Hressingarskálinn, known to locals as Hressó, sits at Austurstræti 20 in central Reykjavik, a café and bar by day that turns into a music room at night.
The room trades as a large central café on Austurstræti, built around a long bar, a kitchen and a back courtyard, with DJs and live bands taking over after dark. Anyone who wants a daytime coffee or burger that rolls into a night out finds the format easy. Anyone after a quiet cocktail bar looks elsewhere.
Hressingarskálinn is one of the oldest eating and drinking houses in Iceland, and city guides treat it as a fixture of the Austurstræti scene. By day it serves burgers and sandwiches, and by night it shifts to DJs and live music with a sheltered courtyard out back. That day to night turn is the identity the room is built around.
The drink list runs from Icelandic beers on tap to house cocktails and wine, with a kitchen that keeps the food going into the evening. Prices sit at the mid range for the centre, which suits the mixed crowd that moves through. A beer in the courtyard on a bright evening is the order locals name.
The space is large by Reykjavik standards, with a main room, bar seating and the courtyard that draws a summer crowd. It reads as a worn, lived in café rather than a designed bar, which fits its long history. Tables turn into standing room once the music starts on weekends.
Regulars and city guides flag two points: the courtyard is the draw on a dry evening, and the room shifts from café calm to a loud music crowd late on weekends. The central location pulls a steady tourist trade alongside locals. The kitchen runs late, so it works for a meal before the music.
Hressó works for a daytime coffee or burger, a courtyard drink, and a central first stop that turns into a night out. It is the wrong call for a refined cocktail list or a quiet date.
Austurstræti runs through the heart of Reykjavik, walkable from across the 101 district, with the café open from morning and the music starting late on weekends. The daytime suits food and a relaxed drink, while the late hours bring the DJs and bands. Arriving early on a weekend is the easiest way to claim a courtyard table.
The room sits on Austurstræti at the heart of the centre, steps from the main square and the shopping run, which keeps a steady flow through the door all day. That central spot is part of why it works as both a daytime café and a late music room. It pulls locals on a lunch break and visitors crossing the centre alike.
What sets it apart is the courtyard and the long history, a combination few central rooms can match. Guides cite it as one of the oldest eating houses in the country rather than a new arrival. The draw is the day to night flexibility and the outdoor space rather than a single drink.
On the order, a daytime burger with a coffee or a beer suits the café hours, while the evening shifts to house cocktails and beers as the music starts. The kitchen runs late enough to anchor a meal first. A courtyard table on a dry evening is the seat to ask for.
The bottom line is a long running central café that turns into a music room after dark, set apart by its courtyard and its place in Reykjavik history. For a day to night spot on Austurstræti it is a clear call. Compare it against the rest of our best live music bars in Reykjavik guide, the wider list of bars in Reykjavik, and our roundup of Reykjavik after work bars. Drinkers after more of the same should weigh Prikið and Kaffibarinn.
Sources: Visitor's Guide Iceland; My Guide Reykjavik; Moon Travel Guides; Tripadvisor; Google Maps reviews.
