Spánski sits at Ingólfsstræti 8 in central Reykjavik, a Spanish style wine bodega with Rioja and Tempranillo by the glass, tapas snacks and a daily happy hour.
The bar runs as a small basement bodega a block off Laugavegur, built around a wine list that leans hard into Spain and a maroon, low lit room. Anyone who wants Spanish wine by the glass and a snack finds the format easy. Anyone after cocktails, beer flights or a late dance floor looks elsewhere.
The Reykjavik Grapevine covered Spánski as a Spanish style wine bodega when it opened, and city wine guides keep it on their Reykjavik lists. The focus stays on Spanish bottles, with Tempranillo and Rioja by the glass and a house red on tap. That Spanish wine focus is the identity the room is built around.
The list runs from glasses of Rioja and Tempranillo to bottles, with a happy hour that drops beer and wine to a set low price each day. Tapas snacks such as aioli and crab salad breads round out the table. A glass of the house red with a snack is the easiest way in.
The room is small and warm, a basement space with a maroon palette that suits a slow drink. It fills on weekends and stays calmer midweek, so an early week evening is the better bet for a seat. The format favours two or three over a big group.
Regulars and wine guides flag two points: the happy hour is the value window, and the by the glass Spanish pours are the reason to come back. The crowd leans local and the pace is unhurried. The kitchen is built around snacks rather than a full meal.
Spánski works for a wine led opener, a relaxed glass with tapas, and a quiet date before dinner. It is the wrong call for a big round or a loud, late night.
Ingólfsstræti runs just off Laugavegur in the centre of Reykjavik, a short walk from most of the 101 district, with the bar open from late afternoon into the night. The happy hour window is the value play, while weekends bring the fuller room. Arriving early is the easiest way to settle into the basement.
The bar sits a block up from the main shopping run, close enough to fold into a downtown evening but set back from the busiest corner. That setting keeps the room calmer than the pubs nearby. It rewards a plan rather than a stumble through the door.
What sets it apart is the narrow Spanish focus, rare in a city of broad wine lists and beer bars. The guides point to it as the place for Spanish pours rather than a general wine bar. The pull is the bodega format and the by the glass list rather than the size of the cellar.
On the order, a glass of Rioja or Tempranillo during happy hour is the value play, with the tapas breads to share across the table. The house red on tap is the easy default. The food is light, so book a dinner elsewhere for a full meal.
The bottom line is a small Spanish wine bodega with Rioja and Tempranillo by the glass and a strong happy hour, set apart by a focus the city's wine drinkers seek out. For a Spanish glass in Reykjavik it is a clear call. Compare it against the rest of our best wine bars in Reykjavik guide, the wider list of bars in Reykjavik, and our roundup of Reykjavik cocktail bars. Drinkers after more of the same should weigh Port 9 and Veður.
Sources: Reykjavik Grapevine; Star Wine List Reykjavik guide; Hidden Iceland wine bar guide; Tripadvisor; Google Maps reviews.
