Amass Restaurant — Restaurant in Copenhagen Municipality

Amass - Køpenhavn- May 2022

It’s a restraurant created by Tom Orlando who has worked at Per Se (NYC), The Fat Duck (UK) and as executive chef (nr2) at Noma before opening Amass in an old industrial building not far from the former Noma “1” location.

On arrival you’re supposed to go up some concrete stairs to the first floor to then be taken downstairs to the… ground floor. I would have hated that but I had had exchanges with them prior to coming and they had told me I could go through the kitchen (downstairs) straight into the dining room. It’s also possible to go around the building through the left and enter through the back. Anyway, the other three had to go through the up and down, which they were not so happy about. It’s rather silly.

Anyway once inside, I was glad to see they had taken my format into account with a suite confortable and armless office chair. The menu is of course unique for everybody and consists of 12 courses (including chips, bread, and cookies, so really 9 courses, but some are double servings around the same product, so well…) but it didn’t seem “so expensive” as the menu PLUS the entire drink pairing, aperitif, water and coffee was 295€ per person.

So for this price, was it good, yes. All of it was nice, tasty and pleasant. But was it innovative, at some moments unique and globally interesting ? Well, in the greatest part, NO.

What was real good ? A lovely steam-cooked bun with langoustines inside, a lovely crumble including caviar and nuts and a piece of very lovely half-cooked lieu noir fish under a green glazing. That was real GOOD.

The rest, including some kind or potatoe kroepoek, a potatoe bread and green garlic butter, a broth made of fish bones and herbs, a nice scallop (half of one actually) and the “fake chocolat” cookies were OK.

The broth with sea shells and veggies, the fried “sausage” of lower fish parts and the desserts were just banal. So we’re some of the wines. After a nice green wine to start (apparently unfiltered and natural), the rest of the pairing was classical, from burgundy to riesling and an Italian rosé. And weirdly a dry schnaps added at the end.

The funny part is that come and give you a whole lecture about “how to make chocolate with local grains to avoid importing cocoa” and then serve you… coffee. 🤷🏼‍♂️ But, ok, it’s a start. ♻️ 🌍

So would I return ? Maybe. I am not sure. But given the distance, I guess not.

It’s one green star, no regular stars, and maybe it could get one if the entire dinner gets a notch up. But I’m unsure about it.

#Industrial #Loft #Natural #Locavore...

The newest on the fine-dining scene in Copenhagen, another ex-Noma chef (and ex-The Fat Duck, and ex-Per Se), Matt Orlando, has opened a new restaurant composed of the increasingly popular concept of casual fine-dining at Amass, located far out on Christianshavn, at the old Burmeister & Wain shipyards on Refshaleøen.

I had the pleasure of sitting at Table 153 with my dinner date, in plain sight of the kitchen, where another friend of mine is currently doing a stage. True to Scandinavian form, the kitchen has an open layout and is "sunken" from the dining room area, making it possible to see the chefs move about in detailed orchestration, preparing plates of food (as well as cleaning every detail of the kitchen once the service was finished, almost equally as impressive IMHO).

Can honestly say that Amass has effortlessly made it into the Top Five Meals Of My Life with the likes of Noma, Willows Inn, Daniel, and a tiny Auberge outside of Grenoble that you have to hike to in order to find (Auberge des Allières). Not one single detail was forgotten, the ingredients were fresh, Matt Orlando's wife was our server (what a team!), the wines were fantastic, and I nearly moaned in ecstasy at least four different times (first was the fermented potato bread which I could. not. stop. eating, followed by black pepper ice cream with caramel and oregano, and then bay leaf infused MUFFINS). Creative ingredients, amazing staff, beautiful ambiance, brilliant taste - I am almost positive that Amass is going to be in the top 50 within the next year or two, definitely worthy of at least a couple Michelin stars as well. Do yourself a favor and get a reservation now while they are still possible to get.

Personally speaking I can highly recommend getting a spot at Table 153. It was such a delight to dine with other foodies who came to Amass on different circumstances than us. We had great conversation and ended up sharing a couple bottles of wine at the end of our meal because we were having such a nice time together. Reservations for Table 153 are taken only by email, and I believe are slightly easier to get than regular tables for the...

Lasting impressions: Amazing food cooked with attention and love in an open industrial warehouse setting that somehow manages to feel welcoming, warm and homely. Our experience: The first thing that struck us was the fact that when you arrive, you can see right through the glass doors into the kitchen and it's slightly voyeuristic, watching the chefs at work. The staff were amazing - attentive without being overbearing, incredibly professional and personable. The chefs brought your food to you and explained what you were eating and we really liked that touch. We went for the Table 153 experience, which involved a shared social table and extended tasting menu. My bf went for the wine pairing but as there were about 9 courses or something crazy, I left the alcohol to him to save myself from sliding under the table as the evening wore on and I was glad I did as the food was so amazing, I'd hate to have been to inebriated to remember it clearly. There was maybe one dish I was unsure about - but it was still good... and everything else was utterly exquisite. I also liked the open nature of the restaurant. The kitchen and office were completely open. There was a lot of space around each table, so you didn't feel crammed in and you didn't need to worry about eavesdropping on the table next to you and so, we felt able to talk freely and enjoy the Table 153 experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone. The bf wasn't sure about all of the wine pairings but he was glad to have tried them. I was surprised that they didn't have a green tea but their manuka tea was wonderful. Do try it! It's expensive but it's worth the money. We shared the Table 153 experience with a couple of chefs who were just as impressed as us by the whole evening. The verdict: We would go back and would highly...