With our Villa Copenhagen hotel booking, AmexPlat provided us 1000 DKK ($146 of dining credit) and this was the only restaurant open at Sun 6pm. Went with a foodie friend.
Kontrast contrasted much with my expectations, and I would never go again. The eating felt actively distressing -- like an inscrutable art piece a deranged artist held hostage your beloved dog for, or entering the shower expecting your partner but finding your grandma.
Ambience - 7/10 -- Fine dining establishment. Okay vibes. We got seated at the counter, which was cool since we could see the kitchen, but that consisted of one female server combining predetermined ingredients. Underwhelming.
Service - 6/10 -- Friendly staff! We came at 6pm and place was half-empty, with a looong table saved for about a group of 30 at 7pm reservation.
Food took quite long to arrive though -- tartare came reasonably (8 min), but mains arrived 25 min after we finished starter. There was nothing to do but sit and wait (or munch more sourdough). This long wait left me hangry + soured the experience.
Quality - 6/10 --
Beef tartare - 7/10 -- was okay, the lil potato strips was a bit salty, and more so the cream on the tartare. The beef tartare was not as flavorful per se -- the potato strips were overpowering in flavor. Overall effect was a bit jarring -- potato strips, cream, beef tartare were three quite separate flavors, while I expected it to be much more seamless.
Fish of the day (zander) - 7/10 -- was alright -- it was decently tender and had a likable texture but overall unmemorable. Also quite a small piece.
Veal ribeye - 3/10 -- very tough meat to eat, I feel like my jaw had more of a workout than my arms did at the gym. I was kinda afraid of straining my jaw at some point! and veal is supposed to be less tough, especially as it's medium-rare!
Veal should be tender! It's not leg day, but my calves are in protest at this butchering of calf meat.
Baseline -- As a reference, at home, I like to air-fry two-third lb of Costco frozen grass-fed ground beef patties for 12 min. Sprinkle a few spices, and I assure you my ground beef patties are more tender + delicate + flavorful than this dish! And this veal ribeye (295 DKK = $43) cost the same as my air fryer ($39) + beef ($4) combined! This veal ribeye thus left me a pretentious vibe + a bit of anger.
Value - 2/10 -- 730 DKK ($106) for a lackluster starter + two lackluster entrees. An unmemorable meal that in fact felt like a chore and left me almost as hungry as when I started (even filling up on bread).
Overall - 3/10 -- If this was not free (as part of AmexPlat credit), I would be outraged. Overall value-for-money is comparable to airport Priority Pass food. While the food of course tastes better than airport food, it is in no way worth the time or expense.
What am I grateful for? It's probably the worst $100 dining experience I've ever had, so thank goodness we had dining credit. Also, I was so hungry I scavenged our emergency food supply. I never knew a bag of airport lounge potato chips could taste so good in contrast -- new appreciation for unpretentious fare. Yes, I enjoyed the chips more than the meal. And I'm so looking forward to the hotel breakfast buffet!
One star value. +1 star for staff members being nice and meal being free. read more