Last night I dined at Restaurationen, owned and run by Lisbeth and Bo Jacobsen since 1991. It’s my second visit there, and ever since my first time, which was lovely, I had longing to go back. Bo and Restaurationen had a Michelin star for a couple of years during the late nineties, I think it was, but lost it and never got it back.
I love the atmosphere at Restaurationen. It’s very down to earth and friendly, and reflects Bo and Lisbeth’s kind personality. The room of the restaurant, and especially the toilets are decorated from the floor to the ceiling with awards, reviews from news papers and magazines as well as printed articles and tell the successful story of 16 years in business. The food is served on beautiful porcelain from Royal Copenhagen, underlining the Danish style and traditions.
As you know already, 2008 is my year of exploring the Bordeaux wine region. So, my dinner had to be some place, where I could get a nice bottle from that area to extend my wine knowledge and to stimulate senses and my mind with new and challenging impressions. As Restaurationen had a free table and a nice wine list this was the place to go.
Sorry to say I only have a few photos of my dinner. The reason is that I’ve got this new lens for my camera and I’m not yet that experienced in using it, so I only shot a few ones to allow myself to focus more on enjoying the food and not watching it though a lens.
Amuse Bouche
… and Bo’s home made Danish ham
Restaurationen only serves one menu comprising five courses which can be extended with The Extravagance and with cheeses selected from the trolley.
This evening, 19 January, the menu offered the following:
Home made smoked ham with poached egg, butter toast, winter truffle and chives
Jerusalem artichoke cream soup with steamed cod, Jerusalem artichokes in lemon and breadcrumb with parsley
Pan sheared scallop and langoustines with endive “meuniere”, beurre blanc, glace and lovage
Entremets
Beef fillet with mustard sauce, white cabbage baked with maple syrup and black pepper, breaded breast of beef with soup vegetables, horseradish and chervil
Pre dessert
Honey cake with nougat custard and dates
Orange parfait “en surprise”
Bread pudding with home preserved black cherries
The Extravagance is a small luxurious dish served as an intro to the menu and matched with a glass of wine.
Last night The Extravagance presented two pieces of fried foie gras, Chardonnay glace and fresh walnuts. The delectable nuts had a very delicious taste with some bitterness to it, which was great with the liver. One of the two pieces was sinewy but the other was perfect and melted on my tongue at the instance of touching it. A Riesling Spätlese accompanied the duck and added sweetness to the food. The wine was very rich with a high density and to me a bit too powerful for a first course. In my opinion this luxuriousness should have been fourth and followed by the main course.
Going back to the wine and the main theme of the night. I had studied at home, compared the prices on Restaurationen’s wine list, their selection, and my bank account, and found a couple of suggestions for my wine-lover friend, with whom I shared this dinner.
1990 La Mission Haut Brion, Graves Grand Cru Classé
I wanted to try the La Mission Haut Brion because it was amongst the first fine Bordeaux wines which made Bordeaux famous for it’s wine back in the 17th century.
The colour of the wine was very dark, almost black. When tilting the glass a light orange tone was revealed. Even though the nose was a bit closed at first the power was striking. Most pronounced were the scents of ashes, smoke and tobacco. The after-taste was long like nothing I have ever tried before. Even after the first mouthful of cod fish and Jerusalem artichokes, I could still sense it on my tongue.
About 30 minutes prior to the main course the bottle had been opened at my table and decanted above a candle light lit with matches with the lovely smell of cedar tree. I loved the show of it.
After a while in the decanter the flavours were unleashed. Only a light sniff to the wine was enough to sense it. I didn’t need to breath deeply to absorb all the nuances. Much more taste had evolved, but the after-taste was a bit short of fruit. The La Mission was a very intense wine dominated by pepper, cherries (made me think of Amarena cherries), hints of oak, tobacco and smoke above all. These flavours were followed by a drowning bitterness, ashes and smoke accompanied by a creaminess to it. A most enjoyable wine that matched the sauce accompanying the beef brilliantly.
The food was great, very classic but nice and tasty. I loved the amuses of sweetbread, eel’s mousse and cod fish roes, they were all really sophisticated. And the starter of Bo’s home made delicious ham, and the black truffles which were gorgeously earthy in scent and taste although only at the size of my index finger’s nail; the tiniest truffle slices I have ever got but beautifully decorating the dish of red, yellow, white and now black colours.
There was one thing I disliked a little bit about this dinner, which was the size of the courses. Okay, I admit that my tummy is not the biggest one these days, but I do have quite a talent for squeezing huge dinners into it. But this was too much. Also for my wine-lover friend. We had stomach aches afterwards. Sure it’s my own fault but really I left food on my plate after every dish. That’s a waste in my opinion.
Anyways, Restaurationen was a very nice way to start of my 2008 Epicurous Itinerary and a lovely wine study indeed.
Lord Rodney, hvordan laver du hyldeblomstkapers? Jeg har ikke været i stand til at finde en opskrift.
This time I am too late. But For what I had to eat It was pretty clear that Noma is not the best place for big powerful red wines. Mostly their kitchen is based on seafood and greens. No doubt Champagne is the best all-round partner with most of their food. I am sure you like that(hey, a lot of Pinot Noir in Champagne too 😉 ) Also I would choose some wines from Austria. the whites are great and crisp and the red have good balance and are not too heavy. I look forward to read about it, trine :-))
Fast reply!!
Do you have a recommendation for what to drink today, then?
Yes, we are quite heavy drinkers :p
Thanks Soooo much. The menu sounds great! I’ve been blessed with some of your dishes but certainly not all of them. My goodness – did you drink all that including your own fine bottle?
Hej Johannes!
JA, ikke 😀 Mange tak for din kommentar.
Bare det bliver lige så godt i dag. Det er jeg dog ikke i tvivl om det gør. 😉
Trine
Heysan,
Det ser sgu vildt lækkert ud!!
Fantastisk 😉
/Johannes
Trine…you live well 🙂
Here we go:
Snacks:
Kartofler med østersremoulade, syltet & røget vagtelæg. Æbleskiver med svinebryst & kvædepuré
Tatar og skovsyre
Aromatisk enebær og estragonemulsion
Knivmuslinger og persille
Peberrod og Kærnemælk
Mælke skind og porre
Rapsolie og trøffel fra Gotland
Jumfruhummer og “söl”
Rug og østers
Havtaske og tang
Grøntsager i stok
Rensdyr og selleri
Sødskærm og hyldeblomstkapers
Danske oste
Tyttebær og honningkage
Ristet hø
Varme rødbeder og sagogryn
Malt og estragon
Til kaffen 35 år gammel Springbank Whiskey og flødebolle med rødbedeskum.
Vinmenu:
NV Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs
Jacques Lassaigne
Montgueux
NV Champagne Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs “Terre du Vertus”
Larmandier-Bernier
Vertus
2000 Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Lauonis
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
2006 Riesling “Stenmassl”
Fred Loimer
Kamptal
2000 Champagne Grand Cru
Marguet
Ambonnay
2003 Domaine de la Grange des Péres
Languedoc-Roussillon
NV Champagne demi-Sec
Fleury
Courteron
1999 Rich Reserve
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin
Reims
egen medbragt vin: gammel Krug Rosé
🙂
True, Burgundies are not exactly cheap.
I need to study Californian PN. In my memory I have only too oaked-tasting experiences from over seas wines. Thanks for the tip!
Yum yum – looking forward to the nomappetizer 😉 The little star dust I can linger on until my own meal later this week 😀
I won’t trey to “colour” you in any way but now that you made your own note I couldn’t agree with you more!! Bordeaux is okay but really Pinot Noir is King! For my part I am nuts about California Pinot Noir, also Burgundy prices are through the roof! As for the Noma program in danish I will write it up here this evening! Drool drool! 🙂
But noma’s celebration menu is also very welcome here in Danish, Mr Lord Rodney 😉 🙂
Anyway, I drank the La Reserve on Saturday and liked it a lot, but not as much as love Burgundy. It opened after two hours and was very pleasing, some but restrained fruit, not enough I believe, and it never got to my mid-palate, which appeared a bit strange to me. I noted cassis, cherries and coffee beans(!), a god deal of acidity (some at the back of my teeth), fine tannins and a very long finish. This is written from memory as I, sadly, cannot find where I wrote my notes. Conclusion is – I get much more sophistication and pleasure from Burgundy for the same amount of money. Hmm.
Well I have the menu card still, but it’s in Danish, and a lot of the stuff I have no clue what’s called in English. We did have that dish with a razor clam in green jelly 🙂 You could mail me if you want it. there sure was some nice dishes!
About the wine. No I don’t think it’s too early at all. It’s the second wine from Leoville Barton, and from 2001. These wines were meant to be drunk in their early life. A few of the second wines in Bordeaux ages well but not really as a general rule.
@The Lord
Oh, I’d love to just a little about the food you ate at noma for New Year’s. Please. Krug is definitely on my wish list!
Thanks a lot for your Haut Brion TN! In a minute I’m opening a 2001 La Réserve de Léoville Barton, which will be first time I try St. Julien. I’m excited. (Probably, you’d say it’s way too early now?)
No, have never visited Mark Squire’s Wineboard. I’m sure, though, that Voodoo Child knows where. 😉
@Voodoo Child
Happy to see you around here! Thanks for your note. If you don’t drink Bordeaux these, then what do you drink?
I had the pleasure of tasting a Haut Brion 1975 with Rasmus, it was great so was Mouton Rothschilds in the same vintage, these wines needs loads of time, I have tasted La Mission Haut Brion 1983 a great wine too, but that was long ago, I never drink Bordeaux these days.
Hello Trine
Yes I’m Lord Rodney, guess there’s no hiding. Are you a lurker on Mark Squires Wineboard? 😉
I completley agree with you about the mistakes/cold service issue. Small mistakes like that dosen’t bother me at all. We had “perfect” service at Kong Hans but boy was it impersonal!
I found my old note on the Haut-Brion:
“1975 Château Haut-Brion, Graves
Colour: Dark ruby with a orange edge. very beautiful
Nose: Ahh! many layers of forest in the autumn, mushrooms and sweet notes of tobacco, wet soil and dried berries. This wine just kept growing and growing. For a while all we did was sniff it!
Taste: Oh well we had to drink. This was silk in the xtreme! Darker than Burgundy but some of the texture was not far from Burgundy at all. This wine was very much alive. Mature but very much alive. It is fantastic now I think it can last even longer.
95pts”
The 1975 Is a very strong vintage for Haut-Brion(and even more so for La Mission)It has plenty of fruit still. I would have no worries in saving this wine further. It’s been years since I had the ’90 Mission but I would guess that it’s quite different from the much older Haut-Brion.
I called Noma months in advance to ask if they did a New Year dinner. They told me they had done it a few years. A fantastic evening that amongst other things included 7 Champagnes in the wine menu. AND they also let me bring my own Champagne. An old bottle of Krug Rosé 🙂
Hello Rasmus (- or Lord should I say? 😉 )
Thanks very much for your comment. I means a lot to me what you say.
The service at Restaurationen. You know, one waiter was familiar to me. Very formal, no show of feelings or facial expression. I’ve seen this person before and I’m so annoyed that I don’t recall where that was. But the person didn’t wait our table though.
There was a misunderstanding about our glass of 2005 Jean et Gilles Lafouge, Auxey-Duresses Blanc, ”Les Hautes”, Burgundy but we got that sorted out, and also I do prefer that people make a (small) mistakes than people who are too impersonal. I loved that Bo was generous in informing us of many details like facts about his home made pork, and where he buys the wines, which was great and so much more human.
Yummi, your 1975 Château Haut Brion. 😀 How would you compare it to the 1990 La Mission? Any fruit left?
noma on new year’s eve. How jealous can I be?? I did check, actually, but way too late. I just thought they were closed that evening.
Really hope to see you back here!!
Best
Trine
Hello Trine!
What a great page you have! I have only been reading your reviews for a few days but really enjoy your notes! I was very inspired by your notes on Restaurant Noma and my fiancee and I went there on New Years Eve for the first time….fantastic!
Anyway! I am glad you liked Restaurationen 🙂 I have been there three times over the last three years or so. It’s an classic style which I love very much along with stuff like Kiin Kiin and Noma which could not be much more different. I like your notes on the food. Sounds very nice! Also I understand that you both had some problems with amounts of food they serve! I like nice portions but it IS over the top. And the desserts from Lisbeth is always 3-4 quite big desserts! One or two would have been enough. You have a great wine to go with you meal too! You wrote a very good and personal tasting note on the ‘Misson I think. I am in the winetrade myself and enjoyed that part too. Funny enough We normally don’t drink a lot of Bordeaux but last time we went to restaurationen we had a 1975 Château Haut-Brion. Same owner and right next to Château La Mission Haut-Brion. The only thing we didn’t like last time was one of the waiters. almost a rough and not very friendly kind of service from that person. You should not have that unpleasent feeling from a waiter in a restaurant on that level(or any other for that matter) Otherwise great place. How did you find the service? Could this be one of the reasons for the lost Michelin star?
Well star or not we WILL be comming back when we feel we can afford it. Thank you again for this great site 🙂
Kind regards
Rasmus Rodney
Cheers Rine!
Will start right away!
Don’t get too upset with the large e-mails!
Great Robert-Gilles and very kind of you! Did you know that Burgundy is my favourite wine region? Please, feel free to write me at verygoodfood at gmail dot com – hope that’s readable 😉
Dear Trine!
Greetings!
Could you please e-mail me so that I can send you a few pics at a time as they are fairly big.
I have pictures of my brother’s restaurant and food, some pictures of other restaurants cuisine in Chalon sur Saone, some pictures of wines of the Cote Chalonnaise (my home village) and a few miscellaneous ones!
Cheers,
robert-Gilles
I’d love to see those photos, Robert-Gilles! You’re right, and the word of mouth is always the best way. I only turn to the guides when I haven’t other sources.
Thanks, Jesper. 🙂 Bo has his own style, that’s for sure.
I am quite happy with my new lens, but I need more practice. It’s a bit difficult because the camera display is very small and so I need to learn to use it the proper way with ISO, aperture of the diaphragm yeah and all that stuff. Maybe I should sign up for that photo training at work… 😉 Happy new year, Julot, my very best wishes for your 2008.
It looks like somebody had a new lens for christmas! Are you happy with it?
Happy New Year!
Great report, Trine! I’ve been wanting to try Restaurationen ever since I heard Bo in the radio a couple of years ago. It just haven’t worked out yet – there are so many places to choose from in town.
Dear Trine!
Do not worry about Michelin stars.
As a French man I can tell you they have become one of the biggest scams in the gastronoic world.
My own brother who has his restaurant in Simandre, a village in Bourgogne has become allergic to these big (business-oriented) guides and does very well without them!
I’ll send you pics of his restaurant and food ifyou are interested!
1990 La Mission Haut Brion, Graves Grand Cru Classé: now that is an expensive wine! And probably at its best now!
I would happy just to drink it with Foie Gras, Chardonnay Syrup and French Walnuts!
MInd you, I wouldn’t let the sweetbreads away from my groping hands!
Great report!
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles