Restaurant AOC, located in Copenhagen, is a great find. This beautifully designed restaurant truly is a hidden gem. Upon arrival, we were given a very warm welcome, and shown to our table by our charming host.
Sitting at our table, we perused the menu a little before making the obvious choice of sampling the tasting menu. Diners are in for a real treat at AOC, as the tasking menu begins with a few appetisers before the main event unfolds. These appetisers are beautifully presented, and truly wet your appetite for what is to come...
“Each dish was brought to us from a different chef from the kitchen.”
Our first course consisted of squid, served with daikon, oysters, and wild cress. It was a wonderful balance of delicate flavours, and we were certainly impressed. We had chosen the wine pairing option, and this dish came paired with a 2012 Riesling Tracken, Weingut Keller, Reinhessen, Germany.
Up next came the sea scallops, served with tomato, dulse and dashi. Paired with a glass of 2012 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd, Urgestein Terrassen, F.X Pichler, Wachau, Austria - this course was simply stunning.
Third on the menu saw grilled greens, with bleek roe, and smoked egg yolk. The smoked egg yolk concept is one that you do not come by very often, and we were more than pleasantly surprised by what it offered to the dish. The richness of the egg yolk really complimented the freshness of the greens. This course was served with a glass of the 2012 Pro Bono Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, Pro Bono Cellars, California, USA.
The fourth course consisted of turbot, served with turbot roe. Paired with a glass of the 2013 Solaris Classic, Jylland, Denmark, this course again did not fail to impress. The seafood offering at AOC truly is very special indeed.
Up next, we sampled the duck harts with corn and hazelnuts. The nutty sweetness from the hazelnuts and corn married with the duck perfectly, and produced an extremely tasty dish indeed. This came paired with a 2011 Pinot Noir ‘Bannockburn’, Felton Road Winery, Central Otago, New Zealand.
The penultimate dish saw Danish beef with nettles and cep mushrooms. The beef was cooked to perfection, and melted in the mouth. Paired with a glass of 2011 Rosso di Montalicino, Az. agr. Lisini, Tuscany, Italy - this dish was a definite highlight for us.
Finally, we thoroughly enjoyed the woodruff with gooseberries and pine; served with a 2006 Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttnyos, Patricius Winery, Tokaj, Hungary.
Everything about the food was impeccable. Each dish was so wonderfully presented, it was almost too good to eat... But thankfully we managed to bring ourselves to try it! The flavours were outstanding, and what truly topped off the experience for us was that each dish was brought to us from a different chef from the kitchen. It was truly wonderful to be able to meet the faces behind the food - especially as they provided us with an excellent insight into the dishes and their chosen ingredients.
This is a restaurant who have put a great team in place - a group of people who exude passion for their craft. We were very impressed indeed.