The world has many mysteries, including the Bermuda Triangle, who Jack the Ripper was and whether the Loch Ness Monster exists, but to me the greatest mystery now is why Mielcke & Hurtigkarl does not have more recognition from the food establishment, as I have eaten in many celebrated restaurants and few have even come close to the meal my wife and I had here. Copenhagen does have many celebrated and award winning restaurants, and Mielcke & Hurtigkarl is right up with them with respect to food, service and all round ambience.
We had a little time before our reservation, and so decided to walk from The Andersen, our hotel next to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, as I always think you get a better feel for a city if you walk around it rather than be in taxis or public transport.
The restaurant is located on the edge of Royal Park in Frederiksberg, which is mistakenly thought of as a neighbourhood of Copenhagen, but is in fact an independent municipality with its own mayor and council and is fiercely independent. Frederiksberg is a well-to-do area and our walk took us up a wonderfully wide tree lined avenue right to the gates of the Royal Park, and Mielcke & Hurtigkarl’s restaurant nestles to the left of its imposing gates.
A restaurant needs to stimulate all of your senses, not just your taste buds, and before we even started on the food we knew we were in for a treat as the location is stunning, and the reception warm and welcoming.
To start our culinary adventure we sat outside on their terrace sipping a glass of champagne whilst looking out over the wonderful royal gardens (it is advisable to come early and take a look around these), watching a pair of peacocks strutting around the gardens whilst enjoying our first few courses. Our first course was Langoustine accompanied perfectly with the delicate sweet and sour contrasts of papaya and kalamansi, closely followed by some cold cuts of wild and tame goose and duck. Then just before we entered the main restaurant we were served probably one of the best dishes I have ever tasted. We were presented with what initially looked like a perfectly white poached egg in a delicate pickled tomato juice, but on closer inspection the white was a delicate cream flavoured with pecorino cheese which when broken into revealed a frozen tomato salad. The texture of the cream against the ice of the tomatoes with the sharpness of the juice was truly a work of genius and so creative. After this course we were led into the main restaurant, a magnificent 18th century pavilion which reminded me of rooms within a French Chateau with tall ceilings and walls minimalistically decorated. Tables are well spaced to allow diners privacy and are laid out around a solitary tree in the centre of the room, and this light and airy room is lit by a stunning raindrop crystal light display which scatters every bit of light thrown at them.
Our journey then continued with delicate and fresh oysters with pea and watercress and then a delightful dish of sliced squid and noodles flavoured with seaweed, cucumber and shiso. This oriental delight was followed by witch flounder with chicken skin and Kombu, where the delicate flounder and crispy chicken skin floated in a creamy butter and thyme sauce, a true explosion of textures. Mieckle & Hurtigkarls signature is bringing flavour from their surroundings, namely the Royal Gardens and their plants into their cooking, and the artichoke in a rich anchovy sauce was insanely fresh and felt like it had been picked just a few seconds before it was cooked.
A seabuckthorn course, also from the garden, was followed closely by slices of slightly pink pigeon in a wonderful truffle and rhubarb sauce that ended the savoury part of our meal, leaving us with the desserts, and the first offering was stunning.
The smell of the passionfruit could be detected before the dish was put on our table and was accompanied by coconut and chilli which shouldn’t work, but just does. Two more wonderful desserts followed, each continuing the ‘bringing the garden inside’ theme, and it was with a mixture of relief (even I was almost full by now) and also disappointment (that you are coming to the end of a true experience) that we came to the final dessert - a meringue and coffee ice cream lollipop.
To accompany our culinary journey, Mieckle & Hurtigkarl have a wine list of the same quality as the food, but we selected the wine flight which allowed us to sample a number of wonderful wines and unlike many was very generous, and our glasses were never empty for long. Every wine was expertly introduced by the very knowledgeable sommelier, and if we didn’t like one of the proposed wines he was superb at finding alternatives.
As I said a restaurant isn’t just about the food, it is the overall feeling it evokes in its diners, and the service just added to a wonderful experience, as it is slick but warm, with the waiters spending just enough time with you to make you feel special without intruding on your meal.
There are a range of tasting menus ranging from DKK 800 for the ‘Daily Experience’, DKK 950 for ‘The Experience’ or DKK 1,100 for ‘The Metamorphosis’ and the wine pairing differ depending on your number of courses.
I truly cannot find words to fully do this restaurant justice as it is just so good. Indeed, it is almost worth flying to Copenhagen just to experience food and service of this quality as there is no hype here, just inspired and creative cooking in a stunning location.
Here the food does the talking, and boy does it do that.
Mielcke & Hurtigkarl, Frederiksberg Runddel 1 2000 Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark
Telephone: +45 38 34 84 36 www.mhcph.com