Wagamama

Miso soup, pickles, and a cheap, drinkable but forgettable Sicilian chardonnay.

Ebi tempura and seaweed salad.

Raw salad with fried shallots.

Fried squid. 

Coconut ice cream and white chocolate, ginger cheesecake.

Wagamama
Tietgensgade 20
1704 København V

Notes:
Wagamama in Copenhagen seems to be one of those places that lives its own secretive life due to a favorable location, in this case in Tivoli. The non-Tivoli entrance is however located on a lifeless street on the back side of the amusement park and not really a place that you would stumble upon. It was thus understandable that Wagamama decided to offer a 50% discount on food throughout January where Tivoli is closed and people are feeling post-Christmas broke. 

B and I went on a Sunday night and to our surprise we were certainly not alone. The service was however quick and friendly. We decided to go with lots of smaller dishes, izakaya style. Soon thereafter we were bombarded with a ton of dishes. To start off with we had miso soup, which was excellent, the accompanying pickles were however quite bland, some even tasteless. The usual three varieties of seaweed had been trade for the common style that is mandatory in any sushi shop. The ebi tempura was tasty and the shrimp certainly of fine quality - the chili sauce however felt a bit misplace. So did the addition of rosemary in the chicken karaage. The fried squid was slightly chewy and did not have much character. The raw salad tasted exactly what it looks like. What is not evident from the pictures is that we also had pork spareribs, which were good but had a bit too much hoisin sauce for my liking, and yakitori, which was also of decent quality. With all this we drank a bottle of Sicilian white wine, which at 159dkk was cheap but also forgettable. To round off we had dessert of coconut ice cream and a white chocolate and ginger cheesecake. The ice cream was incredibly delicious and I also enjoyed the cheesecake though the ginger flavour was hardly protruding. All in all, our bill came to a bit above 400dkk, which can hardly be categorized an expensive meal. We left Wagamama feeling that we had eaten an ok meal but also that the quality of the food is subject to a great deal of fluctuation and we would had been sorry to pay full price.

Meyers Deli

Small, tapas-like dishes.

Sandwich with roast pork, crispy cracklings, apple, red cabbage, and mustard mayo.

Braised beef chuck with beets, mash of potatoes with bacon, and a side of kale and apple salad.

Caesar salad with bacon, chicken, apples, Vesterhavsost and crisp rye bread.

Pumpkin soup with ginger and smoked paprika topped with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Meyers Deli
Godthåbsvej
2000 Frederiksberg

Notes:
Meyers Deli never lets you down. Let it be the incredible bread and viennoiseries in the morning, a hearty sandwich for lunch, or delicious, small, tapas-like dishes washed down with the Riesling house wine, I never left Meyers Deli disappointed in terms of the food - and as you can tell from the above photo serie I have frequented the place a handful of times. For lunch today I had a wonderful caesar salad with chicken, bacon, apples, and Vesterhavs-ost, which is by far the best take on the classic salad, that I have ever tasted. The place is usually packed meaning that the service is oftentimes lacking and there might be a great deal of waiting. The quality of the food is however way above the usual Copenhagen standards, and in my opinion, worth every penny. Recommended.

Palæo

Hotdog of egg wrap, cucumber, shallot confit and cep remoulade + sausages with more remoulade and parsley pesto + life elixir of beet, carrot, ginger and blueberries.

Palæo
Torvehallerne, Hal 1
Rømersgade 18
1362 Copenhagen K

Notes:
Today B and I finally got to try Palæo, which most of blogland seems to have visited by now. The concept was initiated in 2011 by Thomas Rode of Kong Hans Kælder who by now has obtained the status of King Paleo of Denmark. As the name implies the place serves paleo food but the concept seems to be popular among all sorts of people - understandable as the meals do not leave you with an impression that this is "diet food". As we were both slightly hungover we opted for a greasy solution. We had a hot dog, consisting of a sausage with mushrooms, wrapped in a vegetable omelet, which was surprisingly well-seasoned and not eggy at all. It was further dressed with a healthy portion of cep remoulade that I did not care too much for tastewise but it was a nice and creamy addition. As a "side dish" we shared two more of the previously mentioned sausage, which were full of meat and very delicious. They were accompanied by more remoulade and a mild-tasting parsley pesto. All these sources of saturated fat we washed down with a juice of beets, carrots, ginger and blueberries that turned out to be a refreshing juice and not too sweet.  In total the food was filling, tasty and even competitively priced. We payed around 150DKK in total and left very satisfied. Recommended.

The Grill, Scandic Front

Cured salmon with creamy, smoked cheese, pickled cucumber, and crisp rye bread crumbs.

Grilled steak with herbed butter, baked grape tomatoes and buttered potatoes with arugula.

The Grill
Hotel Scandic Front
21 Sankt Annæ Plads
1250 Copenhagen K

Notes:
Last Sunday I had the pleasure of seeing the beautiful Semiramide in the Copenhagen opera with my family. Afterwards in our search for a place for dinner we settled on The Grill in the nearby Scandic Front hotel as it turned out that most of the restaurants in inner city were either closed or fully booked - spontaneous Sundays in Copenhagen are never easy. The atmosphere in the restaurant is very strange - pop music is played and the decor is a bit all over the place though we were almost waitered as if it had been a Michelin restaurant. The menu is moreover a bit confusing but not without ambition. We skipped the starter of grilled tuna with chips, cress and foie gras (?) and instead opted for the cured salmon. It was a generous portion, clearly home-cured (I found a bone or two in there) in slices that were a bit too thick for my liking. The smoked cheese cream was a nice addition but the consistency of "crisp rye bread" was more like sawdust than actual crisp bread crumbs. The pickled cucumber was very out of place as well and in total the dish just lacked direction and appeared rather clumsy though the quality of the salmon was fine. For the main course I went with a grilled steak, cooked almost to request of medium/rare, of very decent, tender quality. The trimmings were classic and ok - not bad, not exceptional. All in all, we had a fine experience at The Grill but with mains priced at +200DKK there are much better deals to be found throughout the city. 

Café Blågaards Apotek

Anchor Brewing Company's Brekle's Brown + Weston's Old Rosie Cloudy Scrumpy.

Café Blågårds Apotek
Blågards Plads 2
2200 Copenhagen N

Notes:
Before heading to Radio last Friday, B and I met at Blågårds Apotek for an after-work drink. The place does not look like much but boasts an impressive selection of beer and is usually always packed. B chose a brown ale by Anchor Brewing Company which did the job perfectly, nothing mind-blowing, but a good brown ale. I had a cider by Weston's (after the waitress numerous times had mentioned that it was nothing like Somersby - fine, thanks!), which as the name implies was an unfiltered, dry number that I very much enjoyed. All in all, a very enjoyable visit. Low-key ambience, good atmosphere, and fair prices. Recommended.

Radio (2)

Amuse bouche: Crisp bread with Jerusalem artichoke purée and cress.

1st course: Raw Norwegian lobster, dehydrated carrot, crisp rye bread and cream of smoked cheese.
In the glass: 2007 Petit Couteau, Vouvray. A demi-sec chenin black from Loire.

2nd course: Cured cod, red cabbage and beet greens, mustard foam and dried blueberries.
In the glass: 2011 Loimer, a grüner veltliner from Kamptal.

3rd course: Pearl barley and onion, crisp Høost croutons, cress and a Høost sauce.
In the glass: A 2009 Hautes Côtes de Beaune by Didier Montchovet, a biodynamic chardonnay. 

4th course: Braised free-range pork, wrapped in thin sheets of celeriac, browned butter and strips of apple jelly.
In the glass: 2009 Domaine de l'Ocre Rouge from Marceline and Aymeric Beaufort in Languedoc.

5th course: A type of Swedish hard cheese made from cow's milk (tasted a bit like Emmenthal).
In the glass: An Austrian blend of Welschriesling and Weissburgunder.

6th course: White chocolate parfait, pickled quince, crisp walnuts and licorice.
In the glass: Biodynamic poiré from Eric Bordelet.

Radio
Julius Thomsens Gade 12
1632 Copenhagen V

Notes:
It has been more than a year since I visited Radio the first time (read of my previous visit here) and the meal still stands as  one of the greatest meals in the value-for-money category that I have had in Copenhagen. B has therefore also been eager to try the restaurant, and we returned last Friday as we were celebrating that B had finished his first work week as an adult. Again, the food was excellent. The dishes are simply constructed, using good raw materials in innovative ways. Standouts counted the Norwegian lobster and carrot pairing, the Høost dish (of which we sobbed up every last bit of sauce with the excellent Ølandshvedebrød), and the pork and celeriac dish. Only the cheese I did not care too much for. Further, the service was knowing and attentive and I really enjoyed the wine pairings, which were very well-presented by our waiter. Highly recommended.

Le Temps des Cérises

"Zuppa Pavese" - a beef broth with egg yolk and garlic croutons.

Lamb shoulder, braised for 8 hours, with different types of cabbage, potatoes and green beans.

Red fruits (cherries, raspberries, strawberries, red currants) with vanilla-dotted yoghurt mousse and caramelized, almonds.

Le Temps des Cérises
2 Rue de la République
83400 Fayence
Mon-Sun 12am-2pm, 6pm-21:30pm

Notes:
My family had spent Christmas and New Years in Southern France and what better 2nd of January activity than going on a small wine trip? We visited Chateau Berne (unfortunately closed), Domaine des Aumedes and Chateau Roubine and tasted (and bought) a fair amount of interesting wine. Thereafter we went into Draguignan, finding out not much was happening except for hipsters iceskating to Gangnam style and thus ended up in Fayence on a lonely, dark night of Wednesday January first. And we were hungry. As Le Temps des Cérises was awarded one couvert in Michelin we figured it would be a safe choice, and their three-course menu priced at 29,5 euro turned out to be a very good deal. I was especially taken with the braised lamb and fell utterly in love with the dessert. Fresh, tart with just a hint of sweetness and crunch, it was pure love. We had local wine from Jas d'Esclans, which was very fairly priced. We left full and satisfied. Highly recommended if you are in the area.