Cocktail barBar and club$$$101Mon-Thu 15:00-01:00; Fri-Sat 12:00-04:30; Sun 12:00-01:00
Kaffibarinn on Bergstadastraeti has anchored Reykjavik nightlife since 1993, a cafe by day that turns into the city's most packed DJ bar by midnight.
Signature drink: Beer and DJ nights
Food: Snacks
Tip: Part-owned over the years by Damon Albarn. Queues form after 23:00 at weekends, so arrive early.
Cocktail barCocktail bar$$$101Sun-Thu 12:00-23:00; Fri-Sat 12:00-00:00
Slippbarinn on Myrargata was Reykjavik's first cocktail bar, a harbourside room at the Marina hotel mixing inventive drinks with a long daily happy hour.
Signature drink: Cocktail of the Month
Food: Bar food and burgers
Tip: The rotating Cocktail of the Month is the order. Happy hour runs 15:00-18:00 every day by the harbour.
Cocktail barWine and cocktail bar$$$101Sun-Thu 16:00-01:00; Fri-Sat 16:00-03:00
Rontgen on Hverfisgata is a two-floor wine, beer and cocktail bar above Dill, a Reykjavik room of candles, art and compiled low-intervention wines that won.
Signature drink: Curated low-intervention wines and draft beer
Food: Bar menu from Hosilo
Tip: Bar menu from Hosilo runs Tuesday to Saturday until 21:00. Happy hour weekdays 16:00-20:00.
Cocktail barCocktail bar and club$$$101Sun-Thu 17:00-01:00; Fri-Sat 17:00-03:00
Pablo Discobar on Veltusund pours tropical, mezcal-forward cocktails over two loud floors, a 70s-and-80s disco Reykjavik party bar with a huge mirrored.
Signature drink: Tropical disco cocktails
Food: None
Tip: Open from 17:00 daily, until 03:00 Friday and Saturday. Happy hour 16:00-18:00; karaoke later.
Cocktail barCraft beer bar$$$101Mon-Wed 12:00-23:00; Thu 12:00-00:00; Fri-Sat 12:00-01:00; Sun 12:00-23:00
Skuli Craft Bar on Adalstraeti pours fourteen mostly Icelandic taps plus bottles, a focused Reykjavik beer bar named for an 18th-century town father.
Signature drink: Icelandic craft taps
Food: Snacks
Tip: Most taps are local, so it is a fast way to taste the Icelandic scene. Happy hour early in the evening.
Cocktail barCraft beer bar$$$101Sun-Thu 15:00-00:00; Fri-Sat 15:00-01:00
Microbar on Laugavegur pours ten rotating taps and dozens of bottles, a Reykjavik craft-beer bar run by the founder of Gaedingur, Iceland's first craft.
Signature drink: Icelandic and import taps
Food: None
Tip: Happy hour daily 15:00-18:00. Five-beer and ten-beer flights are the way to taste the Icelandic scene.