Mokka [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Mokka Kaffi 
Address: Skólavörðustígur 3A, Reykjavík
Website: http://mokka.is
Style: Icelandic
Price: $$  

As the local I was with put it, Mokka is one of the last remaining vestiges of old Reykjavik. Sandwiched between unbearably tacky puffin and polar bear shops, Mokka is like a forgotten tombstone along the streetscape: unchanged decor, no wifi, and an atmosphere characterized by silence. It's the thinker's cafe and in that it has impeccable charm, though at the same time there is something so sad about it being so lost amidst the English signage that it's easy to just walk past it.

Nevertheless, Mokka is a cafe and not a bakery. They have a limited menu of treats even then, and this includes two or three cake slices and waffles. I mean, every Icelandic cafe needs waffles and these guys do the Belgian kind: a large rectangle that's served lukewarm with whipped cream and strawberry jam on the side. The friend that brought me here told me these were her favourite Icelandic waffles and I will probably agree: deep-pocketed waffles that you can just slather and fill with whipped cream without it getting soggy. Personally, the strawberry jam was the one minus; I would have loved the homemade rhubarb jam Sunnlenska Bókakaffið makes on these babies, but I suppose it's hard to be perfect. I would recommend getting these waffles with the tea, taken my second time around, which comes on its own teak tray complete with gigantic tea pot and creamer. I can't remember the last time I was served a "decently sized" pot of tea.

 Waffles + tea = amazing cafe experience that will now be repeated every time I'm in Reykjavik. Thank you so much for bringing me here, Stine. Maybe one day we'll meet here again! :)

Rating: ***1/2