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Copenhagen, Denmark


DanielK

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I travel once a month to Copenhagen, Denmark for work. There are two 1-star Michelin restaurants there (names escape me) which are ridiculously expensive. Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in Europe, so a 1-star here is the price of a 2- or 3- star elsewhere in Europe. Can't slip that one through on the expense report.

Anyhow, I've found a decent Argentinan steakhouse there (Fuego), but only mediocre Italian, Spanish, Thai, and pretty awful Chinese.

Any chance someone has been there that can steer me otherwise? (eGullet was no help, FWIW.)

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I travel once a month to Copenhagen, Denmark for work. There are two 1-star Michelin restaurants there (names escape me) which are ridiculously expensive. Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in Europe, so a 1-star here is the price of a 2- or 3- star elsewhere in Europe. Can't slip that one through on the expense report.

Anyhow, I've found a decent Argentinan steakhouse there (Fuego), but only mediocre Italian, Spanish, Thai, and pretty awful Chinese.

Any chance someone has been there that can steer me otherwise? (eGullet was no help, FWIW.)

David Rosengarten speaks highly of Noma whose chef won the 2005 Icelandic Food and Fun Competition (Rosengarten was a judge), but this establishment probably fits into the one star category and hence will be expensive. Coincidentally, I have two colleagues traveling to Copenhagen today, and if they have anything to recommend when they return, I'll post again. Edited by FunnyJohn
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Does anyone know if the Vin et Ole Got is still there?

I didn't see a listing for it, but I just got back, so I wasn't looking for it either!

I did find two places this trip, once of which I would definitely return to. Zeleste is in the downtown area, a block from the Nyhavn restaurant area. Very very good food, decent service, and reasonably priced (for Copenhagen). Three of us ate a 3-course meal and a bottle of wine for about US$225, which is moderately priced for Copenhagen.

The night before I ate at SALT in the Admiral Hotel. The food was far more inventive, and the service was miles better, but I think I actually liked the food at Zeleste better. I certainly liked the prices better - the bill was about the same for only 2 courses and less booze.

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I didn't see a listing for it, but I just got back, so I wasn't looking for it either!

I probably spelled it wrong, after all it's been over 30 years since I was there. It meant Wine and Good Beer and was a really funky beer hall along one of the walking streets off the main walking street. I was a college student in those days and it was what I could afford (other than the stands selling the sausages) Lots of long tables, an ompa band, and lots of beer with great sausages. Not a fancy place, but a fondly remembered one from my college years.

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Daneil K, I have some friends living in Denmark. One is the manager at the Hard Rock (don't ask). When I was there last, he managed to find a pretty decent ittalian place, I can try and get in touch. Or if you swing by the Hard Rock and see a tall guy with long dark hair in his late 30s/early 40s who speaks english with a Canadian accent, tell him you know Erik from team Finland, and say that I told you he would be able to give suggestions. oh, his name is Dan by the way. Hope that helps

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I travel once a month to Copenhagen, Denmark for work. There are two 1-star Michelin restaurants there (names escape me) which are ridiculously expensive. Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in Europe, so a 1-star here is the price of a 2- or 3- star elsewhere in Europe. Can't slip that one through on the expense report.

Anyhow, I've found a decent Argentinan steakhouse there (Fuego), but only mediocre Italian, Spanish, Thai, and pretty awful Chinese.

Any chance someone has been there that can steer me otherwise? (eGullet was no help, FWIW.)

The Michelin star restaurants are

Ensemble, Kommandanten, Kong Hans Kælder, Kokkerie, Era Ora, Godt, Noma, The Paul, Formel B, Restaurant Rasmus Oubæk. Kong Hans has the best setting in the basement of a 15th century vineyard building.

Nice but still expensive alternatives are:

Restaurationen

Pierre Andre

TyvenKokkenHansKoneOgHendesElsker (The cook, the wife, the butcher, thief...)

Saisons in Hellerup

Egoisten

Le Sommelier

Gastronomique

Cheaper, lighter:

Restaurant Els

Peder Oxe's Restaurant/Vinkælder Wine Bar

Nyhavns Færgekro

I once heard of a woman named Mette who allegedly held 12-14 person dinners in her apartment 3 nights a week. Home made saussages. There are some really cheap and good vegetarian food in Christiania.

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Anything more recent on food in Copenhagen? We have a res at Noma, but that's the only definite plan. We also have an apartment with a kitchen, so any recs for markets, shops, etc. would be great. Thanks!

No, but you're killing me with memories. I spent the night of my 39th birthday at Tivoli Gardens.

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Coffee:

Coffee Collective was the best espresso I had in town.  Nothing else really stood out.

Food:

Manfeds & Vin: Great little wine bar and restaurant.  We had a fantastic lunch.  Close to Coffee Collective and the Mikkeller bar.

Kí¸dbyens Fiskebar: We didn't try any entrees but the apps were fantastic.  Razor clams, oysters, shrimp, all lovely.

Noma: At this point, it needs no introduction.  Ridiculously difficult to get a reservation (we scheduled our entire trip only after I managed to get a 2-top for lunch).  Unfortunately, it ended up being a little disappointing.  Maybe our expectation were too high, or maybe the style of food just wasn't our style (the meal was very veg-heavy).  Several dishes were mind-blowing but there were too many misses for something that is supposedly the #1 restaurant in the world.  We got to chat with René after the meal, though, and that was a treat.  I'd still recommend going, just temper your expecations (and go eat in Sweden afterwards).

Beer:

Mikkeller: Seriously Great.

Fermentoren: Another good option for beer: 15-ish taps.  Near Fiskebar.

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Did a quick trip to Copenhagen.

Drinking:

- Mikkeller - I think they had 50 or so beers on tap.  Some quite excellent, others quite nasty.  We had them pour us flights of various styles of beer.  Would go back to explore more.  Don't let them give you a flight themed on fruit - some truly gross beers made of various Danish berries.

- Ved Stranden 10 - Excellent excellent wine bar.  We had a nice large plate of cheese and meats and killed two bottles with our friends.  One was a very spicy wonderful Syrah from Slovakia and the other was a very rare red blend from Austria.  Excellent wine bar.  Frequented by every chef in town. Quite reasonable.

Dining:

- Design Museum Cafe - Very simple lunch of open faced Danish sandwiches - one with salmon, one with fish cakes.  Quite good.

- Relae - Former Noma head chef.  Excellent and quite reasonable (I think the food itself was $75 or so per person for a 7 course dinner).  Some hits, some misses but overall quite good.  Of note a smoked trout topped with crispy chicken skin crumbs and a very nice cream foam.   Truly exceptional dish.  I would eat 10 of them.

- Noma - No misses.  Tons of crazy good oddball wines.  Lots of oddball food.  Ate ants.  Ate foraged moss.  Ate year old potatoes.  Wonderful service.  Gorgeous facility.  Lots of truly exceptional dishes (smoked quail egg and an amazing dessert of effectively mashed potatoes and mashed plums were standouts).   In the scheme of restaurants at this level - quite reasonable.  The staff was particularly great.  We spent over an hour with Dan Giusti reminiscing about DC and having a tour of the facility.  All staff was exceptionally friendly.  Sadly Rene was in NY accepting an award from the WSJ, so we will have to chat with him in Japan.

Overall, really enjoyed Copenhagen.  Great food, and they get the bike lanes correct unless the mess that is DC.

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- Noma - No misses.  Tons of crazy good oddball wines.  Lots of oddball food.  Ate ants.  Ate foraged moss.  Ate year old potatoes.  Wonderful service.  Gorgeous facility.  Lots of truly exceptional dishes (smoked quail egg and an amazing dessert of effectively mashed potatoes and mashed plums were standouts).   In the scheme of restaurants at this level - quite reasonable.  The staff was particularly great.  We spent over an hour with Dan Giusti reminiscing about DC and having a tour of the facility.  All staff was exceptionally friendly.  Sadly Rene was in NY accepting an award from the WSJ, so we will have to chat with him in Japan.

Ants?!

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Ants?!

Yes.  Two dishes featured ants.  One was a Beef tartare with ants and the other was a smoked baby cucumber that was coated in ants and then you dipped it into scallop "butter".  Both were quite delicious.  The ants gave some good crunch and a hit of acidity.

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Yes.  Two dishes featured ants.  One was a Beef tartare with ants and the other was a smoked baby cucumber that was coated in ants and then you dipped it into scallop "butter".  Both were quite delicious.  The ants gave some good crunch and a hit of acidity.

Making these dishes must be aardvark.

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Making these dishes must be aardvark.

Yes. Ants. And they really do look like ants. They are crunchy. Noma far exceeded expectations. The wine was great -including some really funky Tschida, Partida Creus and a lovely La Closerie we also ordered a juice pairing for the table to share, really all I can say about it was that it was interesting. When they heard we were from DC, they arranged to have Daniel Giusti take us on a kitchen and he was incredibly gracious in addition to interesting. We plied him for insight into what our meal in Japan will be like, but seems they are very much still in the planning phase.

Relae was an incredible meal as well, with some pretty epic courses that we paired with champagne - La Closerie Les Beguines, Franciose Bedel and something called Sol (can't remember the other details). Other fun moment of the night was that there were three huge white truffles sitting on the bar next to the open kitchen. When I inquired if we were getting some of that goodness, I was informed that they came over a special addition to the menu that needed to be special ordered. Our feelings were a little hurt that they didn't offer us the addition, and we ordered one for the table to share. Glad we did - it came generously shaved over a risotto of sunflower seeds.

Photos from Noma here   Relae here 

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I'm very jealous of the Noma reports!  We were here in October but with toddler in tow, extended tasting menus were not in the cards.

Two notable meals to report, however -- first, the open sandwiches at Aamann were filling, made from fresh, high-quality ingredients, and reasonably priced by Copenhagen standards (and given the favorable exchange rate of late).  I believe they also have an outpost in Lower Manhattan.  Second, Danes are serious about their hot dogs!  We enjoyed the ones at the Andersen Bakery right next to Tivoli Gardens, on house-made bread with remoulade and all kinds of toppings.

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Interesting to read "favorable exchange rates of late."  It's 1.22 today and has been as high as 1.59.  In 1998 or so it was .87.  Yes, that's a bit more than half of the high.  The Swiss franc is basically on par with the dollar today, one to one.  In 1984 it was 2.83 to the dollar-almost three to one.  (I've represented European companies for more than 30 years and the exchange rate, over time, has really made a difference.)

I still think of 1.22 as high especially since the release was 1.16.

In 1985 the pound was 1.03 to the dollar.  I still occasionally wear a Burberry's trench coat that I bought in London then.  Other than price I don't think they've changed in thirty years.

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I'm considering a trip to Copenhagen next summer. What's the best part of town to stay in? How many days should I allow to really get a sense of the place? What are some good food options (OTHER THAN Noma). I'm a bit of a design geek and am attracted to Danish/northern European design*, so any interesting places to go to see such? Any recommendations greatly appreciated. Thanks.

*please hold the IKEA jokes, I've heard them already

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58 minutes ago, porcupine said:

I'm considering a trip to Copenhagen next summer. What's the best part of town to stay in? How many days should I allow to really get a sense of the place? What are some good food options (OTHER THAN Noma). I'm a bit of a design geek and am attracted to Danish/northern European design*, so any interesting places to go to see such? Any recommendations greatly appreciated. Thanks.

*please hold the IKEA jokes, I've heard them already

I'm going from long-term memory here, but Tivoli Gardens - here's a map - is a must-visit, and a polar-opposite experience from Six Flags.

Nyhavn (pronounced something like "Nee-haun") is a lovely area - note the proximity to Tivoli Gardens. I think if you stay here, you'll be really happy - sometimes, places are touristy for a reason.

Have a look at the Copenhagen Admiral Hotel, and know that 71 Nyhavn (note the bike rack right outside the hotel) - charming as it appears - is apparently under heavy construction.

Also, be within striking distance (pun intended) of Freetown Christiana - but not *too* close. You won't need to buy anything, because by the time you walk from one end of Pusher Street to the other, you'll be stoned out of your gourd. :mellow: Reading that Wikipedia entry, it sounds almost dangerous, but my experience there (in 2000) was what most people think of when they think of Woodstock / Haight-Ashbury / Summer of Love / etc. - a bunch of friendly, peace-loving hippies too stoned to scoff at tourists - I really enjoyed it, and have seen nothing else like it in my life.

You could draw almost a perfect triangle on that second map, and connect Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn, and Freetown Christiana.

We stayed two nights with friends who lived in Copenhagen, and these are the places I remember visiting. I also remember Copenhagen was the first place I'd ever seen that had a bike program (similar to Capital Bikeshare, but much cheaper - the city bikes are ratty, but they're almost free (you can pretty much just grab them and go) - it's an incredibly bike-friendly city). Unless you're going to travel, you don't need (or want) a car in Copenhagen.

Remember that, no matter where you stay, in Copenhagen, you're always a short bike ride away from where you want to be.

Current exchange rate: 1 Danish Krone - 15 U.S. Cents / 1 U.S. Dollar = 6.666 Danish Krones.

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On 8/13/2016 at 3:47 PM, porcupine said:

I'm considering a trip to Copenhagen next summer. What's the best part of town to stay in? How many days should I allow to really get a sense of the place? What are some good food options (OTHER THAN Noma). I'm a bit of a design geek and am attracted to Danish/northern European design*, so any interesting places to go to see such? Any recommendations greatly appreciated. Thanks.

*please hold the IKEA jokes, I've heard them already

I'm going in two weeks, so I'll report back.  I also have a friend who lives in Copenhagen who sent me a detailed list of recommendations; when I can access my personal email, I'll relay them here.

I've got lunch reservations at Geranium (3 Michelin stars, for whatever that's worth) and Studio, and dinners planned at Amass (very excited about this), Radio, and Geist.

Other places on my radar include Kodbyens Fiskebar (open Sundays!), Aamanns, Almanak, and Oliver and the Black Circus for food, and Baest, Ved Stranden, Ruby, and Atze Peng for drinks, as well as the things that my friend recommends.

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54 minutes ago, Gadarene said:

Other places on my radar include Kodbyens Fiskebar (open Sundays!), Aamanns, Almanak, and Oliver and the Black Circus for food, and Baest, Ved Stranden, Ruby, and Atze Peng for drinks, as well as the things that my friend recommends.

We had a toddler in tow, so fine-dining in Copenhagen wasn't in the cards, but we thoroughly enjoyed a broad selection of open-faced sandwiches from Aamaan.  The high quality of ingredients was readily evident.  Also in the great cheap eats category were the fancy hot dogs (apparently a classic fast food in the city) with remoulade at Andersen Bakery, across the street from the train station and only blocks away from Tivoli Gardens.

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3 hours ago, Gadarene said:

I've got lunch reservations at Geranium (3 Michelin stars, for whatever that's worth) and Studio, and dinners planned at Amass (very excited about this), Radio, and Geist.

I went to Geranium a couple of years ago and it was incredible--it's worth every Michelin star and Danish krone.  Easily the best fine dining I've ever had in a soccer stadium.  It was so good that the next day we got a call from Noma saying a spot opened on the wait list and we passed on it without (excessive) regret.

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2 hours ago, washingtony said:

I went to Geranium a couple of years ago and it was incredible--it's worth every Michelin star and Danish krone.  Easily the best fine dining I've ever had in a soccer stadium.  It was so good that the next day we got a call from Noma saying a spot opened on the wait list and we passed on it without (excessive) regret.

This makes me happy to hear!

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I am taking my son to Copenhagen for spring break in 2017 - I've never been (neither has he - he's 7).  We'll start in Amsterdam and will stay with friends there, then fly to Copenhagen on Norwegian Air (so cheap!) and stay for 4 nights.  I'm looking at two relatively cheap hotels right now - Cabinn and Hotel Kong Arthur, but would welcome any suggestions of well located, not too expensive places to stay.  Honestly, we won't be in the room much.

And food recs too - I love the ones above, and my son is a good eater (mostly) but Noma and Geranium are not on my radar.  

Thanks!

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1 hour ago, beachgirl54 said:

I am taking my son to Copenhagen for spring break in 2017 - I've never been (neither has he - he's 7).  We'll start in Amsterdam and will stay with friends there, then fly to Copenhagen on Norwegian Air (so cheap!) and stay for 4 nights.  I'm looking at two relatively cheap hotels right now - Cabinn and Hotel Kong Arthur, but would welcome any suggestions of well located, not too expensive places to stay.  Honestly, we won't be in the room much.

This is "well located" in an unconventional way -- I'd actually recommend the Hilton that's adjacent to CPH.  You walk a few minutes through covered walkways and are at the airport terminal or the Metro stop that's only a 15-minute ride to the central train station.  Room rates are hit or miss but seem to be fairly inexpensive during weekends.

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On 8/22/2016 at 11:24 AM, beachgirl54 said:

I am taking my son to Copenhagen for spring break in 2017 - I've never been (neither has he - he's 7).  We'll start in Amsterdam and will stay with friends there, then fly to Copenhagen on Norwegian Air (so cheap!) and stay for 4 nights.  I'm looking at two relatively cheap hotels right now - Cabinn and Hotel Kong Arthur, but would welcome any suggestions of well located, not too expensive places to stay.  Honestly, we won't be in the room much.

And food recs too - I love the ones above, and my son is a good eater (mostly) but Noma and Geranium are not on my radar.  

Thanks!

I like The Square hotel--it has a great central location.  And if you can't get into room 606 in the SAS hotel, you can at least enjoy the Jacobsen egg chairs in the lobby of the Square Hotel.  

As for more seven-year-old friendly food options...the Norrebro Bryghus restaurant could be fun because he can look at the brewing equipment and you can drink its products.

I've never been, but Warpigs looks amazing: it's Texas barbecue as done by a Danish brewer (Mikkeller) and an Indiana-based brewery (3 Floyds).

Trovehallerne is a great food market with all sorts of fun options.

There's a Wagamama near Tivoli Gardens.  Sure, it's not real ants or fake rocks or whatever else is new nordic, but it's a crowd pleaser we can't get in DC.

 

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We were in Copenhagen 2 years ago.  We stayed a full week and found it the right amount of time for touring the city, and for a day trip out to Kronberg Slot (the castle that Shakespeare based Elsinore Castle on).  We stayed in the Vesterbro neighbourhood - a former industrial, but now a hip part of town and close to the train station as well as walking distance to the Tivoli.   The neighbourhood had design shops, coffee shops galore, music shops, and the seemingly pre-requisite 2-3 bike shops.  We also looked at staying in the Norrebro area, a more settled, established neighbourhood.  I think you can't go wrong with either one.

As for the design shops, the two big ones I can think of are Illum Bolighus and the Hay.. both located on the Stroget (the pedestrian only street).  These places are the mecca for danish design.  But, because it's Copenhagen, Danish design is everywhere - you'll find it in random shops throughout the city.  Be ready for sticker shock though.  My husband and I joked that the items here at Design Within Reach (which we find expensive) to actually be "within reach", compared to what we found in Copenhagen.  That being said, there is an area where there are many antique shops (in Osterbro, perhaps?) where you might be able to find some mid-century modern/danish design deals.

And since this is a food forum after all, I also recommend the Torvehallerne food market.  We also really enjoyed the beers at the Fermentoren. 

 

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that hotel does look cool - and the location is fantastic.  looking at the map on the hotel's website, i was reminded of another restaurant that we liked...

Mother's - it's a coal or wood fired pizza/italian bistro.  The place is pretty big with lots of outdoor picnic tables to eat at when the weather is nice and the pizzas are good.

and fwiw.. there's a grocery store pretty much next door in case you want your own food/supplemental snacks - or get tired of the atrocious service we found to be pervasive throughout all dining establishments in Copenhagen.  (beyond taking your order and getting your food, and sometimes not even that - good luck getting anyone's attention... especially to get the bill.)  we thought maybe it was just us, but then we found many posts about the very bad service in restaurants in Copenhagen.  I wish I had more advice to give on this topic, but we never managed to solve the problem ourselves.

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Very brief Copenhagen report after day 1:

Geranium: excellent food, impeccable service, extremely expensive (even beyond the general Copenhagen sticker shock), I can see why it's a 3 star Michelin restaurant for many reasons

Radio: excellent food, much less expensive (~$60 for a five course fixed menu) -- you don't get the wild flights of imagination with the food, but the flavors are right on, and it has a cozy, neighborhood-y feel that belies the level of attention paid to the dishes

Salon 39: I highly recommend this cocktail bar.  Great ambience, delicious drinks, and improbably one of the best bloody marys I've had in a very long time; will be going back

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9 hours ago, Gadarene said:

Noma is a transcendent experience.  Wow.

(I'd been on the waitlist, and last week a seat opened up at the communal table for dinner tonight.  Never have I considered money for a fancy dinner to be better spent.)

Did you fly to Copenhagen on a week's notice for this? Details, please! We cannot have too much information about Noma - menus, pictures, descriptions, prices, etc. What do you think of Nyhavn?

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6 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Did you fly to Copenhagen on a week's notice for this? Details, please! We cannot have too much information about Noma - menus, pictures, descriptions, prices, etc. What do you think of Nyhavn?

I'll give a much fuller review when I get back, but I'd had a long Labor Day weekend planned in Copenhagen since June.  I made a bunch of reservations at various places -- am in an Uber heading to Amass right now -- but there was nothing available at Noma, so I put myself on the online waitlist.  Last week they emailed me to tell me that seats for a party of 2 (I'm here by myself) had opened up for lunch on Thursday, which was the morning I arrived.  I'd already booked Geranium for that spot with a sizable deposit, so it wasn't TOO painful to email them back and say that I now had plans on Thursday, but if they had any openings for Friday or Saturday for a party of 1, please keep me in mind.  They then emailed me back 20 minutes later telling me that they had one seat for Friday dinner, which I jumped on.

It was a truly superlative experience in all respects; it exceeded every expectation.  For my personal tastes, it blew 3-star Geranium out of the water.  And the 30-minute tour of every inch of the Noma premises after dinner only enhanced things (the staff have a foosball table and one of the most beautifully warm staff rooms that I can imagine).

I'm actually going to try to get one of the walk-in seats at their casual offshoot 108 tomorrow; apparently it shouldn't be that difficult if I show up when they open, and it's supposed to be pretty great in its own right.  If I do, I'll report back.

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Copenhagen must be one of the only cities in the world where chefs and servers, upon hearing you're visiting, routinely ask "oh, where have you been so far?" and then geek out about how much they love those restaurants too.  (Or -- worse! -- judge you, with a moment of polite silence, for not maximizing your available eating and drinking slots at the best possible places.)

Both Geranium and Noma also offer beautifully pre-printed pages with their recommendations for other restaurants and bars to enjoy in the city, which I'm not sure I've ever seen from restaurants of their caliber.

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On 9/3/2016 at 1:47 PM, Gadarene said:

For my personal tastes, it blew 3-star Geranium out of the water.

totally agree!  (as is being discussed in the dc michelin thread, michelin has a bias for formality that explains the star difference, i think.)  we've done two trips to copenhagen (over memorial day weekend this year and fourth of july weekend two years ago, both planned around securing a noma reservation), both trips preferring noma.  

your comment on radio seems spot on.  (we didn't make it back on this trip, unfortunately, but had a lovely lunch there two years ago.)  funnily enough, when we went to daniel berlin (a day-trip worthy drive into sweden) and did the (delightfully) obligatory "where else are you eating" conversation, it came up that radio is the chef's parents' favorite copenhagen place. 

how did you like amass?  (another standout in my opinion, although more laid back.)  where else did you eat?  i also love kadeau; it was our second favorite two years ago but edged out noma this trip. 

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7 minutes ago, jca76 said:

totally agree!  (as is being discussed in the dc michelin thread, michelin has a bias for formality that explains the star difference, i think.)  we've done two trips to copenhagen (over memorial day weekend this year and fourth of july weekend two years ago, both planned around securing a noma reservation), both trips preferring noma.  

your comment on radio seems spot on.  (we didn't make it back on this trip, unfortunately, but had a lovely lunch there two years ago.)  funnily enough, when we went to daniel berlin (a day-trip worthy drive into sweden) and did the (delightfully) obligatory "where else are you eating" conversation, it came up that radio is the chef's parents' favorite copenhagen place. 

how did you like amass?  (another standout in my opinion, although more laid back.)  where else did you eat?  i also love kadeau; it was our second favorite two years ago but edged out noma this trip. 

I was looking forward to Amass so much, and I was so disappointed.  I'm not sure whether I caught them on a bad service night or not, but it was not a good experience overall, especially when compared to noma and Radio (and Studio and Geranium). 

I was seated by myself at a two-top right next to the kitchen, underneath the stairs from the entryway (this makes my table sound dark and cramped, but it wasn't; the space is a huge warehouse, and it's quite pretty and airy), and for whatever reason I didn't seem to have a dedicated server assigned to me to do things like take drink orders or pick up plates from previous courses or replenish my silverware (which came from a box on the table and there didn't seem to be enough to last the whole meal, but nobody ever told me which ones to use with which dish, so I had to work it out -- which is fine, I'm an adult who is capable of such things, but i certainly seemed to be down a fork and a knife by the end of the evening, so apparently I guessed wrong).  The most frustrating thing about the evening was absolutely the pacing; despite being literally as close to the kitchen as anyone can be, I felt forgotten-about for large stretches of the night.  I sat down at 8 pm and had made plans to meet a friend sometime around 11 for a drink; perhaps ambitiously, I figured I had enough time, comfortably, to order their extended menu -- six set courses plus three courses devised that day -- since service at all the other Copenhagen restaurants had been quite brisk when dining by myself.  Instead, I ended up having to ask for the check as soon as they brought the last course around 11:30 and run for the door (where I then waited half an hour for an Uber that would pick me up, but that's another story).  But yeah, the pacing: there was a party of eight next to me who were eating when I sat down and who were still there when I left (the two dinner options are the set menu and the extended menu).  There was another two-top in front of me that was occupied when I got there; at around my fourth course, the diners at that table finished their meal and were replaced by another couple, who also ordered the extended menu.  They got their ninth course at the same time I got my ninth course (a different person, mostly kitchen staff, brings out each of the courses, so they certainly could/should have noticed that my pace was lagging behind).  Sometimes I would wait for over half an hour for a course, sometimes shorter, sometimes it felt like longer...and all the staff were moving pretty quickly from one place to the next, so it was hard to catch an eye.  Just frustrating and tedious, particularly when I had nobody to talk to -- I also couldn't really spend my time watching the kitchen, since I was facing parallel to them and had some janky muscles on my side that threatened to cramp up if I turned in their direction, though that obviously isn't their fault at all, just my misfortune.

Anyway, the food: all of the set courses sounded AMAZING and were varying degrees of fine.  Certainly not memorable.  I think there was one that verged on unpleasant, whether in taste or texture, but I don't have the menu or my photos at hand; it may have been an egg dish where you had to mix the whole thing up and the flavors just didn't cohere for me and it felt gummy besides.  Maybe when I get home I'll post my photos and try to figure it out.  The three "extended" dishes were all actually phenomenal, head and shoulders above the others (to me) in terms of complexity of flavor profile, execution, and overall deliciousness.  I would happily go back if more of the dishes were like that...but not if they were portioned out over the space of 3+ hours with long periods of tedium in-between.

I feel like I must, MUST have caught them on an off night for whatever reason, since I'd independently heard several people, including my server at noma, gush about it being one of their favorite restaurants in the city.  It was a Saturday night and, while lively, didn't seem so busy that the kitchen was unable to keep up or anything.  I dunno.  I guess I got unlucky; hopefully my experience isn't representative.

(On a more positive note, I really do have to give a more detailed review here of my noma dinner.  This is me trying to make a commitment to myself not to be lazy about it.)

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19 minutes ago, Gadarene said:

I was looking forward to Amass so much, and I was so disappointed.

ugh, i'm so sorry to hear that.  it always pains me when a restaurant where i've had great experiences -- we loved it both trips -- doesn't deliver for others.  the service issues in particular seem ridiculous and so easily avoided.  

but you're reminding me that i still have a bunch of meals (including noma) to write up, and my trip was much longer ago than yours. :) 

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On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 2:57 PM, Gadarene said:

Copenhagen must be one of the only cities in the world where chefs and servers, upon hearing you're visiting, routinely ask "oh, where have you been so far?" and then geek out about how much they love those restaurants too.  (Or -- worse! -- judge you, with a moment of polite silence, for not maximizing your available eating and drinking slots at the best possible places.)

This is a spectacular part of the Copenhagen food scene.  Many of the chefs are friendly and cooperative.  The old Kadeau had a communal table up front, and local chefs would stop by and try new items. 

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On 8/19/2016 at 0:16 PM, Gadarene said:

I'm going in two weeks, so I'll report back.  I also have a friend who lives in Copenhagen who sent me a detailed list of recommendations; when I can access my personal email, I'll relay them here.

I've got lunch reservations at Geranium (3 Michelin stars, for whatever that's worth) and Studio, and dinners planned at Amass (very excited about this), Radio, and Geist.

Other places on my radar include Kodbyens Fiskebar (open Sundays!), Aamanns, Almanak, and Oliver and the Black Circus for food, and Baest, Ved Stranden, Ruby, and Atze Peng for drinks, as well as the things that my friend recommends.

How was Studio?

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10 hours ago, lotus125 said:

How was Studio?

I enjoyed it!  Food was uniformly good; got to chat with one of the sous chefs a decent amount since I was seated at the counter.  Nice atmosphere and service.  I was pretty full from having gone to Geranium and Radio the day before, which probably made it a little harder for any single dish to be memorable (and meant I didn't drink anything!), but there was something they did with shellfish stock that was especially awesome.  Lunch is the time to go here, because (as far as I remember) you get the same menu as dinner, but it's significantly cheaper.  Plus the view is great over the river.

I didn't end up going to Geist (as per the post you quoted) because I heard a number of mixed things about it from bar and restaurant folk over the previous few days.  Instead I was super, super-excited to try and snag a walk-in spot at 108, noma's more casual offshoot that's supposed to be really delicious in its own right.  Plus they're open Sundays!  I think their opening time is 5, so I was going to get there around 4:40 and didn't expect to have much of a problem; apparently around half of the space is reserved for walk-ins, and this isn't like D.C. where you need to stake out a spot in the Bad Saint or Rose's line a couple of hours beforehand.  :)  My plan worked perfectly: I showed up at 4:40, and there was no one there at all!  Except, literally, there was no one there at all: a sign on the door informed me that they had had an electrical outage and would be closed that night.  :(  I know I had already eaten at noma a couple days before and thus couldn't really complain, but still...I was pretty disappointed.

More so when I then went to two Relæ-affiliated properties for dinner instead, up in Nørrebro.   The first one, Bæst, was pretty good -- tasty pizza, good conversation with the bar staff.  But they then recommended that I go to Manfreds wine bar for a further snack, and I didn't really like that place at all.  Service by the oh-so-French bartender was distant, spotty, and off-putting, and he seemed more intent on upselling certain dishes than he did on providing a good experience (despite what the guy at Bæst said, I found the steak tartare at Manfreds bland and overpriced).  The other thing -- and maybe this is just me -- is that they had a spit bucket behind the bar, and it was apparently the directive for staff to (1) taste each wine before serving it and (2) spit most of the taste out.  Which is fine, I guess, except that those of us seated at the little bar had a continuous view of waiters and bar staff spitting wine out of their mouths, often from a reasonable height.  I found it weird and not conducive to a good appetite.  Only positive note is that I got into a conversation with the American sitting next to me, and he and I had a great time talking; we then continued the conversation down the street at Mikkeller & Friends brewpub, and the people at Mikkeller could not have been nicer.  That was a really fun place.  Manfreds, not as much.  

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