Mat Bar sits on Hverfisgata in central Reykjavik and runs as a compact wine bar with a kitchen rather than a restaurant with a wine list. The room is small, the lighting low, and the pour list built around natural and biodynamic producers.
Who would love it: drinkers who want adventurous, low-intervention wine matched to sharing plates and a few well-made cocktails. Who should skip it: anyone after a large group table or a quiet solo pint, since the space fills quickly and trades on a buzzy counter.
The kitchen works a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern small-plates format, and the wine team will steer guests toward the more unusual bottles by the glass. As the Nordic restaurant guide White Guide notes in its Reykjavik listing, the bar pairs that curated natural-wine selection with consistent cocktails, which keeps it useful whether the visit is about the glass or the plate.
For the full range, Mat Bar offers two set sharing menus, a three-course option and a longer five-course "Best of Mat Bar," which is the simplest way to taste across the kitchen without ordering blind. Walk-ins can sit at the bar, but the dining tables go fast.
Service runs dinner only, opening at 5pm and closing around 10pm, Monday through Saturday, with Sunday dark. Friday and Saturday are the tightest nights, and the venue's small footprint means a reservation is close to essential at the weekend rather than a nice-to-have.
The address puts Mat Bar within a short walk of the city's other drinking rooms, so it works as a first stop before a wider night. See where it lands in our guide to the best wine bars in Reykjavik, and browse the rest of the city in our roundup of the best bars in Reykjavik.
The format rewards curiosity over caution. Because the list leans into low-intervention and biodynamic producers, the by-the-glass options change often, and the staff are happy to pour something unfamiliar rather than steer a guest to a safe bottle. Asking for a recommendation tends to open the more interesting end of the list.
The plates are built to share. The kitchen works a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern register of tapas-style dishes, sized so a table can graze across several while moving through glasses. That makes Mat Bar as much an early dinner as a drinks stop, which suits the dinner-only hours.
The setting keeps it intimate. The compact room captures the feel of an old Mediterranean wine bar transplanted to a Reykjavik street, and the small size is exactly why booking matters. On a Friday or Saturday the tables turn quickly and walk-ins are left to the bar counter.
For a first visit, the five-course "Best of Mat Bar" menu is the efficient route through the kitchen, with the three-course option a lighter alternative for a shorter sitting. Either pairs naturally with the staff's glass recommendations rather than a fixed flight.
The verdict is clear for a certain guest. Mat Bar suits a drinker who wants the wine list to lead and is willing to follow a recommendation into less familiar territory. It is less suited to a group that wants a long table and a full dinner menu.
The address helps too. Hverfisgata runs through the centre of Reykjavik's nightlife, so the bar sits within a short walk of cocktail rooms and harbour-side spots for a second stop. That makes it a natural first booking on a night built around food and wine.
Nearby, Vínstúkan Tíu offers a cozier wine-focused room, Galleri Cocktail leans into mixed drinks, and Slippbarinn runs a larger harbour-side cocktail program. Together they make an easy three-stop loop with Mat Bar as the wine anchor.
