates are Victorian-​styled china. The space reads more like the inside of an oceanside shack on the blustry Finnish coast. Ditch the LBD and reach for a cable-​knit sweater.
Service was very friendly and helpful the entire evening. But was the food «elevated»? Well, that’s easy: No. Nothing wrong with that, but the portions are also very small. Any less than 1 app and 1 entrée per person is not enough.
Last but certainly not least, the drinks were excellent. Don’t go for the cocktails if you exclusively drink alcohol to grow chest hair; this was another case in which takes-​some-​getting-​used-​to flavors were avoided in favor of something precise but easy to smile and smack your lips after. The Ginger Boy and the Gurka were both phenomenal and extremely drinkable without being cloying or muddled. Our bartender, Brazilian Luis (Louis?), was awesome. His cucumber-​beetjuice concoction was also awesome. That fourth Unilocal star is entirely for him.

Tucked in a quiet corner of Chinatown, away from the hustling and bustling of meat markets and rows of tourist shops, I’ve found my oasis at Skal.
It’s located in such a quiet corner in Chinatown. The homey vintage decoration really made me feel so calm and warm. Topped with the super-​friendly Scandinavian-​accent-​speaking servers, my Skal experience was way different than any other. For a second, I almost forgot that I was in New York City.
Known as a weirdo eater, I totally went for the Salt Cod Hash, Lamb Tongue, Hyssop, Confit Potatoes and a Runny Egg. It was quite adventurous, but I loved it. Their menu is very original and of high quality, so the prices definitely worth it (well, not too often for me though!)

KenScale: 8.0÷10
Skál is a new Icelandic restaurant near Chinatown. The appetite for Nordic cuisine has been growing in the city, but many of the Scandinavian restuarants seemed to be geared more toward Swedish/​Danish bent. I don’t go to Scandinavian restaurants as often as, say, Italian or Japanese, but was willing to give a try to my first Icelandic dining experience. Overall, I had a solid meal, especially the appetizers.
My trio of appetizers were all outstanding. I enjoyed the sour edge of fried, marinated Pacific smelts, and heirloom carrot salad with burnt honey, yogurt and sunflowers was pleasantly crunchy. I don’t usually eat raw beef, but the one from the restuarant with littleneck clams, wild onions and grilled bread was outstanding in texture and flavor. None of the dishes were overdressed and displayed the flavor of Nordic cuisine very well. Unfortunately, the main dishes were slightly disappointing. Chatham cod was well cooked, but the seasoning was a bit off. So was the hanger steak, which although nicely cooked medium rare, somewhat overwhelmed me with the seasoning and was saved by the surrounding escarole and potatoes. For dessert, I tried beetroot with concord grapes and skyr. I’ve rarely seen beets being used for desserts (of course, that memorable dish at Atera automatically comes to my mind), but this dish somehow worked pretty well, with the texture of beet actually working harmoniously with the grapes and skyr (which apparently is Icelandic dairy product) to create unique flavor.
The restaurant is tiny so be there early to score seats at the bar or make a reservation in advance. I liked the vibe is the space, full of energy without being overly loud at a somewhat hidden location on the quiet cross street between Canal and Ludlow. The restaurant has a full bar menu with some excellent cocktails. If you’re in for a culinary adventure and explore what Icelandic cuisine can offer, Skál is a place worth visiting for a casual dinner on the weekend.

When an out of town friend recommended this spot for a catch up dinner with friends, my curiosity was certainly piqued. What was a European, icelandic of all places to be specific, restaurant doing in the depths of Chinatown?
After trekking down here (6 to the F made for a not terrible journey from the east village), we happened on a non descript restaurant with a warm and cozy feel. Service was impeccable from the get-​go with a friendly host taking care of our snow covered jackets and hats. Upon sitting we were promptly offered cocktail and wine menus from which we made a few selections. I liked everything I tried, including two cocktails and a bottle of Rioja, though pricing on the cocktails was a little on the high side.
As a table, we sampled a variety of the main courses on offer, and the food was reasonable, though not spectacular. Lacking much of a frame of reference for the icelandic cuisine on offer, I can’t be confident on how it would stack up against competition, but the food was generally well prepared and flavorful. The menu covered a good selection of meat, fish and vegetables, and we were generally satisfied. Of the raw beef, monkfish, and beef cheek that we ordered, I would say the cheek was my favorite (though the decadent mashed potatoes accompanying the monkfish was pretty spectacular).

This place is lovely. All glass doors along the side facing the street and the owners are super friendly with their 70s ‘fros and impossibly wide smiles.
We ordered the raw beef and confit duck wings for apps and arctic char and hangar steak for entrees. They were all pretty good but pale in comparison to the CELERY PARFAIT DESSERT. My oh my what a tasty little harmony this played in my mouth. Best dessert I’ve had in ages: the celery was perfectly there but not overpowering, and paired expertly with the wild strawberries and rose dust. We had the beetroot dessert as well but it was just okay– clever, but not as successful as the celery.
It was a nice experience but I don’t think the food was particularly outstanding (aside from the ungodly celery dessert). Mostly I enjoyed the ambiance and trying new ingredients like puntarella and skyr.