Kristian Mortensen

Courtier - the two star michelin resturant is placed at the luxury retreat Weissehaus in north Germany.
We had a couple of days for ourselves and wanted to threat ourselves to something extraordinary, and that we got.

Service is a funny thing, often less is more. Often it is the very nice experience where what you need is presented and then you do not see service, only to explain what is presented before you.
Sometimes service is someone that is just genuinely seems friendly and interested in you.
Anne Geßner was both the sommelier and the host for this experience. She presented the best service experience I have had so far. Talking face to face and showen true interest in us and wanted to talk food and Copenhagen
And the food - absolutely exceptionally fantastic - overlooking the garden in the rustic and beautiful surroundings, we were on a dining experience beyond the usual, also beyond the unusual.
This is in the top 3 of restaurant experiences I have had. I was especially impressed that Christian Scharrer could make dishes where each bite was in perfect balance - even though the bites could consist of different parts from the plate. I have never tried this before.
It was equal parts classic cuisine and modernity. This was reflected in technique and taste. This was reflected in the fact that Amuse-bouche was a tortilla - and he used miso in cooking. The new elements were also expressed in the wine menu, where there was a natural wine, with the characteristic sulfur aroma and taste, albeit to a lesser extent than it can be. Many German wines were used, and Anne Geßner's wine taste was just generally unsurpassed.
We're coming again and it can not go fast enough.
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Second time at Cerveceria Catalana. First time I 2014.
This time we were four not three.
Still pretty damn amazing. Tapas of high quality, seafood, mini burgers and mini hot dogs. Beers and wine.
It is high quality but not expensive exclusive restaurant. Lively and noisy and quite a lot of change of seating. But it seems that a lot of the dishes are made a la minute. Child friendly place since there is no siesta.
Placed in Eixample, close to high street and the more expensive part of town.
Walk in, but it seems to be luck since it was so packed.
Will return when return to Barcelona

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Cafe China

I was in NY alone with work and took a weekend by myself. Armed with the Michelin app I walked quite a large part of manhatten looking for walk in restaurants awarded Michelin stars.
Café China was quite close to my hotel and I made a walk in.
I think that Café China was awarded the Michelin star based on authenticity and not on fine dinning and plating. Since there was no white tablecloth, fancy parings (I had a beer to my dinner) or even a remarkable service. But there was taste, authentic taste.
I was in Beijing in 2015 and had quite a lot of kung pow chicken, so that was obvious, else I just picked random things that seemed nice on the a la card menu (I don’t remember there being a set menu). The kung pow tasted precisely as remembered in in Beijing, with Sichuan and everything.
The authentical nature of the place was also reflected on the customers, very few people with Asian traits in the place.
Interesting dining experience, not on my retry list.
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Brace have been on my list for a long time.

Nicola Fanettis have a past at both NOMA and Era Ora – both institutions in not only the Danish but also the worlds gastronomic scene. I was so lucky to have two dining experiences at Era Ora before they closed, one time one of my very first Michelin experiences.

Brace have been awarded the Dinning Plate at Michelin. But I could imaigine that within a few years this will be transformed either into a star or Nicola Fanetti will start something new with a quick star pending.

The marriage between Italian and new Nordic cuisine and the usage of in season produce is not only modern, it makes so much sense.

The restaurant is beautiful decorated, subtle, less is moreish.

The food was well balanced, beautifully presented, both in plating and in tastes. A true joy to experience. The Wine parring was mostly italian - on the natural fermentation side, without it being funky or vinegar sour, well-paried.

Nicola Fanettis is extremely good and will mature into multistar level gastronomy within a few years.
Taste it while he is “unknown”

Will come again

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In Budapest the level of tastes are high. Gourmet food and drinks (very good wines and they have their own Foie gras) At the time of eating, there were five Michelin stars and two bib gourmands (as far as I remember). Today the picture is almost the same, just one of the one star have turned into a two stars, and unfortunately the bib gourmand we ate at on this trip seems to have closed (it was better then this restaurant)
My wife booked this restaurant as a surprise for my birthday the week before. We came a lunch and were anticipating a lunch with high level gourmet food. We ended up with a mediocre dinner.
The interior of the restaurant was mostly brown and reminded of a gastro-pub. The plating’s was okay. We went a la card that day and I ordered lamb. It was not cooked to perfection; I could cook it better than that. The service was great and generally I guess it was okay. Just not Michelin star worthy. The next day we ate at (it seems now unfortunately closed Laci! Konyha!) which was just better than Borkonyha in every sense.
Not on my revisit list.

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I had a night off in London – I stayed in Kensington and looking at the Michelin app I realized that there was a two star Michelin restaurant in walking distance from the hotel.
Knowing that there was little or no chance to do a walk in I noted down other restaurants nearby.
Much to my surprise there was a table when I arrived.
And it was quite intimidating when I was seated since I was the only one at the place.
Opting for full menu with wine (only drinking half glasses, since I was there with work and had to get up early next day). Unfortunally I have no pictures, or memory of the menu. It did not make a lasting impression – every other two stars I have eaten at have. I remember it being odd that it had the two stars, since back home in Copenhagen(at the time) Studio at the standard only had one star (Under Torsten Vildgaard) made a bigger impression. The menu was without a doubt well tasting and beautiful presented (I remember thinking less I more guys, there was quite a lot going on, on the plate) but just very ordinary, maybe even a bit older techniques and presentations.
Anyway – more people came in and I ended up having a LBV for the dessert and was a bit tired the next day

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San Sebastian is a food mecca and a tourist trap.
Hunting for the local Basque pintxos (the northern Spain’s equivalent to tapas, very simplified) you find yourself in Old Town (Parte Vieja) and there it quickly become apparent that you have to go where the locals go. Initially we walked into a bar inhabited by tourist, the prices were high and the food mediocre (at best). Quickly we found ourselves hunting for something else.
Beti-Jai Berria had the iconographic red Michelin circle (Michelin plate) on the door and the bar was filled, so we were lucky to have a walk in there.
The level was much higher and at the same price as the other place. Pintxos is not Tapas, it’s something different (Tapas is typically a smaller portion of a main course m and pintxos is more something severed on a small piece of bread) but the concept is the same, bite(ish) size food, along with your drink. They do that excellent at Beti-Jai Berria. Well worth the visit when you find yourself in San Sebastian old Town – but beware, its popular, so it can be filled (which we found out a couple of days later, trying to get back there)
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Bar La Una is a small trattoria in Vesterbro in Copenhagen with narrow seatings and few things on the walls and no interior consistency. And just pretty damn amazing.

Italian styled with a small but packed menu. You can go a la card or set menu.
Usually we go set menu - but that evening between lock downs we decided to go a la card. Mostly because I read a 5 out of 6 star review by Søren Frank where he among others recommended the porchetta which was not on the set menu that day.
With no sparkling wine as a starter we went into the drinks, which we had a couple of that night.
We also went with the recommendation on the sommelier for the wine, which was very focused on spontaneous natural flavors.
There seems to be a tiredness towards the natural flavors (its ever-present and even the local café have them) But we love it and we loved it that evening. Mostly, as far as I remember, centered around Sicilia, the wine selection was amazing, and very generous.
The food was rellay good, we have never been to Italy, so cannot say if its authentic or not, these dishes was simple presented but flavorful and very well balanced.

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Barrafina in Covent garden is the second in the chain of Barrafinaes. It have a michelin plate (the first have a star in michelin)
The kitchen is Spanish - tapas style servings - fresh and of the marked that day. The menu changes every day according to what they find at the marked.
We, the four of us, came to the restaurant in the afternoon and had a walk in. It was a busy kitchen but quick expedition and tasty food. I don’t recall the price and I got a beer, so not much to say on the beverage side.

If I am around Covent garden I would go there again.
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Barr resides in NOMAs old rooms in Copenhagen.
Barr is, as implied in the name, more of a barr than a restaurant. Extensive been and alcohol menu, and some wine as well. But being in the Noma family, it of course have a lot more to offer then just beers and drinks.
The food is comfort food and beer food. And really good at it. There is a beer sommelier who actually did a pretty decent job at it, I am primarily a beer lover, so I was curious to see what he would match the meal with. It turned out great.
We ate a la card, there is a set menu, I think that the two meals we had was plentiful, but I don’t know if the set menu have smaller dishes.
Overall a great place, but Copenhagen turned into a beer city, with a lot of gastropubs and this is on the average of these places.
Worth a visit
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