Copenhagen’s best-kept secret
I’m a sucker for design, so if a restaurant serves great food that’s a nice bonus but in all honesty, I try out most new places because of the interior and atmosphere.
We’ve all been to some fancy rooftop bar or restaurant, but I’ll tell you why the following one – Stedsans in Copenhagen – is the best I’ve ever been to. And why everyone who thinks about opening a dining place should take this as a good example.
An Instagram dream comes true
In Copenhagen, the design capital of Europe that has also recently become the top destination for all food lovers, it’s a little hard to decide where to go. The whole concept of “all-foraged-everything-must-eat-20-courses” with super clean Nordic design and white tablecloth settings was a bit tiresome after my third visit. I have for a while now used Instagram as my main travel inspiration and that’s exactly how I found out about Stedsans in June 2015. A restaurant owned by Mette Helbæk and Flemming Schiøtt Hansen, where they serve food that is “clean, simple and local” in an unusual, unique and totally instagrammable place.
After a 20-minute or so bike ride from our apartment to the residential area of Østerbro we arrived in front of a “Fitness World” gym and felt very lost. We then took a dizzying spiral staircase in the back of the building up to the very top to find ourselves in a surreal beautiful setting of a small rooftop farm, with the sun just setting above the small greenhouse. Mette, who’s a food writer and had the initial idea to host dinners at this location, has a great sense for style. Perfectly mismatched plates and secondhand cutlery, rough linen napkins and tablecloths in soft shades of grey and purple and handpicked flowers make the table setting. White fluffy sheepskins cover the benches, it just all comes together in a way that feels cozy and effortlessly authentic.
Family Style
The menu at Stedsans changes according to the season and availability of organic produce by local farmers. Five or six courses are served family-style and the food is prepared simply with few ingredients and little heat. You can taste the high quality and the love the chefs put in their work and that really does all the magic.
I admire how Mette set her mission to bring people closer back to nature by serving good food in such a special environment. It’s less about being a hippie or becoming a vegetarian, it’s more like she likes to put it “to feel good and being grateful for Mother Nature and the beauty of real clean food”.
What’s up next?
The restaurant at ØsterGro will close as of November 2016. The Duo is also hosting various dinner events at worldwide locations like in California this past January. They’re currently busy planning their next stroke of genius at a new place. In a short message, they gave up a hint that it’s going to be “even closer to nature”. So get ready for summer 2017, I have a feeling it will be as inspiring and wonderful as this place was.
Sign up for their newsletter here www.cleansimplelocal.com or follow them on Instagram @stedsans_cleansimplelocal to get a chance to catch them on one of their dinner events around the world.
All pictures by Charlotte Dupont.
TO STAY
- If you haven’t realized, most Danes have a great sense for design and so there are some wonderful apartments to rent on www.airbnb.com. Stay somewhere in Nørrebro, rent a bike to get around to feel more like a local.
TO KNOW
- No need to buy bottled water, you can drink the tap water in Denmark!
TO EAT
- Grød is a fun concept for breakfast, they serve nothing but porridge, risotto or similar yum stuff in a bowl; Jægersborggade 50, 2200 København www.groed.com
- Torvenhallerne is a marketplace that’s nice to wander around and have delicious lunch at one of the many stalls; Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København www.torvehallernekbh.dk
- Ammann’s Deli; for the best smørrebrød you will have! Have them there or take them out and sit by the nearby lakes! www.aamanns.dk
- Manfreds is great for lunch or dinner. Cozy place with delicious food. Make sure you order the tartar (extra large) and thank me for it; Jægersborggade 40, 2200 København www.manfreds.dk
TO SHOP
- HAY House, The flagship store of this famous design brand is worth even just a visit; Østergade 61, 1100 København www.hay.dk
- Normann Copenhagen, the same goes for this old theater that’s been converted into a concept store; Østerbrogade 70, 2100 København www.normann-copenhagen.com
- Kaktus, a store that sells ultra hipster cactus and pottery that I just can’t help but love; Jægersborggade 35, 2200 København www.kaktuskbh.dk
- Samsøe & Samsøe, for clothes; I always find cool stuff there; Købmagergade 44, 1150 København www.samsoe.com