Norrlyst — Restaurant in Copenhagen Municipality

From the outside it looks like a cozy little restaurant as it is situated on a lower level. However, looks are deceiving; the seating area was much larger than expected.

Upon receiving the menu, I immediately zoned in on the 4-course special. Along with the meal I also got a glass of the wine recommended by the hostess. The wine was not to dry and it kind of had a “spicy” kick to it, almost feel like a red wine version of a sparkling water.

The meal itself started promptly, but the wait times in between dishes eventually grew as the chef in charge of the plating was also juggling dishes for a table of eight and a table of six. Not a big deal; gave me a chance to savor the taste of each dish just a bit longer.

First dish was the dairy cow tartar. A bit different from the traditional tartar with capers etc. however, the pickled turnips (which is draped over the beef) definitely added to the flavor. The sourdough crumble was also a surprise but that crunch just elevated the dish even further.

The next course was, hands down, the best of the four. I may be bias because I love monkfish and its heavy consistency, but this dish was delicious. The caviar mixed in with the brown sugar buttermilk sauce was also a nice touch. Nice and light and it complemented the monkfish perfectly.

For the main course, I opted to go the extra mile and try the duck breast over the haddock. I spent four years in the UK and had my fair share of haddock, so duck was the easy choice. I have very high expectations for duck breast because it’s one of those meats where if it’s overcooked, it turns very gamey. The table of six sitting behind me were quietly complaining over the duck being too raw. I didn’t see the cook on the breast myself so I cannot put into perspective what “too raw” meant. However, when my duck was served, I found my duck breast to be slightly on the well-done side. Although not extremely gamey, it did make the breast a bit dry. Luckily the generous amount of mushroom sauce was there to help it along. Not having a consistent cook on the duck breast across many diners is the reason why I only gave four stars for food; also because this is the main course.

The last course was a standard mandarin sorbet. Nothing too special to mention expect for the cute rose hip flowers.

Overall, will still highly recommend. Don’t let the duck put you off as the haddock is always an option. Additionally, I believe the menu changes seasonal, so soon enough you won’t need to worry about the duck breast.

Go try it out for yourself now. Worthy of Michelin 2023...

Ambitious but not at all Bib standard. On paper really good dishes but poor balance and execution turned this into a bland overpriced dinner.

First of all. Stop putting cress on everything. It took over entirely and felt really out of place in some dishes.

A crustade with shrimps and smoky potato emulsion was actually really nice. Good textural contrasts and balance in flavour (perhaps a bit much smoke).

The beef tartare was nice in itself but the accompanying potato cake was cold, dry and felt very pre made. If it were to have been a freshly butter fried rosti the dish would have been really elevated.

The scallop dish was truly underwhelming. First of all messed up balance with enormous amounts of gelly/gummy taste less sweet potato purée. It should have been creamier and seasoned and in lesser quantity. Cress that gave everything an overpowering cilantro flavour. Cold scallop that seemed to have been sous vide ahead and briefly torched. Very plain tasting. Would have been a lot tastier with a freshly pan seared scallop with some nice browning.

The rib eye dish proved further failure in execution. Tough and dry in places and okay in other. Overly salty. Way too large of a plate in a tasting menu. Again cress, with overpowering cilantro flavour that didn’t fit in at all. Broccolini is always nice, no complaints there. Nduja sauce which only tasted of salt and instantly turned the rather nice tapioca crisps into chewy/leathery pieces.

Dessert was great though. Nice size. Yummy strawberries paired with vanilla, elderflower and cardamom. Nothing groundbreaking but a nice dish.

Bread was also good. But so is the bread at my local bakery.

Unfortunately a big...

Bottom line: Norrlyst is good, but not great, and not worth the price.

We've been to lots of Michelin and Michelin-style restaurants over the years, and while Norrlyst is clearly trying to replicate the success of that model, the dishes were okay, but weren't memorable enough to compete. The Pea Vol au Vent, for example, had a lot of potential, but ended up just being bland puff pastry with some microgreens scattered on top. The dessert similarly disappointed, with only the base (a simple almond cake) being better than just 'fine'.

The service was friendly and attentive, and the servers also spoke English and Danish with no problems. They knew the dishes very well, and explained everything. No issues there.

The overall ambiance was lacking. You're in a dark basement, squeezed into too-small tables, with peeling walls that maybe were meant to look 'distressed' but really just look tired.

Finally, after spending 1395 DKK, it's insulting to be told that you need to spend another 20 or 30 for water. I know it's a thing in Denmark, but it's in poor taste, especially at such a...