Bastard Brew & Food sits at Vegamotastigur 4 in central Reykjavik, a brewpub that pours its own beers alongside dozens of taps, craft cocktails and a flatbread kitchen.
The venue runs as a bar and restaurant just off Laugavegur, built around a long tap wall, a cocktail station and a kitchen that stays open through the evening. Anyone who wants craft beer with a proper plate finds the format easy. Anyone after a late club night looks elsewhere.
Bastard brews its own beers in collaboration with Aegir and Malbygg Brugghus, and pours them next to dozens of guest beers from other breweries on draft. Visit Reykjavik and the venue's own site both lead on that house beer programme as the reason the place reads as a brewpub rather than a gastropub. The brewery link is the identity the room is built around.
The taps run from house beers to a rotating guest list, and the bar also mixes ambitious craft cocktails with twists on classics like the Moscow Mule and the Aperol Spritz. The kitchen sends flatbreads, mini tacos, burgers and a charcuterie board built to share. First time visitors are pointed toward a house beer with a flatbread.
The room sits over street level with a relaxed, music led setting that suits a long sit rather than a quick stop. The happy hour from three to six is the value window the guides return to. The format favours staying put over moving between counters.
The music leans on rock, soul, funk and disco from past decades rather than a club set, which keeps the energy up without tipping into a dance floor. The crowd is a mix of locals and visitors, steady through the evening and busier at the weekend. A weekend bottomless brunch pulls a daytime group as well.
Reviewers on Tripadvisor return to two points: the house beers are the reason to visit, and the flatbreads hold up as more than bar food. Locals treat it as a reliable craft beer stop with a kitchen worth ordering from. First timers are steered toward the house range over the guest taps.
Bastard works for a craft beer dinner, an after work session with food, and a weekend brunch with a beer. It is the wrong call for a late, loud night out.
Vegamotastigur runs just off Laugavegur in the centre of Reykjavik, walkable from most of the 101 district, with the kitchen open until ten every night. The bar runs evening hours, so it suits a dinner or an after work session more than a late finish. Arriving for happy hour with a plate is the easiest way to see it at its best.
The bottom line is a brewpub with a genuine house beer programme and a kitchen that backs it up, set apart by its own brews and its central spot off Laugavegur. For fresh beer with food in the 101 district it is a clear call. Compare it against the rest of our best craft beer in Reykjavik guide, the wider list of bars in Reykjavik, and our roundup of the top Reykjavik beer bars. Drinkers after more taps should weigh Microbar and Skuli Craft Bar.
Sources: Bastard Brew & Food official site; Visit Reykjavik; Tripadvisor reviews; Dineout listing; Google Maps reviews.
