Tivoli Garden in Copenhagen has for the past 3-4 years hosted a variety of different top notch pop up restaurants from around the world, well mainly Europe. I've enjoyed the concept quite a lot, a great way to sample restaurants that I probably wouldn't have visited if not for this.
This time it's the NYC based Aska (Swedish for ashes), which ironically is a "new nordic" style restaurant so it's kind of bringing sand to the Sahara 🙂
The menu was, and I'm improvising here since what we got wasn't 1:1 what it said on the website, for example the main said turbot not quail.
Assorted amuse-bouche.
Custard with lobster claw, elderflower and trout roe.
Scallop and caramelised onion (?) broth
Langoustine, sauce made from the caramelised shells and gooseberry broken gel.
"Catch of the day" (forgot which, monkfish I think) with beluga caviar, dill sauce and brioche with
Quail and chanterelle
Mixed desserts, milk sorbet with mead in front
I'm still indecisive about this meal. I found the presentation and taste somewhat repetitive and not that inviting, many dishes looking quite monochromatic and LOTS of foam and mousses! Service was alright, they did seem a little unenthusiastic and there was some long waiting times between dishes.
Everything tasted pretty good but was just passing the (**) bar, no highs and no lows. I can't actually put my finger on any flaws, at the other hand not mention any "wows". Well, the milk sorbet was really memorable.
Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh on them, it was an enjoyable meal with great execution of most of the dishes. But being a native Scandinavian I just wasn't blown away.
by Secret_Place_3013
2 Comments
A couple of these remind me of Jordnær
When did you go? I went on Saturday and did not get a monkfish dish.
I spoke with the chef a bit and asked whether this is a Nordic restaurant in NY. He said it’s a NY restaurant that uses ingredients from NY but the cooking has “memories” of the places where he has cooked before all over the world. I got the impression that he doesn’t think it’s a Nordic restaurant.
The popup had some of the ingredients from Norway. The rest I assume come from NY, not sure. The chef did mention they brought some (or most?) of the ingredients from NY.
I liked the langoustine and quail dishes a lot but overall, I wouldn’t say Aska is a standout restaurant in terms of Europe. Maybe it is in the US or NY. In the context of Europe, there are a lot of restaurants that uses the same main ingredients.