Islands Brygge... yet another part of the part of town that I don't visit often. Though it seemed tricky to get to by bike, it turned out to be fairly quick using Bryggebroen by Fisketorvet. And a lovely night view to boot! Unfortunately at the moment there is construction around the restaurant so it doesn't look as nice as the waterfront. Inside is another story.
This location is laid out in an L shape; the room closest to the entrance seems to be good for groups and the back part is slightly hidden away, fitting for a date. Eva K. and I were seated in the date area, and I must say it was very romantic in the low light but terrible for photos. The reason we had come "all the way out to Amager" was for Copenhagen Dining Week so that we could enjoy some reasonably-priced Italian food. And despite the low rating average here, I was certainly not disappointed.
The first dish is an easy win for me; I am a big fan of tartare and this one was no exception. The dried beetroot, almost tasting like cranberries, worked well with the pinenuts and Parmesan, cutting through any heavy or fatty flavours. When the next course arrived, I wondered if they'd changed the menu. It should have been mussel soup with scallop, gooseberries, fennel, and dill, but what we got was a bright green soup covered with white foam. This was honestly one of the best seafood soups I've ever had. The foam had a creamy flavour that went well with the broth that had little hints of sourness thanks to the gooseberries. Luckily there was some bread to mop up the soup; one of them was the typical bread that is popular now with a chewy crumb and a delicious, almost overbaked crust. The other was a more common one found in Italian breadbaskets, something like focaccia which was nicely weighted with oil. Both kinds were perfectly salted. Third came the dish I was most excited about; the pasta! Orrechiette with mascarpone, salsiccia, spinach, and gremolata. The pasta had the perfect bite to it and the sour crumbs of gremolata complimented the sausage and creamy sauce well. And to finish it off, a banana cake with a slightly sour yogurt and a quenelle of caramelly dulce de leche ice cream. This whole meal was an excellent balance especially of sourness, and I am a huge fan of all things sour.
So why not the full five stars? One dish was certainly not terrible but didn't land on the same level as the others; corned beef with butterbeans, cabbage, capers, browned butter, and mustard salad. I can easily live without meat and corned beef is probably my least favourite version, so this was obviously not up my alley. Although the meat was very tender and the accoutrements were ok, this felt more like a filler course. And while the service was efficient and polite, I heard glass breaking 3 times during our meal. Maybe it was because of the hectic nature of Dining Week but it definitely put me on edge. As we were leaving, I noticed that some of the tables had a little bottle of olive oil to go with their bread but we never got one. Again, maybe it was because they were so busy that night. I'd love to come back here again sometime and try their regular menu. Besides those small things, it was an excellent meal with a great balance of flavours. read more