Denmark for a spot of lunch
First of all let me start by saying if you plan on visiting Copenhagen in January wrap up! Its super cold and what they don't tell you is everything is closed so be prepared for a lot of walking in the brisk air! That being said sitting in a cosy little café with some traditional Danish foods and beer is made so much more satisfying when you are on the other side of the window!
My trusty companion and I took a trek over to a little place - Cafe Rabes Have - that had apparently been open since the dawn of time and only frequented by locals. How did we hear of such a place I hear you ask? Well, after many whiskeys in a hazy blues bar at 2am our local friendly bartender had asked us what we were doing in Copenhagen. We informed him of our quest for traditional Danish food and as it happened Mr bartender seemed to be quite the foodie. Turns out he even worked there as a child and goes back at least once a week. Jackpot!
The place was exactly how we had imagined it, families everywhere, old but somehow comfortable wooden furniture and our host/server/owner couldn't have looked more Danish even if you wrapped her in pastry. We sat down and immediately ordered a beer each and the two dishes Mr bartender had recommended. Pariserbøf and marinated herring Smørrebrød
The Pariserbøf is a Danish take on a fried steak tartar. It consisted of a thick lean beef patty that was heavily seared on both sides, grated horseradish, pickled beetroot, piccalilli, capers, onion and egg yolk. I have to say the beef was seasoned beautifully and as the name suggests was served raw with only a wonderful sear on both sides to create the most intense flavour. I made the mistake of thinking the horseradish may have been similar to the creamed variety we commonly use here in the UK....nope, it was simply grated horseradish. Whilst I am a fan of this I wasn't quite prepared for the sinuses cleansing experience that whooshed through my nose!
If you haven't had piccalilli before its made up of various pickled veg in a sweet mustard sauce, delicious. The beetroot had a slight hint of something I couldn't quite put my finger on until my last bite when I crunched down on a clove. I don't advise munching on whole cloves but that ever so slight suggestion of something Christmassy on the beets was a very welcome newcomer to me. Finally that egg yolk poured over the beef seemed to tie everything together. The sweet and sour from the pickles, heat from the horseradish, richness of the beef and the creaminess of the egg yolk really just made the whole dish work.
Next up was the marinated herring. I think I fell in love with this. Its served with capers, onions and a few slices of dark rye bread. This is the famous Danish Smørrebrød which simply means "buttered bread" and is an open faced sandwich. Now the possibilities are endless when it comes to Smørrebrød as with sandwiches in general but there are a few things that seem to crop up more often than not. The first is the bread. This is usually a thinly sliced dark rye bread with a fat spread over. Next is the topping which in this case was marinated herring. It had a beautiful balance of salty, sweet and delicious dill. Coupling this with the malty rye bread and the fresh hum from a sprinkle of onions was a gorgeous bite of food.
All in all I can safely say Mr bartender had given us a bang on tip, this place was everything I had come to hope for from décor to atmosphere to flavour, a real hidden gem. We of course made sure to get involved in a good old shot of Danish snaps which I can only describe as an acquired taste that should only ever be served freezing cold. It made me all happy and warm inside but no so much for other person involved who shall go unmentioned at this time.
The full video below will give you a closer look into this awesome lunch and if you are ever anywhere near the neighbourhood of Christiania in Copenhagen then I suggest you pay them a visit and try some of these dishes for yourself. Skål!