Percorsi Stellati/Starred Journeys: aoc (Copenaghen)

Located in the vaulted cellar of the historic mansion Moltkes Palae, 17th century, in the center of Copenhagen, aoc restaurant, awarded 1 Michelin Star, definitely deserves a visit. If you want to make a great gourmet modern danish experience, and you were unlucky trying to reserve at top restaurants like noma or Geranium, aoc is definitely the best choice for you. In my opinion is not a “second best choice”, it deserves a visit anyway. You will find extraordinary dishes and all the typical ingredients now very popular in the renowned modern nordic cuisine: smoked egg yolk, celeriac, jerusalem artichoke, sea buckthorn etc…

The ambience is quite sophisticated: white color dominates in a true minimalist environment, you will be focused only on the dishes. The kitchen is “open”and the kitchen personnel will serve directly the dishes to your table. Everything perfectly coordinated by the head chef Søren Selin.

You can choose between 2 tasting menu (7 and 9 courses). I opted for the “9” choice and paired the whole with an interesting Pinot Noir made in California: Melville Estate S.ta Rita 2009.

The menu consisted of:

Selection of appetizers
Squid with daikon, razor clam & wild cress
Pike Perch with asparagus, peas & green strawberries
Grilled Greens with bleek roe & smoked egg yolk
Monkfish with lard& juniper bush
Knuthenlund Pokwith truffles & baked onions
South Sea Lamb from Lolland with fermented parsnip & cep mushrooms
Hole in the lake (celeriac & thyme)
Sea Buckthorn with pot bread & parsley
Burned Jerusalem Artichoke with roasted potato & browned butter

Everything excellent, everything well prepared and nicely presented. After having had a wonderful dinner the night before at Geranium, I had very high expectations. Chef Søren was able to even overcome them.

Examples of Appetizers