Kiin Kiin — Restaurant in Copenhagen Municipality

If you're into Thai food, Kiin Kiin is enjoyable but not quite as incredible as its Michelin status would seem to imply. At the price we paid (approx $120/person EUR after minimal beverage selection) I would say there are better options overall to be found in Copenhagen that will treat you with the first class service you deserve at this price point.

We visited Kiin Kiin on a Sunday evening for their first seating "Theatre Menu", consisting of their series of small bites (think a rapid series of amuse bouches to set the stage) in the lobby, followed by a chef's choice of 4 courses upstairs. If you choose to visit Kiin Kiin, this is menu I would recommend - we left the restaurant satiated, having only missed out on a small soup and additional entree + dessert bite.

Kiin Kiin strives to earn its distinguished places as one of the only Michelin rated Thai restaurants by virtue of its presentation and format. With fun concepts such as cotton candy sauces and liquid nitrogen coconut desserts, they do achieve some visibility doing this. However, the best bites of the night were their takes on classic Thai flavors perfectly executed. A Tom Kha Gai, a pad thai sauce, a perfectly smoked and seasoned street sausage- you do feel elements of being back in Bangkok. For someone with a more American palette, I felt the flavors to be on the slightly sweet side due to the lack of the Thai spice to cut it, but overall enjoyable.

The overall meal would have rated higher if not for the service. We arrived 15 minutes late due to our delayed flight, and we were appreciative to have been seated even if we had lost the love seat table. However, our series of first bites were so rapidly delivered that we were basically force fed to keep up with the pace and clear space on the table. Additionally, the drinks were poorly explained (in part, due to a double language barrier, with us speaking American English and our host speaking Thai-tinged English), but in large part of an underlying sentiment that the restaurant expected us to just say yes to whatever was presented. This continued upstairs with a well intentioned server, who was pleasant but disappeared from our table as soon as other tables started showing up for later seatings and she realized we would not be doing add ons to our menu. Our meal was so rushed that despite starting 20 minutes late, we were complete 15 minutes in advance of the specified completion time- with many tables still open. To the host's credit, we were presented a small box of branded chocolates as a gift for our...

My review is based on me and my husband’s personal experience and in the light that this is an expensive restaurant with a Michelin star so there are some expectations on the overall experience, like the food, presentation, service, ambiance, ease of reservation and communication, that should all be in order and on point. My husband and I were gifted a dinner at Kiin Kiin from our family to our combined birthday. We were really happy and looked forward to finally visit this restaurant, that we have heard so much positive about. But sadly, this was a very mixed and rather disappointing experience, that left a bad aftertaste. Upon arrival we delivered the gift card to the hostess, like we were told to do, when we reserved the table over the phone some weeks prior. The first waiter that seated us at the table, asked if we knew the concept and we said no, because it was our first time there and we only knew that we would get the two menus with a wine and a juice menu to accompany the food that was stated on the gift card. He said we were in safe hands and that they would guide us all the way. We were seated in a corner in the crowded basement, were there was hot and not the best acoustics. Some of the food was really good, like the Soya merengue with cashew and the spicy salad with flounder, and some was too salty or spicy to taste what it was, like the green curry with cod and the Tom Yam soup. We asked the staff about some of the elements on the dishes, but they couldn’t answer other than the initial presentation speech that followed each new serving. The presentation was quite nice but a bit awkward at moments and it seemed the staff was not experienced and were nervous and difficult to communicate with at times. At the end of the meal after we were served the last thing, and the other customers had left, we were left alone down in the basement, and we felt they just forgot all about us for quite some time. When we approached the staff before leaving, to settle the bill, because we got a cup of coffee that was not a part of the menu, we were told everything was in order and wished us a nice evening. Apparently, it wasn’t. The communication problems with the staff resulted in a misunderstanding that afterwards was very badly handled by the owner. All this makes that our visit to the restaurant in June 2019 isn’t something we ever want to repeat and we really can’t recommend this...

A relic of Michelin days past. A decade or two ago, this was likely a ground breaking experience in light handed fusion of Royal Thai cuisine in a French haute cuisine format, but times and trends have moved on, and Kiin Kiin has not evolved or kept pace with what’s available on the international scene in its class of restaurant at this price point.

I can see how this must have burst onto the scene so long ago, because the concept is interesting; the 6 amuse bouche/ snacks to start the meal are innovative in their mix of traditional flavours, spice, heat and textures and were one of the highlights. But as the meal progressed some of the table side theatrics just began to feel unnecessary and almost detracted from the actual quality of the cooking.

Asian diners familiar with fine dining or the Michelin and even non Michelin accredited establishments in South East Asia will likely be disappointed here because the flavours are familiar but not elevated enough for them to appreciate.

That said, anyone who is less familiar or just craving a light haute cuisine Asian experience for date night or a special occasion will enjoy the evening.

The environment and decor is a little dated and lacks the refinement and sophistication of other establishments at this price point. But it’s still comfortable and… maybe a little too warm. The AC here is stuffy so try to be seated near a window so you can personally modulate the draft from the window yourself.

The aromatic crab curry with home made rice noodle was a highlight. The curry is delicate enough to be turned into an espuma which highlights the delicate flavour and aromatics. Many of the other dishes felt very heavy handed in salt and acid and lacked the sophistication and execution of this dish. And like I said before, some of the fussiness took away from the actual good cooking of the kitchen. Not so in this dish.

Service was pleasant and the establishment is run by a mostly Asian crew predominantly Thai in ethnicity to give it that exotic feeling. They seem to enjoy entertaining you and helped to make the night more of...