DENMARK – Page 2 – Scandelights

Copenhagen: Royal Smushi café

Published on March 9, 2018March 9, 2018 by Hanna2 Comments

One of my favourite things to do in Copenhagen, especially in the autumn or winter, would be to go to Royal Copenhagen for cake with my mother. They used to have this amazing old-style café on one of the top floors where you could pick out your cake from a large table in the middle of the room, just filled to the brim with cakes, tarts and the likes. It was wonderful but it’s sadly closed now.

But one can get a very similar experience, but in a more modern way, at Royal Smushi Café, at street level.

The cakes look (and taste!) fabulous and they have a nice selection of both savoury and sweet treats. All served on Royal Copenhagen crockery.

I had the carrot cake and although it’s usually not my first choice I was seduced by the lovely looking frosting. And I must say, it was a very, very good carrot cake. The best I’ve had, in fact.

The interior here is lovely too, with high ceilings, modern chandeliers and pink walls. The perfect place for a mid-afternoon treat!

Royal Smushi Café, Amagertorv 6, 1160 København K, Denmark

Copenhagen: four course dinner at Uformel

Published on February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 by HannaLeave a comment

The highlight of our day in Copenhagen was definitely the four course meal with matching wines at Uformel. It was my first time visiting the restaurant and we thoroughly enjoyed everyhing from the relaxed atmosphere to the quirky details (black cutlery!) and of course the delicious food.

We started our meal with a glass of bubbly each and some snacks; pork scratchings with sourcream dip. Pork scratchings are actually more popular in Denmark than in the UK and they’re sold in every supermarket. The supermarket varieties are nice but these were amazing, especially together with the dip.

Then we started our four course meal with lovely sourdough bread and delicious butter and this first course consisting of scallops, pickled green strawberries and olive oil. It was a nice fresh start to the meal, but didn’t blow me away.

But the next course certainly did! This was how it was presented, and the thinly sliced mushrooms made me think of woods and earthy flacours.

But hidden underneath was the most amazing steak tartare with mayonnaise and crispy bread. Loved this!

Next up was this duck with grilled pointy cabbage (but in my case grilled little gem instead) and the most amazing sauce. it was proper minimalism on a plate but it really worked.

The pudding with apples, crumble, custard and a frozen lid with apple was a nice finish to the meal and very refreshing. We also got some petit fours with our coffees but we were too full to appreciate them.

But the fullness didn’t last that long as we didn’t have many carbs, and we’d been walking around Copenhagen all day. This is not a criticism however, if we hadn’t been walking around all day this meal would have been enough, but after some bar hopping especially Emma and I got hangry and we had to eat something more. Unfortunately all the pølse trucks were closed at this point so we had to go to Burger King (it was an emergency!).

And the wines? They were all nice and expertly paired with the dishes, but I couldn’t tell you much more than that. Both the food menu and with wine flight were very reasonably prised though, and the ambience in the restaurant nice and relaxed. Highly recommend a dinner here!

Uformel, Studiestræde 69, 1554 København V, Denmark

Copenhagen: Balthazar champagne bar

Published on January 27, 2017January 27, 2017 by HannaLeave a comment

After the sushi lunch and some quick shopping for me, it was time to try Denmark’s only champagne bar; Balthazar (to my knowledge not related to the New York and London restaurants).

Although located in the famous D’Angleterre hotel the bar has its own entrance off the street (Ny Østergade), but I’m sure it’s connected to the rest of the hotel in some way. We came here in the late afternoon on a weekday between Christmas and New Year, so it wasn’t exactly buzzing but a few tables were occupied and the ambience was really nice.

So was the service. Our waitress was very attentive but also left us to enjoy our drinks. Three of us had champagne (Pol Roger if you’re wondering) while the fourth person wanted a cocktail not on the menu, but the bar staff were happy to oblige.

I must say I really like Balthazar. Partly because they serve many decent champagnes by the glass, but also because they’ve managed the not so small feat of balancing a luxurious feeling with a relaxed vibe. Make sure to visit on your next trip to Copenhagen!

Balthazar, Ny Østergade 6, 1101 København K, Denmark

Copenhagen: lunch at Sticks ‘n Sushi

Published on January 20, 2017January 20, 2017 by HannaLeave a comment

In between Christmas and New Year my best friend Emma and I had planned a whole day in Copenhagen with her husband and his friend. We took the train across the bridge (yes, that bridge) and got to Copenhagen just in time for lunch at Sticks ‘n Sushi. For a chain, they have really good sushi, and I love that they have restaurants in London too.

We started off with roasted cauliflower snacks and spicy edamame, then we had some nigiri and maki rolls, a salmon tartare to share and some of the sticks. And wine, of course.

The snacks vanished in seconds and then we got started on the sushi. All the nigiri (we had salmon, tuna and seared yellow tail) were nice, but the maki rolls are really really good. We shared a spicy tuna, crunchy ebi (prawn) and a pink Alaska (with salmon and cream cheese) and couldn’t decide which was the best one as they were all lovely.

The salmon tartare was not very impressive and the sticks with emmenthaler cheese and bacon we didn’t even finish, but we did like the chicken teriyaki skewers, but the sushi is definitely the star here.

After lunch we went to a few bars, did some shopping and had a four course dinner, so stay tuned for more Copenhagen posts.

Sticks ‘n Sushi, Borgergade 13, 1300 København K, Denmark

Pudding at Paté Paté, Copenhagen

Published on September 19, 2016September 27, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

After our underwhelming dinner at Kødbyens Fiskebar, we wanted to have pudding elsewhere and decided on invitingly cosy Paté Paté that we walked past on our way to the other restaurant.

Even though we just wanted dessert and a drink the staff was really welcoming and took good care of us, so our moods immediately elevated and we had a nice evening.

Maria chose a Pavlovaesque dessert, which was really nice – just enormous! Daniel had the über-chocolately cake thoroughly recommended by our waiter and it was absolutely lovely. I decided to go for savoury instead and had the cheese plate which was also very satisfactory.

What a difference between these two restaurants! The first one with staff as cold as the interior and inferior cooking, the second warm and friendly and easy, but lovely, food. We obviously should have come to Paté Paté to begin with and can’t wait to come back for a whole meal.

Paté Paté, Slagterboderne 1, 1716 København, Denmark

Dinner in Copenhagen’s meatpacking district

Published on September 15, 2016September 15, 2016 by Hanna1 Comment

A standing tradition for when I go home to Sweden in the summer, is to spend a day in Copenhagen with my dear friends Maria and Daniel. We’ve done this countless time, and seem to be perfecting the ideal day. Nowadays we always have lunch at Torvehallerna (a wonderfully modern food market just 10 minutes away from the central pedestrian street), usually a few pinxtos at Tapa del Toro and Danish smørrebrød at Hallernes. After lunch we usually have coffee somewhere and decide what we want to do. This year we went shopping for a bit, had coffee and then decided to go for dinner in Kødbyen (Meatpacking district), a for us new area.

I had heard a lot of good things about a fish restaurant called Kødbyens Fiskebar so we decided to have dinner there.

It started well, with us getting seated straight away without having a reservation. And the oysters Daniel and I had to start were lovely as was the fried cod bites with carrot purée. The service was a bit so-so, but they were busy so we didn’t think more of it.

But as the dinner progressed it got worse and worse. Our main courses were not nice at all. The fish ‘n chips was mediocre and the remoulade it came with was pretty awful. My halibut with kohlrabi, cucumber and sheep’s yoghurt looked great but was incredibly bland. The service also got worse and in the end we just decided to have pudding somewhere else and try to salvage the evening that way.

I really don’t like to get disappointed when I eat out. Sure, everyone can have a bad day but this was something else. Maybe they were too busy? Maybe the chef was new? Whatever the reason I hope this was a blip because we were all was seriously underwhelmed.As much as I don’t like giving a negative review, this is our experience and if we’d known the food to be like this we would never had come here.

Kødbyens Fiskebar, Flæsketorvet 100, 1711 København V, Denmark

Danish sandwiches at Copenhagen Airport

Published on February 3, 2016 by Hanna2 Comments

When I go home to visit my family and friends in Sweden, I actually fly to Denmark as Copenhagen airport is the closest international airport. The train to Sweden takes only 12 minutes (over that famous bridge) so it’s very easy to get there.

I find myself spending a fair bit of time at this airport and although I have always liked certain things about it (the dark wooden floors, the hand luggage trolley and the shopping) the food selection has never been that great. This has changed in the last couple of years though and on my last visit, in January, I noticed that the well-known smørrebrød restaurant Aamann’s had opened a sandwich bar here that I just had to try.

I love the elaborate open-faced Danish sandwiches (smørrebrød) with more topping than bread and this one with steak tartar, tarragon mayo, capers, crispy onions, pickled red onions and cornichons was wonderful! It was also so filling I only managed the one (I will have to try the other ones another time) and very good value for money too at only DKK 65.

There are more places worth visiting for food at Copenhagen airport; Lagkagehuset and Joe and the juice have been around for a while now but I saw that Gorm’s pizza opened recently as well. It’s come a long way since the awful (and overpriced) sandwiches from a few years ago when the only safe option was a hot dog.

Cakes at Konditori Antoinette, Copenhagen, Denmark

Published on September 10, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Growing up in the south of Sweden we made many trips to Denmark and Copenhagen. Before the famous bridge we took small ferries but the bridge certainly made it even easier to visit.

The café where Maria, Daniel and I had cakes during our last visit, has been a long standing place for me to visit when visiting Copenhagen. My mother’s friends first introduced it to me as their breakfast place, a tradition Maria and I made our own as well. But since then it’s changed shape a few times.

This visit we found out it’s a proper patisserie with award-winning cakes which we thoroughly enjoyed while resting our legs out in the shade. You see, the absolute best thing about this place is the location. You just take a turn off Strøget through a small street and voilà you have a nice little oasis without tourists.

We were definitely impressed by the cakes (left with white chocolate, almonds and raspberries, top with chocolate and passion fruit and bottom a tarte with chocolate, creme patissiere and strawberries) but less so by the plastic menus.

After the cakes we walked around the city some more and looked in a few shops before going for dinner (review to come). It was one of those perfect days when you have no plans but end up finding new great places (and old favourites).

Konditori Antoinette, Østergade 24, 1100 København, Denmark

Lunch at Torvehallerne Food Halls, Copenhagen

Published on September 8, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

My friends Maria, Daniel and I have this great tradition where we go to Copenhagen for a day. I love Copenhagen but living in London I usually go back to Sweden to see my friends and family so having a day in Copenhagen together with some of those good friend each summer is perfect. We were quite hungry when we arrived so after hitting a few shops we walked to Torvehallerna, the lovely food halls just by Nørrebro Station.

We started with some lovely pinxtos at Tapa del Toro, recommended by a my food blogger friend Helena. It was the perfect way to start the day in Copenhagen; with a glass of cava and Spanish charkuterie.

The pinxtos were just the appetisers so we soon moved on to Hallernes Smørrebrød for some traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches.

Maria had the prawn sandwich to the left, Daniel the chicken salad with bacon on rye bread and I had the plaice fillet with remoulade. All very good!

I can’t say that we were still hungry after all this (at least not Maria and I) but the pizzas at Gorm’s Pizza smelled so lovely we couldn’t resist trying one with prosciutto, mascarpone and mushrooms. It was very nice but I sadly only managed one slice.

After this carb loaded lunch we had plenty of energy to walk around the city in the sunshine. We walked along the river for a while and ended up in the Botanical Gardens, a lovely oasis on a summer’s day. (The main entrance is actually just by Torvehallerne but we used a different entrance and exited at Nørrebro). We then carried on walking looking in some shops and then stopping for coffee and cake at a bakery I will tell you more about in another post.

Torvehallerne, Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København K, Denmark

Lunch at Marchal, Copenhagen

Published on January 19, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

I have a long list of Copenhagen restaurants I want to try, but they were all closed for lunch on New Year’s Eve. But that was lucky in a way because that made us discover Marchal, the one Michelin-starred restaurant in Hotel d’Angleterre.

The lunch menu was really nice, but a little tricky to figure out which dishes were starters and which were main courses, but I think we did alright. Claes and I had poached oysters with potato and root vegetable balls, crispy potato, horseradish sauce and dill oil. Such a great dish – subtle flavours in absolute harmony.

Emma had a chicken salad with crispy chicken skin and loved every bite.

And Linus had confit pork breast with onions, apples and jus. Also really, really nice!

The portions were not very big, but still felt quite substantial so it was perfect to follow it up with two plates of cheese (with fried rye bread, figs and strawberry conserve) to share. It was a fine balance to eat enough to feel full and content but not too full as we had a quite large dinner planned for the evening.

We had a nice Sancerre with our dinner, recommended by the sommelier, and I must say the service was really good over all.

Marchal offered exactly what we wanted for our New Year’s Eve luncheon; some flair and big city buzz but still a relaxed ambiance. And of course wonderful food! We’ll be back.

Marchal, Hotel d’Angleterre, 34, Kongens Nytorv, 1050 København K, Denmark