Here is a round up of some of the restaurant visits over the last few months.
Relae, Copenhagen
An excellent restaurant serving seasonal and local ingredients. The food in Relae marries big, unadulterated flavours and there are only ever a few components on the plate. The best dish of the night of trout, mushrooms and chicken skin demonstrates what this restaurant does best. The beautifully cooked trout was soft and perfectly cooked and went amazingly well with the raw earthy mushroom, with the chicken skin giving the dish a sort of seasoning and a bit of texture. The food is very pure, each ingredient tasting of what it is and the components combine well together. A dessert of chewy beets divided our opinion on otherwise very good meal that represented very good value in an expensive city.
BROR, Copenhagen
A restaurant from two Noma Alumni, Victor Wågman and Sam Nutter, this is a charming little restaurant serving interesting food. They have taken some of the Noma ethos of regionality, seasonality and experimentation, but have gone completely their own way with the interpretation. The food is simpler, much more rustic, stripped down to it's bare bones. Nose-to-tail cooking is utilised here and they commonly serve a whole head of animal for the whole table to carve. One of the snacks on our meal was a half a cod's head with rye crackers - soft, meaty and delicious. In a city that now has a lot of high end restaurants cooking experimental and challenging food, the food in BROR offers something a bit different, something a bit more accessible and is worth a visit.
Amass, Copenhagen
Former Noma head chef Matthew Orlando has gone it alone with Amass. He has kept the same high standards of cooking too. The food in Amass really is excellent. This is evident straight away with the fermented potato bread, which is surprisingly light, but at the same time wholesome and moreish with a great earthy flavour. After one dish we moved from the 5 course to the extended menu which had an extra few courses, so we could sample more of the dishes. A parsnip roll, a sort of brandy snap, filled with liquorice and brown butter was perfectly spiced and had great flavours of the season. A serving of pumpkin was also a highlight. The food was very well balanced, with each element on the plate standing by itself, but marrying well with the others. The dining room has a sort of old airport hanger or warehouse feel to it and there is a bit sterile and lacks warmth. Amass is less than two years old, so it will probably continue to get better and is a must on any stop to Copenhagen.
Restaurante Lasarte, Barcelona
Martin Berasategui's Restaurante Lasarte in Barcelona is cooking ambitious food, much of which was excellent, but occasionally did not quite deliver on flavour. The menu was local, drawing on many ingredients from Catalonia, but with the odd surprise thrown in. The dishes showed a lot of cookery skill and technique and some were truly excellent, but on some the flavours were muddled and confusing on the palate. Some of best dishes were the most simple, which had a tried and tested combination, such as tempered beef, foie gras and mustard ice cream or a serving of snails with crayfish. The perfectly cooked pigeon with a pineapple compote was also extremely good. But other dishes did not live up to this standard, Red prawn 'on a sea bed' had an unpleasant texture . Yolk with toasted butter and black truffle toast lacked definition and was not great on the palate. The service was absolutely flawless, friendly, hospitable, attentive and extremely knowledgeable. Lasarte is an interesting restaurant and the best dishes are extremely good, but it is pricey and there may be better value to be had in Barcelona.
Relae, Copenhagen
An excellent restaurant serving seasonal and local ingredients. The food in Relae marries big, unadulterated flavours and there are only ever a few components on the plate. The best dish of the night of trout, mushrooms and chicken skin demonstrates what this restaurant does best. The beautifully cooked trout was soft and perfectly cooked and went amazingly well with the raw earthy mushroom, with the chicken skin giving the dish a sort of seasoning and a bit of texture. The food is very pure, each ingredient tasting of what it is and the components combine well together. A dessert of chewy beets divided our opinion on otherwise very good meal that represented very good value in an expensive city.
BROR, Copenhagen
A restaurant from two Noma Alumni, Victor Wågman and Sam Nutter, this is a charming little restaurant serving interesting food. They have taken some of the Noma ethos of regionality, seasonality and experimentation, but have gone completely their own way with the interpretation. The food is simpler, much more rustic, stripped down to it's bare bones. Nose-to-tail cooking is utilised here and they commonly serve a whole head of animal for the whole table to carve. One of the snacks on our meal was a half a cod's head with rye crackers - soft, meaty and delicious. In a city that now has a lot of high end restaurants cooking experimental and challenging food, the food in BROR offers something a bit different, something a bit more accessible and is worth a visit.
Amass, Copenhagen
Former Noma head chef Matthew Orlando has gone it alone with Amass. He has kept the same high standards of cooking too. The food in Amass really is excellent. This is evident straight away with the fermented potato bread, which is surprisingly light, but at the same time wholesome and moreish with a great earthy flavour. After one dish we moved from the 5 course to the extended menu which had an extra few courses, so we could sample more of the dishes. A parsnip roll, a sort of brandy snap, filled with liquorice and brown butter was perfectly spiced and had great flavours of the season. A serving of pumpkin was also a highlight. The food was very well balanced, with each element on the plate standing by itself, but marrying well with the others. The dining room has a sort of old airport hanger or warehouse feel to it and there is a bit sterile and lacks warmth. Amass is less than two years old, so it will probably continue to get better and is a must on any stop to Copenhagen.
Restaurante Lasarte, Barcelona
Martin Berasategui's Restaurante Lasarte in Barcelona is cooking ambitious food, much of which was excellent, but occasionally did not quite deliver on flavour. The menu was local, drawing on many ingredients from Catalonia, but with the odd surprise thrown in. The dishes showed a lot of cookery skill and technique and some were truly excellent, but on some the flavours were muddled and confusing on the palate. Some of best dishes were the most simple, which had a tried and tested combination, such as tempered beef, foie gras and mustard ice cream or a serving of snails with crayfish. The perfectly cooked pigeon with a pineapple compote was also extremely good. But other dishes did not live up to this standard, Red prawn 'on a sea bed' had an unpleasant texture . Yolk with toasted butter and black truffle toast lacked definition and was not great on the palate. The service was absolutely flawless, friendly, hospitable, attentive and extremely knowledgeable. Lasarte is an interesting restaurant and the best dishes are extremely good, but it is pricey and there may be better value to be had in Barcelona.
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