Copenhagen – Page 3 – Scandelights

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

A day in Copenhagen

Published on September 2, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

A day trip to Copenhagen with Maria, Daniel and toddler Otto during the summer feels like a well established tradition by now and I hope we keep it up for many years to come.

Despite heavy rain as soon as we stepped out of the car we had a great day in the Danish capital. Luckily that was the only shower that day.

We started, like last year, with an early lunch at Wanna B and we can confirm that their burgers are still nice. Otto agrees and he especially liked the dressing.

After a walk and some shopping (mainly at Companys, & Other Stories, Cos, Hay and Notre Dame) we were in the mood for fika and wanted to sit down and found a nice café in the Main Library in the city centre near the pedestrian street (i.e. not the Black Diamond / Sorte Diamant) called Democratic Coffee Bar.

Daniel the coffee connoisseur was very pleased with the coffee and Maria and I liked the Danish with cookie dough filling. My organic juice drink was really nice too.

Then we headed to Copenhagen’s answer to Borough Market; Torvehallerne. Finally! It was my first visit here so we systematically hoovered the place from side to side so as to not miss anything.

There are plenty of nice shops selling pantry product as well as fresh produce, restaurants and take aways, Compared to Borough Market Torvehallerne feels very fresh and organised and it is a lot more spacious. But Borough Market is more well-stocked and offer more than one seller selling a similar product so you can compare and choose.

Luckily the weather turned and we had a sunny afternoon and evening. Perfect for a break and a glass of cava at the Cava Bar outside in between the two food halls.

We decided to get a takeaway since we had trouble choosing food and settled for a weird combination of smørrebrød (Danish open-faced sandwiches) and sushi for dinner.

The smørrebrød from Hallernes Smørrebrød were really nice and pretty too! We had one with marinated salmon, one with plaice and remoulad, one with roast beef and fresh horseradish and one with eggs, prawns, cress and lemon zest.

The rolls from Sushi Lovers were all amazing and super fresh. I will definitely come back here both to shop and eat. Thanks for a lovely day, guys!

Wanna B, Kompagnistræde 4, 1208 København K, Denmark

Democratic Coffee Bar, Krystalgade 15, København, Denmark

Torvehallerne, Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København K, Denmark

Dinner at Fortunen Bar & Spiseri, Copenhagen

Published on August 18, 2013August 15, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Copenhagen is only 20 minutes away from Malmö by train so you can imagine how many Swedish people there are in Copenhagen any given day. A lot of Swedes work here and lots come as tourists. And although I love to visit Copenhagen myself, I don’t like feeling like a tourist here. I feel I have spent too much time here and know it too well. Plus the language isn’t a problem; I can even count in Danish (which is a bit tricky for some).

Although very cosy and nice, I didn’t want to run the risk of ending up in Nyhavn where all Swedes hang out. It is by the riverfront and lovely but I have yet to find a nice restaurant that isn’t a tourist trap there. Instead I did some research on aok.dk (All about Copenhagen) to find somewhere low key with nice food and suitable to bring a baby to. Fortunen had all that and we really enjoyed our evening here! And the secretly enjoyed being the only Swedes in the restaurant despite the very central location.

It was super windy here by the river so we sat outside and had a drink but went downstairs into the cosy restaurant to enjoy our meal.

The menu consists of small plates (which I love) and you could choose any three for DKK 250 which we thought was great value for money. Maria and I chose the same dish to start and absolutely loved this creation of girolles, corn, potato foam and pickled onion.

Daniel chose the poached egg (which was very lightly poached and therefore when you stirred it became a sauce) with beetroot, yellow beets, peas, charred leek and parmesan. Also very nice!

The next dish for Maria and I were the hanger steak (onglet) with seaweed, shiitake (?) mushrooms and a soy jus. A great combination of flavours that really worked. And the meat was fabulous – one of my favourite cuts.

Daniel had cockrel with lentils and little gem lettuce and really enjoy the whole dish but the jus from the lentils was amazing.

After these dishes Maria and I were quite content and could move on to pudding, but since the dishes weren’t that big we completely understood that Daniel might need something more. He was so considerate that he ordered what he estimated was the quickest dish on the menu (all cold ingredients) so we didn’t have to wait too long. It was mackerel with buttermilk, broadbeans and dill and looked super fresh and light but might have been even better to start with than after a warm dish.

Then it was time for pudding. This time Daniel and I chose the same one; olive oil icecream with strawberries, beetroot meringues and white chocolate. It was incredibly nice!

Maria’s dish was even more interesting with the combination of vanilla icecream, buckthorn, caramel and dried black olives. It was gorgeous too!

I can highly recommend this restaurant. I love the mix of gourmet food combinations (that work) without the fuss, the nice ambiance and attentive service (at least from our waitress, not sure about the others).

Fortunen — Bar & Spiseri
Ved Stranden 18
1061 København K

A day in wonderful Copenhagen

Published on August 15, 2013August 14, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Growing up int he south of Sweden and it is safe to say that I know the Danish capital better than the Swedish one because of the close proximity to Copenhagen. We also had Danish TV channels growing up and I still feel like part of me is Danish.

When I was at University in Lund my friend Maria and I went to Copenhagen for the day quite often, just wandering around looking in shops and having a nice time. It is a small city but it has a lot more to offer than Malmö or Lund and the vibe is so very different.

With me living in the UK now I have less time to visit Copenhagen, even though I try to fit it in sometimes, and this summer Maria, Daniel and I decided it was time to go together again. We also had their son Otto coming with us. And as it was a really hot day it was handy to blame the baby for all the pitstops we did when we needed refreshments or to sit down.

We drove over the pretty Öresund bridge (as in The Bridge) and after having found parking and a quick walk it was lunch time. We opted for the outside tables at Wanna B and their burger (also the lunch special) but their avocado salad with cashew nuts looked lush too. The burger was really nice, served with cheese and bacon in a ciabatta bun with chunky fries and a chilli dip.

Then it was time for some shopping. We made a stop at Kirk an interior shop at Strædet that I really like. The style is quite British and masculine.

We also discovered Hay House, one of the two shops in Copenhagen from the very popular brand. Hay House has apparently been in the same spot for the last four years and yet neither of us has noticed it. It is well worth a visit though. The shop is set in a large flat with decorative molding on the ceiling, parquet floors and large windows. It would be great to live here but it works as a shop too, displaying their lovely designs in the different rooms. We also had coffee and cake at Illum and dinner in the evening, but that restaurant review will get its own post.

A wonderful day in Copenhagen, Denmark

Published on August 18, 2011 by HannaLeave a comment

Before we left Sweden we had time for a day in Copenhagen. It is so convenient to go there, by car at least, the trains are a pain at the moment. Since it was Christopher’s second time in Copenhagen we decided to be cultural and do some sightseeing.

First stop was Amalienborg Palace, the Danish equivalent to Buckingham Palace. We went into the small museum that was quite uninpressive and then watched the changing of the guards. Although most of the castle is not open to the public, still walk this way just to see the location. With an impressive cathedral right behind it, a wonderful view of the canal and the newish Opera House it feels rather nice.

After Amalienborg we had a quick lunch before heading to Rosenborg castle, which turned out to be amazing. A real, but small, castle complete with a moat and impressive interior. Best of all was the treasury where the crown jewels are kept. And that explained why two guards were combat ready with machine guns and knives outside the castle.

The most important thing with the castle was the grand hall on the second floor where they displayed the thrones. So worth a visit!

After being cultural for most part of the day, we decided we had deserved a nice coffee break. After Daniel and Maria’s recommendations we headed towards Nyhavn (the New Harbour) which is a real tourist trap, although nicely situated by the canal. But if you walk past all the seedy restaurants and turn left you find this amazing wooden deck with amazing views of the river, the opera house and Noma.

The place is called Ofelia beach and has a restaurant inside, as well as a café and bar and all the tables outside. Lovely, and so different to heaving Nyhavn, here was peace and quiet and perfect to sit and just watch the water and what is happening on the other bank.

On our way back towards the big pedestrian street, Strøget, I had to have icecream with guf, which is a must for me when in Denmark. Guf is like loose marshmallow fluff and tastes sweet from strawberries. I love it, but maybe more because of childhood memories than because it is a delicacy…

We also had time for some shopping, wines at Kjær & Sommerfeldt and kitchen stuff at Illums bolighus, then the skies opened and we rushed to the car and drove back to Sweden to meet up with Daniel and Maria for dinner.