Four days in Copenhagen, Day 1.
Yes, I went to that restaurant. That one which was once labelled the best in the world. Or what it’s turned into these days: one long communal table under the bridge. Complete strangers sharing the space, the dishes, the experience. Pop up, which keeps extending its duration.
First, the wine: a chapter of its own. Before dinner started, outdoors by the canal, Benny the sommelier was busy: recommending, serving, explaining, entertaining. He looked like he was also enjoying the party. Apparently his wine, all organic, comes every year from France on a sailboat, fully wind-powered. He’s an habitué under the bridge, I’ve heard, having been there in summers past with other kitchen companions.
When food was served, pairing was perfect, glasses abundant.
Then dinner. The few photos I took when I was just seated were all blurred – perhaps because of the lack of light, perhaps because of the wine. Or perhaps because no photos can tell the experience. So forget the photos. Forget the phone. Forget the world outside.
Let me write a couple of lines about the food – after all, it was a restaurant. There was some exquisite, delicious bread with horseradish, some foamy soup I only vaguely remember, a whole cauliflower, crunchy shrimps. Cod and capers. Blueberry and white cheese. Cake. And coffee. I think. Perhaps there was more, but I can’t remember. Nothing with complicated names or allegories, though.
Was the food the best of the world? Maybe yes, probably not, though it was definitely pretty excellent. Ingredients are locally produced, and plans are that in the near future in the restaurant’s own backyard (after it leaves the bridge, of course). But a restaurant is more than its food, its wine, its service, its setting. It’s also the opportunity it provides for experience and interaction.
I had arrived before 8pm, and it was well past 11 when I left. Where did the time go? Eating, drinking, tasting, enjoying. Talking, listening, learning. Laughing, meeting people, enjoying myself, enjoying being with others, and sharing. Not on a virtual social network, but in real life. And that, all those moments together, were what made my evening special.
Sitting next to me during dinner was a Danish couple, Lisbeth and Morten. She’s a well-travelled human rights officer, he’s a journalist. They invited me to dinner at their house the next day. Just like that, out of the blue.
And of course I accepted it. But that will be my next story…
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