Dim Sum is owned and operated by the same Chef/Director as Kiin Kiin, a Michelin starred Thai restaurant in Copenhagen. Having had the pleasure of encountering Kiin Kiin's delightful tasting menu back in 2009, I thought that their offering of 'Chinese tapas' would be an excellent way to begin a Friday evening. Sadly, I couldn't have been more wrong.
With an early reservation of 17:00, we were the first to arrive through the doors. Greeted by the fragrances of an Asian food market and the sight of towering stacks of bamboo steamers, Dim Sum was giving the right first impressions. The restaurant itself is a long, narrow dining area, separated from the kitchen by sliding screens. The kitchen runs most of the length of the restaurant, allowing many of the tables a view of the action. However, the kitchen is visually unappealing and, I imagine, can be quite noisy on a busy service.
We were inexplicably led to the back of the dining room, despite the restaurant being completely empty. Our table sat against an angled wall, badly scuffed by what I can assume were numerous failed attempts to delicately squeeze into and out of the pointless fourth space. We immediately asked to be seated elsewhere. The response - "all the other tables are reserved". I cannot stand this attitude - to make a statement like this in an empty restaurant shows a startling contempt for the diner
After some discussion, we all opted to take the special 'Dim Sum' tasting menu. I have to say that what followed was two hours of unforgivable inconsistency and salty disappointment. The dim sum were fine but completely forgettable, well-cooked blackened cod had been coated in a sauce that wouldn't be out of place on a sticky toffee pudding and, at one point, a broth was delivered that may actually have been a bowl of the Dead Sea, flavoured with star anise. The desserts, a tea ice cream followed by lemon cake with citrus sorbet, swayed wildly from saccharin sweet to face-invertingly tart. Quantities of table water were consumed throughout the meal - openly described as being from the tap - and I was appalled to discover that these were being charged at about 40DKK a bottle.
The restaurant was less than half full by the time we finished, which only added to the frustration of having been refused a different table. In a final act of incompetence the payment of the bill was mishandled, resulting in an additional 300DKK being charged. There was little apology, although I had long abandoned any hope of finding a single redeeming aspect of this restaurant.
Dim Sum was a disappointment in every sense. The experience of distinctly average Asian fare was worsened by a level of service that would have to improve considerably to even reach acceptable - and this is the main frustration for me. It is an inevitability that some restaurants will fail to match expectations, but I find myself more willing to give second chances when I have been treated well, by attentive, friendly staff. As it was, the food at Dim Sum could have blown my mind, but I still wouldn't consider going back. read more