Vitabar sits at Bergþórugata 21 in the Þingholt streets above central Reykjavik, a small neighbourhood bar known for cheap beer and a famous burger.
The bar trades as a plain, dim corner room east of the shopping streets, built around a short bar, a handful of tables and a kitchen that turns out burgers. Anyone after a cheap pint and a burger away from the tourist core finds the format easy. Anyone chasing cocktails or a designed room looks elsewhere.
Vitabar runs as a locals' bar where most of the room are regulars, and city guides single out the burgers as the reason to climb the hill. The signature plate, the Gleym mer ey with blue cheese and garlic sauce, is the order the reviews name first. That pairing of a cheap burger and a cheap beer is the identity the room is built around.
The drink list leans into Icelandic beers and a short wine pour, kept at prices well below the harbour bars. The kitchen is the draw, with burgers cited around the price of a single downtown cocktail. A blue cheese burger and a local beer is the easiest way in.
The space is small and dark, with a few tables, bar stools and a worn, unpolished look that locals defend. It reads as a true neighbourhood bar rather than a destination, which is the point. Seats are limited, so a busy evening can mean a short wait.
Regulars and city guides flag two points: the burgers are the reason to come and the prices are the reason to stay, and the room is small enough that timing matters on a busy night. The crowd skews local and the pace is unhurried. The bar sits a short uphill walk from the centre, which keeps the tourist trade light.
Vitabar works for a cheap burger and beer, a low key neighbourhood stop, and a break from the pricier downtown rooms. It is the wrong call for a cocktail list or a large group.
Bergþórugata sits in the Þingholt streets above the centre of Reykjavik, a short uphill walk from Laugavegur, with the bar open late through the year. The evening is the natural window for a burger and a pint. Arriving before the dinner rush is the easiest way to get a table.
The bar sits up in the Þingholt streets above the shopping run, far enough from the harbour bars to keep the prices and the crowd local. That short climb is part of why the room stays a regulars' bar rather than a tourist stop. It rewards drinkers who seek it out over those who wander in.
What sets it apart is the burger, cited across city guides as one of the best value plates in Reykjavik, paired with beer kept well below the downtown rate. The pull is the food and the price rather than the room itself. It trades on a reputation built over years rather than any recent makeover.
On the order, the blue cheese burger with a local beer is the order the reviews name first, with the garlic sauce the detail regulars defend. The drink list is short and the focus stays on the plate. There is little room for a crowd, so smaller groups fit best.
The bottom line is an unpolished neighbourhood bar with a famous burger and some of the lowest prices in the centre, set apart by a local crowd and a kitchen worth the climb. For a cheap, low key Reykjavik stop it is a clear call. Compare it against the rest of our Reykjavik hidden gems guide, the wider list of bars in Reykjavik, and our roundup of Reykjavik pubs. Drinkers after more of the same should weigh Micro Bar and Kaffibarinn.
Sources: Like a Local Guide; My Guide Reykjavik; Tripadvisor; Reykjavik Today; Google Maps reviews.
