Have you been to Restaurant Noma ? This is a question I get very often on especially our City Running Tour and Christiania Running Tour as we pass Restaurant Noma. The answer is ”Yes” and it was amazing. Restaurant Noma has for several years been voted the world’s best restaurant and it is dedicated to Nordic Cuisine and I think we can safely say that this restaurant put Nordic Cuisine on the lips of foodies all over the world. It is the very best of all our gourmet restaurants in Copenhagen.
But Restaurant Noma is not the only outstanding gourmet restaurant in Copenhagen in our small capital. The city is boasting with fantastic restaurants, ranging from the Michelin starred eateries to the local and very authentic places. Below I will list a few, but there are heaps more and we will continue to write about Copenhagen restaurants, so keep an eye on our blog. In this post I will write brief descriptions of a few of my favourite gourmet restaurants in Copenhagen and they include: Restaurant Noma, Restaurant Taller, Restaurant AOC, Restaurant Bror, Restaurant Uformel, Restaurant Relæ og Manfreds Mad & Vin.
I earlier did a “Foodie Copenhagen – A local’s guide to eating and drinking in Copenhagen” blog post, and any of the below restaurants can be included in the 24 hour guide.
Top Tier Gourmet Restaurants in Copenhagen
Restaurant Noma
Ta da! The world’s best restaurant for 4 years, and is now number five on this very prestigious list. Restaurant Noma is dedicated to Nordic Cuisine and they currently serve a 20 course tasting menu for both lunch and dinner. The head chef is Rene Redzepi and he is becoming somewhat of a celebrity not only in Denmark but also outside the borders of the Danish Kingdom.
Many of our running tour guests eat at Restaurant Noma during their stay here in Copenhagen, and I am yet to hear anyone be disappointed. It naturally comes with a heavy price tag, but hey – it’s the world’s best, so treat yourself and let yourself be gastronomically stunned.
In order to get a table at Noma, I always tell our running tour guests that there are two options. You either have to be ready every first Monday of the month at 10 am (CEST) and then book a table when bookings open up or you will have to stand outside Restaurant Noma and kidnap a couple of guests and then walk into the restaurant using their names. Which one has the better chances I will leave for you guys to figure out 🙂
Restaurant AOC
Restaurant AOC holds a very special place in my heart. This is where my wife and I went to eat on the day we got married. AOC has two Michelin stars and is in my opinion the restaurant in Copenhagen with the greatest ambience and setting. You sit in a vaulted cellar in a historic building in the centre of Copenhagen and you can sit and speak privately and without any problems of hearing each other. I am only 37 years of age, but I am a total granny on the issue of being able to hear the person you are dining with.
AOC serves French/Nordic cuisine and the head chef is Søren Selin, who is becoming somewhat of a legend in Copenhagen and is the chef that secured the second Michelin star. Well done.
AOC is a good option if Noma is sold out or if you have OD’ed on the New Nordic sour dough bread and grilled leaks 🙂
Restaurant Geranium
Sophistication and fine art are the words that comes to mind when thinking of Restaurant Geranium. While Noma is the blond, strong man, Geranium is the petite and elegant ballerina. Every single dish that arrives at your table oozes of elegancy and petite-ness. Perhaps my English is not good enough to describe this impression, but trust me when I say that the cuisine is beautiful, tasty and completely out of this world. This is true fine dining.
Geranium is currently number 28 on the list of best restaurants in the world and is the only gourmet restaurant in Copenhagen to sport three Michelin stars, which comes as no surprise as the head chef of Geranium is Rasmus Kofoed. Rasmus Kofoed won the Bocuse d’Or in 2011 and is very simply put a world class chef.
Geranium is located in the actual National Football Stadium, which may not sound too exclusive, but it is on the very top floor and diners have the most amazing view of the big park called Fælledparken.
Geranium is located a few kilometres outside the city centre and there are pretty good public transport options but there is a little bit of a walk from the bus stop so tell you what – Geranium is a stiletto and full make up place, so spoil yourself or your wife with a taxi to the restaurant.
Restaurant Relae (Relæ)
Love it, love it, love it. Number 40 on the list of best restaurants in the world and the world’s number one most sustainable restaurant. Apart from serving tremendous food, what I particular like about Restaurant Relae is the relaxed atmosphere. You can truly relax in this place while having amazing food.
The menu is all organic and many of the dishes that is served is vegetarian. But to those meat lovers that are now wrinkling your nose, then don’t worry. The menu is not 100% vegetarian, so you get non-veggie dishes, but I simply want to reassure you that the veggie dishes are to die for.
The restaurant is located at Jægersborggade which is one of the hippest streets in Copenhagen, so treat yourself to a stroll up and down the street either before or after. There are many nice bars and shops on this street so regardless of whether you eat at Relae for lunch or dinner there is something to do.
From a price perspective this restaurant should probably be in our 2nd tier category, but needless to say their food is top class so top tier it is.
2nd Tier Gourmet Restaurants in Copenhagen
Ok 2nd tier gourmet restaurants in Copenhagen, does not sound too impressive, but if I tell that 2nd tier are world class chefs that have decided to make affordable food, then perhaps you will read on. We are as mentioned incredibly blessed to have Restaurant Noma and Rene Redzepi in Copenhagen. Noma has been here for many years, which has had a ripple effect on the Copenhagen food scene. Many of the former Noma chefs have decided to start their own restaurants and luckily they have decided to do so in Copenhagen. While some restaurants like Studio and Taller has aimed for the fine dining cuisine, then some of the other Noma Alumni restaurants have opted for the market just below. At the same time, many of the michelin starred restaurants have decided to open a little brother or little sister (not sure how you define the gender), to appeal to a broader audience.
Now let’s get started!
Restaurant Barr
Restaurant Barr is a Noma owned restaurant that is actually located in the original Noma rooms just by Inderhavnsbroen. I have already written a full review of Restaurant Barr here, but for a short summary read on. The food is not New Nordic (they make a big deal about emphasising this, so here I am echoing it) but instead a representation of the food traditions of the countries surrounding the North Sea. The menu changes, so let yourself be inspired, but if you happen to eat there when the Frikadeller is on the menu and the potatoes with goat butter, then treat yourself to this. Truly magnificent dishes, and even for a small 50 kg women, it seems like I could eat these dishes at no end.
Restaurant Barr is very much focused on beer, and if my guests on a running tour fancy a beer half way through the run (much recommended and the guides are easily convinced :-)) then Restaurant Barr is one of my recommendations. Their list of beers is exceptionally long and there is a mix of home brewed as well as imported. The place also houses “just” a beer bar and without a doubt this is one of the best beer bars in Copenhagen with great variation and “nerdiness” to it.
Restaurant Uformel
Restaurant Uformel never lets me down. It is the little sister of the Michelin starred restaurant Formel B, so as you can imagine the standard of both food and wine is high. It’s a relatively large restaurant and larger than my normal preference but the acoustics is good (it’s the granny thing again) and the dark colours make the dining experience intimate. Their wines are mostly natural wines which is a big plus in my book. They do a four course menu, which I would recommend. The food is tasty, beautiful and based on produce from local farms.
Their tatar is exceptionally good and they usually have it on their set menu. If it is not, then now is your chance to test your negotiation skills and see if you can have it included in the menu.
Spisehuset
Spisehuset is one of my current favourites. Its small, its cosy beyond belief and it is all organic, biodynamic or foraged directly in the nature. When it comes to feel good, good conscience and sustainability Spisehuset blows the scale. Then add the fact that the two guys behind the restaurant are super nice, and surely you are convinced right? :-).
They offer a set 4 course menu, that changes with their deliveries, the season and what Mother Nature spoil them with. There is no a la carte, no nonsense and just straight up good food. Of course they serve Natural Wine, and as always we recommend to opt for the wine menu. Even if you have a running tour with us the next day.
Spisehuset is located in the Meat Packing district but away from the main area, so as you venture through a bit of a dark alley way and maybe pass a homeless person, then rest assured that you are on the right track :-). And for certain you will be rewarded for finding this gem of a Copenhagen restaurant.
Manfreds Mad & Vin
This is one of my favourite restaurants in Copenhagen. I love the food, I love the place, I love the wine and most of all, it seems like the restaurant as a whole want to say something with its food: Local, simple and kick arse food! End of!
I would say that for Copenhagen standards then Manfreds is cheap. Cheap sounds bad, but cheap in this context is pretty goddamn amazing. They serve 7 small nordic tapas dishes for DKK 275 and the same for a wine menu of 3 glasses. All very very good. And even though you are going for the 7 dishes, then please do not let yourself miss out on the Manfred Tatar. It is famous in all of Copenhagen and you should somehow make room for it.
I go here regularly with my wife for lunch and dinner and I never get disappointed. I bring running guests to this restaurant, I recommend it to my running tour guests and I basically like this place so much that it should be on my christmas card list.
PS: my wife loves this place in particular because two days after she gave birth to our son, we went there for lunch and we met an acquaintance who asked: Is it you Lena who gave birth or was it your wife? Wifey still relishes this moment :-).
OK – time to get this blog post up. Next month I’ll write about a handful more of Copenhagen’s amazing gourmet restaurants.
