Rontgen is the Hverfisgata bar that swings between a relaxed upstairs drink and a disco-ball dancefloor below. Open since 2019, it pours craft cocktails and natural wine just off Laugavegur, Reykjavik's main nightlife strip.
Published March 26, 2026 - By Daniel Okafor
Rontgen stands at Hverfisgata 12 in central Reykjavik, a half block off Laugavegur where most of the city's nightlife clusters. It opened at the end of November 2019 and runs across two floors, each with its own bar, as Visit Reykjavik describes: a calmer room upstairs and, downstairs, a dancefloor under a swinging disco ball.
The room
The split layout is the whole idea. Upstairs is built for conversation and an early drink; downstairs is where the music and the disco ball take over later. The bar leans into events, hosting concerts, pub quizzes and karaoke through the week, so the room changes character depending on the night you walk in.
What to order
The cocktail list runs to the classics done properly, with the espresso martini and the old fashioned the regular calls, alongside a wine selection that includes natural bottles and a short beer line. The smart play is the weekday happy hour, which Visit Reykjavik lists from 4pm to 8pm, since Reykjavik drink prices are steep once the discount lifts. Pricing otherwise sits in the $$ band for the city.
The crowd and best time to go
The crowd is a downtown mix of locals and visitors that skews younger and livelier as the disco ball spins up. Hours stretch from 2pm on Thursday and the weekend, with Friday and Saturday running to 3am, while Monday and Sunday keep shorter evenings. Come in the happy-hour window for a quiet upstairs drink, or after midnight on a weekend for the dancefloor.
What regulars say
Across RestaurantGuru and Guide to Iceland, the praise is the friendly staff, the two-floor flexibility and the disco-ball room that locals treat as a reliable late stop. The honest caution is volume: once the downstairs fills, this is a music bar, not a place for a quiet talk, so keep the conversation upstairs.
Who it is for
This is for the drinker who wants one address that covers both an early cocktail and a late dance, and for anyone working the Laugavegur strip who needs a happy-hour anchor. Skip it if you want a hushed cocktail den. For more of the city, see our Reykjavik cocktail bars guide and the full Reykjavik bar guide.
Hverfisgata has grown its own small circuit of bars and restaurants over the past decade, and Rontgen anchors the late end of it. Guide to Iceland groups it with the Laugavegur cluster where, the guide notes, the night rarely starts before midnight, so the early happy-hour window is a genuinely different bar from the 2am one. The programming keeps it from feeling single-note: a pub quiz or live set midweek, then DJ nights and the disco ball at the weekend, with a different crowd and energy each night of the week. That range is why locals cite it as a dependable last stop, and why prices outside happy hour run to Reykjavik norms, so regulars time their arrival to the discount.
The verdict
Rontgen wins on range: a two-floor bar that starts as a happy-hour cocktail stop and ends under a disco ball, all on Hverfisgata. Arrive before 8pm for the discount, then follow the music down. For more Reykjavik drinking, compare the apothecary room at Apotek Bar and the harbourside Slippbarinn, then browse our cocktail bars guide.
