Teater Bodega — Restaurant in Aarhus Municipality

We were looking for a last-minute place to eat on a day trip to Aarhus and came across this wonderful place via Google Maps. The generated menu photo highlights really don't do it justice - check the Teater Bodega website for the menu as we almost discarded the place as a choice based on the limited menu photos!

The gentleman at the door seated us quickly without a reservation as there weren't many other people on a Tuesday evening after Easter, meaning that although the atmosphere in the restaurant was warm and cosy (loved the heaps of black and white photos on the walls that obviously denoted a long, theatrical history), you could hear a pin drop while eating - for me it felt a little awkward at times (and really not a big deal ultimately), though some may appreciate the intimate nature of the space.

After some minor confusion over the order, we chose three smørrebrød dishes (Danish open-faced sandwiches) to share - "2 homemade Danish meat balls on rye bread", "2 small steaks of pork tenderloin with mushrooms à la crème" and "small beef tenderloin steak, pan fried onions and pickled cucumber" - which in retrospect was one dish too many as we were both stuffed to the gills afterwards...

The meats were succulent and juicy, complemented beautifully by the pickles, herb garnishes and rye bread which are served separately in a deconstructed/DIY style for you to assemble according to your preference.

The silky creamy sauce with mushrooms for the pork was particularly delicious, and the beef steak turned out to be extremely generous in portion size - if that is considered small, I don't know how big the large is!

We found the food extremely well-priced by Danish standards - the smørrebrød dishes were 105, 118 and 205 DKK (£12.05, £13.54 and £23.52). With a beer and glass of wine it all came to less than 520 DKK / £60.

Highly recommend...

I meant to give a zero star, but google wouldn’t have it. So I’m begrudgingly putting a one star here. I went all the way to the restaurant but was turned away rudely. We had intentionally gone at the close of the peak lunch hour since we didn’t have a reservation. But when I asked for a table for 3, and I was staring at an empty table right in front of me, but the waiter rudely told me no tables. I asked how long I would have to wait for a table, seeing that many around us are already finishing up their lunches, and he again rudely told me with an insolent look that he doesn’t know and there will be NO tables. I’ve had such a good impression of Danish friendliness that this was the first time I had such a rude treatment. I’m wondering at all the reviewers who have mentioned friendly waiters! I hope it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m Asian, and I had two kids with me. If it’s because of that, that’s downright discriminatory! Shame on you then. I went on to Klokken just 4 mins’ walk away and got a much better welcome with a fabulous all-you-can eat Stegt flaesk on the menu! Troop on there and...

Efter at have hørt meget godt om Teater bodegaen, så skulle den da prøves, og er der en bedre tidspunkt end en tur ud med kollegerne? Jeg har før fået serveret en wienerschnitzel, hvor der ikke var tale om kalve kød, men en forklædt skinkescnitzel, så derfor spurgte jeg den kvindelige servitrice - noget jeg endte med at fortryde inderligt. Magen til nedladende og grim svar jeg fik, hvor hun sagde "hvad tror du selv det er?" Hvortil jeg svarede, jeg er blevet snydt før, heriblandt i Tyskland, "vi er jo ikke i Tyskland men Danmark" var svaret!

Kort efter fik jeg serveret min forret, 2 tarteletter. Tarteletterne var blandt de dårligste jeg nogensinde har fået, var sølet ind i den billige asparges fra netto, og smagte udelukkende af den vand som disse leveres i, altså en saltet lage vand, ev det var en slem skuffelse! Så kom turen til wienerschnitzlen, som var total gennemstegt og grænsede over i tør - på den positive side var der så en del kød i den, men den var i bedste fald middelmådig. Paneringen var blød og ikke sprødstegt, kartoflerne virkede som om at de lige var blevet lunet i mikrobølgeovnen med lidt smørsovs ovenpå.

Betjeningen var bestemt heller ikke at råbe hurra for, to gange blev der tabt bestik ned på os, hvortil responsen blot var "det var en springkniv" ikke særlig sjovt at få smurt smør ned over bentøjet af en uprofessionel tjener. Sidst men ikke mindst var der en flue i den lille flaske rom, som blev serveret til osten (dessert), altså virkelig ulækkert, og noget man på ingen måde ville forvente på en restaurant!

Jeg kan desværre ikke anbefale, at man aflægger teater bodegaen et besøg, hverken for deres mad og i særdeleshed ikke for deres service. I stedet for bør man kigge andetsteds hen, kohalen trods uhøflig betjening af en ældre tjener, serverer i det mindste...