Alchemist — Restaurant in Copenhagen Municipality

Update: Chef Rasmus and Lykke Metzger ran into my review and reached out within a week. I genuinely did not expect it whatsoever, but Lykke went far, far above and beyond to speak with me directly. She was super apologetic and gracious, and from the short conversation we had, I got a deep sense of the ethos and responsibility that she and Chef Rasmus feel for Alchemist, and it felt like a microcosm of how much they genuinely do care about every diner.

I was honestly a bit emotional about Lykke's level of conscientiousness to reach out for a direct chat, and I'm honored she took time not only to apologize, but also try to understand what had led to my reaction. I was able to share my concerns and recollections around the impressions that could have triggered the allergy, and I felt confident by the end that they would take care to ensure this would never happen again. While it was uncomfortable that night, it was humbling to see how they felt the buck stopped at the top, and unbelievable how they reached out to make things right. Thank you for a great experience there, but even more so for your warmth and understanding months later.

Original review (slightly amended, I feel I was unnecessarily harsh initially as I was a bit overemotional): It was a unique experience, and my first exposure to ultra fine dining both in general and in Copenhagen. It's best to go in with no preconceived notions and really lean into the theater and spectacle of it all. It's a dinner like none other and a singular dining memory.

The presentation and scope of the impressions was very maximalist, which some of my party felt was somewhat unfocused and not quite cohesive, but I think it was appropriate for the overall feeling and encounter. The pairing generally was quite good with the dishes, and every one was very enjoyable.

Our hosts were deeply knowledgeable: if you want to know more about the ingredients, concept, and execution of the dishes, they seemed to know absolutely everything. Wonderful service and I have no doubt each and every person could give a TED talk if we wanted to ask them, yet they were also absolutely approachable and attentive.

That being said, there were several dishes that triggered my allergies, most likely dairy protein, and by the end of the night my lips had swelled almost comically, and my throat was really uncomfortable. The staff assured me that every precaution had been undertaken, and they were very apologetic about it, but said there was absolutely no chance of contamination. I took another allergen blood test afterward which confirmed that all of my allergies were still identical to what I knew (and which I had informed the kitchen beforehand).

As a result, I unfortunately just cannot give it a full rating. I also had the wonderful opportunity to dine at Jatak, Alouette, Kadeau, and miscellaneous other restaurants while in Copenhagen, and this was the only place at which I experienced multiple serious allergic reactions. The other restaurants also did substitutions, e.g. non-dairy chocolate, but I didn't have any allergic reactions whatsoever at the other establishments. My only conclusion is that there must be some level of contamination, there is mislabeling by a supplier, or there is a misunderstanding (it was unclear but it seemed like there might have been misinterpretation of milk protein allergy vs lactose-free).

The staff was really gracious, but I felt a bit taken aback since they were adamant there were no issues; I understand the trust in the kitchen, but as a diner, the experience left me seriously uncomfortable for several days and a bit traumatized on fine dining (thankfully by the end of my trip my faith had been restored). I'm not a confrontational person, so it pained me even to bring anything up. It was really surprisingly to me as I'd been saving up all year for this trip, and the swollen mouth/throat marred my memory. Just thought I'd share for anybody else with significant allergies, I debated writing anything for a while but thought I'd be remiss not to...

Visited on a weekday in the middle of the week. This place is... Well, special. Was super impressed with the wine cellar and the lounge area was really sexy but then comes the iPad thingy and it looks super cool at first. It then seemed quite hollow as they didn't have the first two champagnes I ordered. Bummer. Our server in the lounge was super friendly and did a great job, when we were seated in the restaurant we got a way more snarky waitress, I get that everyone has bad days but it was a bit of a bummer for us. After I went to the bathroom and was about to sit back down in my chair a server slides up when I'm literally one step away from my chair and slides my chair in while looking me in the eye. Extremely rude and unprofessional, in most Michelin star restaurants it's common to see the server slide your chair in while you sit down but I've never seen the opposite, super weird.

The food. Well I get that it's supposed to be innovative and thoughtful and I'm sure it is to most people but at the end of the day food should be good and this menu is just not good. I'm always worried when the first servings on a menu are sweet and by god is there a lot of sweet on this menu, more than half the menu is like a dessert and our table was not very pleased with this. Edible film is disgusting but I understand that it's a fun concept to the average guest. They serve edible film three times throughout the menu, how is that creative? My table barely touched the plates the third time they served it (was also a dessert by the way).

The wine. We were super fascinated by the fact that there were so many winepairings and that the table didn't have to choose one specific to go with! We chose all four plus some extra and were really keen to see how it would play out. Many interesting servings were had and some delicious wine but unfortunately it doesn't go with the food very often. Since there was lack of coherent flavours, textures and temperature on the food pairing wine would be a near impossible task. Our server having a bad day was quite difficult at this time because we were really interested to hear about the thoughts behind some of the pairings and since some of the experimental servings aren't easily understood we could've really used a presentation or explanation on what was inside our glasses!

The atmosphere is amazing, sound, visuals and smell is all excellent and after the dinner you get to walk around and see the kitchen, they showed me that they have this map system to keep track on all the guests information. This perplexed me a little because I constantly had my water changed through the evening, a total of seven times did they switch between still and sparkling water. I guessed it was part of the menu but apparently non of my friends had their water changed.

Finally upstairs we had a fantastic waiter who was an absolute star in every way! The Avec menu was a little lackluster but the coffee and tea list was outstanding. We were then treated with even more sweets and desserts and at this point it was starting to get annoying.

The wonderful server joined me for a cigarette on the balcony and we called it an evening.

All in all a really cool evening but when you focus to much on the details and the spectacular it's sometimes easy to forget the...

I've not been to many restaurants at all until recently, never anything with a tasting menu, and only just a few weeks ago to one with a Michelin star.

From the first moment approaching the ominous door, with mysterious music filling the air, I was pretty much enchanted. It swings slowly open without any signal yet you are cheerily greeted by a person clearly so happy to work there, inviting you in, and so began 5 hours (I know... however there was never a down moment and I was sad to see it end at all) of simple - and not so simple - culinary joy.

Some 'impressions' can challenge your tastes, while others are just the epitome of what you already found most delicious. Each is personally introduced to you, created with incredible technique, and can be paired with a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices, or you can just pick what drinks you would like. The wine selection is huge but I opted for non-alc and was fascinated by their creations of kombucha, water kefirs (you learn something everyday...), and infusions.

The experience as you move through the amazing building is literally out of this world, and besides the pictures you can already see around I shan't say more.

Every member of the team that serves you is attentive, expert, helpful, friendly, and charming, and while they do come and go occasionally it never feels impersonal. The head chef himself also visits, and you can often see him overseeing in the kitchen like it's opening night - but you wouldn't know it if you didn't recognize him; he is super humble and everyone clearly enjoys working with him.

We actually had a little moment which left me really disappointed, my evening tainted toward the end, but as we moved on we got word we would receive something to make it up, and Rasmus Munk personally presented us another impression that was pretty much my downright favourite; I was actually a bit embarrassed and apologized at the end but received nothing but thanks for trying it!

It is difficult to book, as you will see how limited the places are if you manage to attend, and it isn't cheap, and a bit of a slog to get to; this is all elegantly dealt with or even beneficial, and I left feeling grateful for the experience.

From the drinks app, the commemorative menu you leave with, the very entrances and exits, to the bathrooms... the entire place was wonderful, as is every person:

Sonja(?) and I want to name the others but am ashamed I can't - though I presume there's only one from Italy but not really Italian and hope he is recognized also, along with everyone else but I won't crudely describe the entire team.

A real labour of love, exacted perfectly with no restraint - I dare say, but I can imagine there is much more the world has yet to see from Rasmus Munk's mind, and the hands of his incredible team.

And y'all really need a bucket of that omelette, and bikini sandwiches. And airy bread. And... I'll stop now; just...