JATAK — Restaurant in Copenhagen Municipality

This is a fantastic restaurant and the food is sensational - certainly some of the best we have had in Copenhagen, and we have eaten at some very nice restaurants!

The place is small and intimate. We sat at the kitchen table, which was great fun. You really get to see the action, and also meet chef/owner Jonathan Tam. There is a set menu, with optional beverage pairing. Be ready for many small courses, each interesting and complex and served beautifully. Here is just an example of our meal.

The first course was celtuce (which is a green vegetable that looks like asparagus but tastes like, well, celtuce), wrapped in nori and served with a sambal sauce. Lovely and fresh. Next up was perch served raw topped with thin slices of apple and turnip and topped with a mixture of lemon and other light sauces. Again, lovely and fresh. We then got a sort-of fried dumpling filled with a yummy cauliflower mixture and topped with raw local shrimp. This was delicious!!!! The monkfish that we were served next was perfectly cooked and served on a smear of a chickpea based sauce. The flavors again were perfect. Followed were two dishes based on squid - one finely sliced and served cold, and one hot - served crispy with an amazing filling that was savory and altogether scrumptious. This might have been my favorite dish.

The main course was venison, served with an interesting side of carrots, both with very interesting accompanying sauces. Followed were three small desserts that were really yummy: a sorbet topped with pumpkin, a Japanese cheesecake, and finally a perfectly cooked shortbread filled with a lemon grass filling. These were the perfect end to a perfect meal.

The Michelin star is well deserved. Service was impeccable, and the food superb. What more can you ask for!

You absolutely need a reservation. The place is small.

Note: At present, the street in front of the restaurant is torn up, so there is bike or foot access only. Our taxi didn't even try to get us very close. Make sure to leave enough time to walk there. It is located at...

Jatak was my 29th Michelin star restaurant, so my review comes with a bit of a comparison element. I am revising my review after some discussions with the owner. First, we left hungry. There is just no excuse for this. My group ate lunch before but the portions and fact there are only 8 courses in the dining room vs. 12 at the counter was not sufficient. I can honestly say this has never happened at any of the other 28 restaurants of this caliber. This is by far the most disappointing, regardless of the price to leave a restaurant hungry.There are not utensil swaps, so you'll eat with the same chopstick the entire meal, they get pretty gross and again, this is was a first for a Michelin restaurant. This means that sauces and flavours from one dish will carry to the others. We had some food spill on the table and the staff didn't come clean off the table between courses each time, so sometimes we cleaned our own table with the napkins provided. The food was good, not great, creative but not inventive. The owner said the dining room is the "core" experience while the "gastronomic" experience is had at the counter. My biggest issue is that we were not helped with drinks. If you don't order the drink pairing, they leave you floundering to guess what they have. Their sommelier, Winston, made no efforts and not a single wine suggestion after we turned down the pairing. Turns out they have a drink list but it was never offered. We incorrectly guessed 3 drinks before correctly guessing something they had. Frankly ridiculous. Without any idea of the pricing of what you've guessed, you're unsure if the glass of chardonnay you've ordered is $100 or $10, so this leaves you feeling a bit uncomfortable, especially to find out after there is a drink list, but she didn't offer it. The food quality was a 4, the service was a 2, the food quantity was a 3, the atmosphere is a 3... overall 3 stars is...

We came in curious but also not knowing quite what to expect. But from the moment we stepped in, something in the atmosphere made it clear: you can relax now. Even though the restaurant was full and lively, with music and chatter in the air, there was a calmness underneath, this quiet, concentrated presence from the team that made us feel so deeply held.

Sitting at the bar, we got to witness the craft up close: the attentive, gentle rhythm of the kitchen, the way each person moved with care and purpose. What really struck us was the humility across the whole team. From the head chef to the folks on the line, everyone was kind, grounded, generous. No ego - just real joy in the work, and a clear sense that they wanted the food to speak for itself. And it did.

The dishes were simply stunning. Well balanced: creative and surprising, but never trying too hard. So often, “inventive” food sacrifices taste for concept, but here every bite was actually delicious. Textures that made us close our eyes. Flavors we’ve never tasted in quite this way that made us smile. Even though the portions were small, we left completely satisfied: feeling both nourished as well as very full.

The tempo of the evening deserves a special mention. Dishes arrived in a rhythm that felt… attuned. Not rushed, not dragging. Just right. That pacing was part of what allowed the whole experience to unfold with so much ease. We felt spacious and cared for.

The service was warm, thoughtful, and responsive. Our group had a few dietary requests (someone pescetarian, someone avoiding certain sauces) and each dish came out clearly tailored, remembered, and our preferences respected - without ever being made a fuss over.

This meal was absolutely yummy in a way that felt incredibly intentional. Very much appreciated and recommend. and don’t miss out on sitting on the bar to enjoy watching...