Plaza Bar occupies the lobby lounge of Center Hotels Plaza on Aðalstræti, a few steps off Ingólfstorg in the heart of old Reykjavík. The hotel describes it as a gathering spot where guests settle in with a cocktail against floor-to-ceiling windows, and it pours daily until midnight.
Who would love it: a traveller who wants a calm, central first drink within a short walk of Austurvöllur, Laugavegur and the harbour. Who would not: anyone chasing a late club night or a dedicated cocktail laboratory, since Plaza Bar trades on convenience, light and a quiet hotel-lounge mood rather than a long technical menu.
The room is the appeal. The bar sits in the inviting lobby lounge of the hotel, with tall windows that pull in the long northern light and a layout built for unwinding over a drink. Center Hotels positions it as a relaxed lounge rather than a destination bar, and that honest framing fits: this is a comfortable, well-placed room to begin or end an evening in the Kvosin quarter.
The drinks keep to the classics done well. The list runs cocktails, Icelandic beer and wine, and the daily happy hour from four to six brings discounted prices on selected drinks, a useful window in a city where a round is rarely cheap. Visit Reykjavík lists the hotel among its central downtown stays, and the bar's draw is the address as much as the menu, since it puts a drinker one block from Ingólfstorg.
What sets Plaza Bar apart is the building's footing. Center Hotels Plaza stands on Aðalstræti, Reykjavík's oldest street, in the Kvosin core where the city first took shape. That places the lounge within a two-minute walk of the parliament square, the cathedral and the main shopping run, which is why it works as a base camp for a night out rather than a stop people cross town to reach.
The crowd skews toward hotel guests early, with locals and street-side visitors filling in around the happy hour and the after-dinner stretch. The mood stays conversational, lit by the windows by day and the lounge by night. Service is unhurried and bartender-led, geared to a drink and a sit-down rather than a fast turnover.
Order a classic during the four-to-six happy hour, when selected drinks drop in price and the windows catch the late northern sun. The bar keeps Icelandic beer and a short wine list for anyone who skips the cocktails, and the lounge seating makes it easy to hold a table for a long conversation. Cards work as standard, the bar runs to midnight every night, and the central address means the rest of a night out is a short walk in any direction, from Austurvöllur to the harbour front. That convenience, more than any single drink, is the reason to start here, since a first round sets up a short walk to dinner or to the louder rooms up Laugavegur.
Best time to go: the four-to-six happy hour for the value, or late evening for a quiet nightcap before the walk back through the old town. Plaza Bar works as the central, low-effort drink in a Reykjavík night. See where it sits among the best cocktail bars in Reykjavík and read our wider guide to cocktail bars by city for the global picture, then plan the rest of a night through the Reykjavík bar guide.
Pair this bar with
For a stronger cocktail programme nearby, compare Apótek Bar, Slippbarinn. And for a third round, Órson makes the natural next stop.
Sources
Center Hotels: Plaza · Visit Reykjavík: Center Hotels Plaza · Booking.com: Center Hotels Plaza · Google Maps reviews (accessed 2026-06)
Reviewed by Marcus Webb, barsforKings. Published Apr 9, 2026 · Last reviewed May 27, 2026
