101 Star Bars (#8): Kaffibarinn, Reykjavik

Despite being tiny, chilly and redolent of eggs (it’s the sulphur deposits in the water,) Reykjavik has, in this century, got itself quite a reputation for wild, stay-up-all-night behaviour thanks to its young, arty population, Bjork’s spiritual children.

In the trendiest district, 101 Reykjavik – the place to be seen in the Arctic Circle – everyone finds their way sooner or later to the Kaffibarinn. Years ago, Damon Albarn, the Essex wunderkind singer with Blur, Gorillaz and most recently The Good the Bad and the Queen, bought a share in this place, just before Terence Conran opened a restaurant called The Rex here, putting the Icelandic capital firmly on the Eurocool radar.

Heaven knows if he still has equity in the place, or ever drops in, but the Kaffibarinn is thriving without him. It’s small, dark, candle-lit and very inclusively friendly, and it’s generally packed out after 11.30pm. Huge beardy Vikings suddenly loom behind you like longships emerging from the fog.

Skinny, doll-like Reykkie babes dart here and there trying to locate their friends – there are at least six bars on the ground floor, and a serious snogging room upstairs. The drinks are so ruinously expensive (half a litre of Skol is £5, a gin and tonic £10) that no one expects you to buy a round. Get yourself a slug of the local “burnt wine”, brennevin, and nurse it for an hour while the late-nite action starts to explode around you.

Bergstadastraeti 1, Reykjavik, Iceland (00 354 551 1588)