Couldn’t get a table at Noma? That’s OK, we couldn’t either. Luckily for us (and you, if you’re planning a visit to this lovely city) Copenhagen is full of other culinary gems. Many of those are even somehow connected to Noma and Radio is no exception. The masterminds behind Radio are Clause Meyer and Jesper Kirketerp. Meyer, among his other great achievements, opened Noma together with chef René Redzepi. Today he’s the proud owner of Radio, as well as the Michelin starred restaurant Studio, a vinegar brewery, a cooking school, Meyers Bageri and many other establishments.
Radio’s connection to Noma does not stop with Meyer. Chef Jesper Kirketerp was a former sous chef in Noma for two years and he also assistant to the head chef at the three star michelin restaurant Geranium. Radio serves creative local cuisine based on the season’s ingredients in affordable prices. Their menu changes with the season, and on their website you can find this month’s ingredients.
The restaurant space is not large with tables placed close to each other. The decor is both rustic and industrial, dominated by dark wood which lends a warm and cozy feeling to the place and suits the informal atmosphere well. The kitchen itself is also fairly small, necessitating a small staff. During our stay, the small staff held the entire fully booked restaurant (around 12 tables with 40 diners), and the service ran almost smoothly with only 3 waiters. This is quite an achievement. The chefs also serve some the dishes themselves. The waiters never showed signs of pressure, and made sure we’re happy with our food despite the franticness of serving so many tables at once.
There are two options for dinner at Radio – 5 Course menu for 400 kr. / $57 / 217₪ and 3 courses that can be chosen from the menu for 300 kr. / $42 / 163₪. There is also wine pairing and alcohol free spirits available as well as some additional courses that can be added to the chosen menu. We chose the 5 course menu.
To start our meal we were served with an amuse bouche of Celeriac with Cream and Garlic. By the looks of it I expected something similar to potato chips but the shells were soft as marshmallow. This was the first time we tasted celeriac, as it’s not something that is common or even available in our country. I’m not a big fan a celery but celeriac, which is a variety of celery, turned out to be a delightful root vegetable.
Then came the annoyingly tasty Sourdough Bread and Butter with Caramelized Onions. You see – this bread was the best we had in Copenhagen, and we just couldn’t stop grabbing more and more of it. I was scared we won’t have room left for all the food still about to come but damn it that crust was incredible!
The first course was Grilled Scallops with Dried Black Olives, Cauliflower and Almond Sauce. A superb dish, very cauliflower-y with delicate flavors that blend well together. I loved the added touch of the almonds. We both scraped the remains of the sauce with the delightful, dreaded bread. That says much about the sauce, as with these types of condiments the scallop flavor tends to disappear but not in this case.
The second dish to arrive is described on the menu as “Cod • Pumpkin • More Pumpkin”, which sounded promising to me. The beautiful plate was indeed full of pumpkin in many different variations – Cod with Raw Marinated Pumpkin, Pumpkin Puree, Cream Sauce and Pumpkin Seeds. The fish was slightly over salted but the sweetness of the pumpkin helped break the saltiness to our overall enjoyment.
The next dish was veggie based – Beetroot with Seaweed, Dill and dill Oil. Another fantastic dish – the beetroot was very meaty and the puffed buckwheat added a nice texture to every bite.
Lastly, before we moved on to desserts, we had the Beef, Dried Mushrooms, Mushroom Powder and Plums. We were of two minds regarding this dish.
For dessert we were served Pear Puree, Butter Milk Ice Cream, Lemon time and Corn and White chocolate crumbs. The contrasts of both hot\cold temperatures and creamy\crunchy textures were incredible. The fresh lemon time provides an extra kick. A light and refreshing way to end this meal.
Being one of the most enjoyable evenings of our trip, I would warmly recommend booking a table at Radio. It allows for a somewhat affordable way to get a taste of the Nordic cuisine, while still enjoying creative food. The dishes are complex and adventurous, and reminded us of dishes that you could easily have found in the likes of Noma and Kadeau.
Radio Online:
Getting Here: