Kong Hans Kaelder
Kong Hans Kaelder Review at-a-glance
Awards: One Michelin star
+Fine french cooking with impeccably sourced ingredients in a city known for a very different style of food.
+Fantastic setting with a top-notch FOH enhancing the overall experience.
-All that goodness comes at a pretty high price which is not out of line with the rest of Denmark but still a hefty bill nonetheless.
Rating: 93
Verdict: Most of the time the FOH does not have any impact on how I score a restaurant, it blends seamlessly into the experience without having leaving a positive or negative impression. Yes, sometimes there are such obvious missteps that it mars my memories of the meal and I dock a few points but for the most part it has no impact. Dinner at Kong Hans Kaelder was the rare time where the service was so good that I actually bumped it up a point or two.
Those qualifications aside, this is cooking of the highest caliber. In a city full of New Nordic technicians, Chef Mark Lundgaard zigs while the other chef’s zag, focusing his considerable talents on producing his interpretation of French classics. While his technique is French, Lundgaard seems to borrow the best parts of new Nordic cooking while leaving the bad parts behind. He takes the Nordic’s impeccable sourcing and pairs back his dishes in a smart way without going into some of the bizarre flavor combinations. The end result is a meal that is hard to fault in a one of a kind setting in the vaulted cellar of one of the oldest buildings in Copenhagen. Being Denmark, the experience does not come cheap but it is worth the money.
Price I paid: 1700 DKK (€228) for the tasting menu
Value: 13/20
Kong Hans Kaelder & Chef Mark Lundgaard Background
Kong Hans Kaelder, which translates roughly to King Johns Cellar, is a one Michelin star restaurant in Copenhagen nestled in the vaulted ceiling cellar in one of the oldest buildings of the city. The dining room was stunning and unique with the only complaint being the very murky lighting making it almost impossible to take pictures of the food. Service was some of the best I had. My waiter was training to be the head sommelier and had a real passion for what he does, answering my many food nerd questions and taught me quite a bit about wine and what it is like to manage a multi-million dollar a year wine budget like the one at Kong Hans Kaelder.
This being Denmark the meal at Kong Hans Kaelder does not come cheap with the tasting menu coming in at a chunky 1700 DKK (roughly €228). While this is roughly twice what a one-star would cost in Germany it is not out of line with Denmark pricing where a three-star likes Geranium costs north of €350. Wine pairings will set you back another 1,500 - 3,500 DKK depending on the rarity of wines you want to enjoy. If you want to go by the glass or by the bottle the wine program at Kong Hans Kaelder has impressive depth with some 3,000 odd labels which not only cover the famous European regions but further afield wines as well.
I drank exceedingly well at this meal, starting with a Georg Breur 2018 Terra Montosa Reisling which I picked because I had previously enjoyed it while visiting the winery. This was followed by multiple pours of a 1996 Hoffmann-Simon Auslee Reisling that the Sommelier was tasting himself but kindly let me try after seeing my interest in German wines - it was shockingly dry for an Auslee in a good way. This was followed by 2015 Chateau Simon Rose, 2017 Burganndy Pinot Noir from a small producer Par Koji et Jae Hwa, 2018 Ridge Geyserville blend from California, and another terrifically aged 2003 Auslee from Mosel Valley producer Jos Christoffel Jr. I know very little about wine but these certainly aided in making the meal even more enjoyable than they would have otherwise.
What I ate at Kong Hans Kaelder
The meal at Kong Hans Kaelder started off with an armada of well-made nibbles including quail egg with caviar, new potato & horseradish, fresh cheese tart with ramson & lardo, the best of the goose with apricot & marjoram, Fjord Shrimp with tomato and dill. What a start from Mark Lundgaard and his team in the kitchen. Choosing a favorite from this selection of top-shelf snacks must be like a parent trying to pick a favorite child but I particularly liked the ‘best of the goose’ which had a terrific balance between the rich foie and sweet apricot and the cheese tart which had a great texture. A more substantial amuse was Oxheart Tomato with Olive Oil and Basil. This was a nice classic combination of flavors but well made - even the best tomatoes can be watery but not the case here as their flavors were bright and had welcome acidity. The sorbet was also a smart choice, adding a nice temperature contrast to the dish.
Grilled langoustines with barigoule & beurre blanc was not the prettiest of dishes but packed in the flavor. The langoustines were lightly grilled and served split in the shell, having tremendous inherent sweetness and the right texture. The accompanying beurre blanc was a textbook rendition of the french classic and a real treat to enjoy. The richness of the beurre balnc was smartly cut through by some pickled asparagus that brought the entire dish together. This was followed by an equally unattractive but just as delicious chanterelle fricassee with corn & parsley (pictured far right). A fricassee is a middle point between a sautee and a stew - less liquid than the stew but more than your typical sautee. This little take on the dish was packed with flavor - the chanterelles were nice and springy and the baby corn a far cry from your Chinese takeout variety with great crunch and flavor of their own. Most importantly the seasoning was spot on and lifted everything up. A rich dish but one the kitchen smartly served in a small portion.
The meal kicked into overdrive with the the main fish course - Roasted turbot with spinach and red wine sauce. Just like everything else in the meal, the cook on the turbot was on point and the ‘potato scales’ on top were perfectly crispy. Pairing the fish with a reduced red wine sauce in lieu of the more common cream sauce was a smart move by the kitchen as it gave the fish a more meaty flavor due to the sauce’s deep flavor without being overly reduced. Next up was rabbit ravioli with saddle & peas a la francaise was another solid dish but not quite as strong as the turbot before it or the pigeon after. Especially noteworthy were the peas in the dish which were of exceptional quality at their peak summer season.
The highlight of the meal was a pigeon on the crown with cherries & sauce mysterie, an exemplary display of cooking à la minute from the kitchen. Roasting pigeon on the crown involves carving the legs off the pigeon and roasting the breasts whole on the bone. Just like when you cook a bone-in ribeye, leaving the pigeon on the bone keeps the meat moist and imparts extra flavor during the cooking process. Here the kitchen showed off its confidence in its own ability, sending the entire bird out to be carved tableside which leaves little room for error if it is not accurately cooked. This confidence was well-placed as the end result was a gloriously moist pigeon breast with nicely crisped skin. Equally good was the sauce mysterie, named after the chefs cooking process where he builds the the sauce by continually tasting, seasoning and reducing a jus until it tastes as he wants it. Today’s version featured some 27 odd spices before Chef Mark Lundgaard was happy with the flavor. If you visit Hans Kong Kaelder your sauce mysterie likely won’t taste the same as mine but if it is half as good you will certainly be happy. Unrelated to the taste of the dish but relevant to the kind of hospitality I was shown - while the course typically only includes one pigeon breast my server happily gave me two since you can’t split a pigeon on the crown with this kind of tableside preparation.
The first pre-dessert was a granita of gooseberries with chartreuse (not pictured). This was simple but effective in cleansing the palate and the use of chartreuse was well judged to prevent it from being overpowering. This was followed by the last course before the legendary Kong Hans Kaelder dessert trolley which can only be described as a flex from the kitchen, Rossini caviar with coconut & olive oil. The story behind the dish was the chef was on vacation from the Maldives and was inspired by the flavors he had there including an abundance of coconut. I am not sure I buy this story but however the inspiration came I am glad it did. I have not had caviar in a dessert before but its use here was very effective due to the kitchen achieving a wonderful balance of flavors - the fat from the olive oil, salinity from the caviar, and the coconut all working in harmony. This kind of creativity could have easily gone sideways but under Lundgaard’s steady hand it came together nicely.
The grand finale was a dessert trolley, a long-time staple of Kong Hans Kaelder and absolutely packed with every pastry treat you could want. This included smaller treats like chocolates, macarons, madeleines, and scoops of different flavors of ice cream as well as some larger slices of pie and a peach flambee. Because I wanted to make sure the quality was consistent across the cart, I ordered and ate one of everything. I am happy to report they were all well made with the favorite being the lemon tart and the ice cream. My only complaint was that it would be nice to also have a plated dessert to see what the pastry team does in a more composed form. However, this is a more philosophical nitpick than an actual problem with the dessert which was a joy.