Food & Drink

Local Vibes With a New Nordic Twist: Restaurant Kaptajn

The bicycle ride to Restaurant Kaptajn is dreamy in spring and summer, a lush green path right along the water that brings you to the open-patio restaurant sitting almost against the shoreline. In winter, the dark sky is almost a mirror for the water, creating a beautiful greyscale so specific to Copenhagen.

From the outside, it looks like a mid-size cafe or lively bar. But inside proves to be so much more, with a living-room atmosphere full of great Scandinavian design that is neither too stuffy or too casual. Opened in March 2018 by Patrick Sebastian Hult and Johann Duedahl Jacobsen, team behind Ancestrale wine bar in Vesterbro, Kaptajn is a great mix of local spot where you can have a glass of wine and upscale dining.

There’s a terrace (open during the warmer months) that overlooks the water, perfect for when you just want to take in the sunshine while sipping on something delicious. Their wine selection, as well as spirits collection, is well-curated and focuses on natural wines.

 

The food menu is ever-changing to suit the season, but focuses on fresh local ingredients and Nordic flavors. You can order a la carte or the set menu option. The entrees are sharing dishes, so you’ll need a few (4 – 6) to make up a good meal. If you’re looking for something special, we recommend the full menu. It comes with starters, a host of sharing dishes, and dessert. The staff talked us through all the dishes and were easily able to accommodate requests like vegetarian or pescatarian dishes.

 

We started out with snacks that included Danish mackerel with horseradish cream, preserved lemon and St. John’s Wort, as well as a house-made ricotta with kelp-marinated cucumbers, pickled black radishes buckwheat and house-made almond milk. They serve a popular beef tartare. The vegetarian version was a thick steak-like courgette topped with roasted hazelnuts that was both fresh and filling.

Restaurant Kaptajn has created a place that is both high-end and inviting. As the night went on, the place filled up and stayed that way until the later hours. This is definitely a spot the local crowd has claimed as their own, and it’s easy to see why.

They take their food and wine seriously, but still like to have a bit of a joke, as evidenced by their wine rack in the back of the restaurant, full of funny notes about the wine (e.g. “this shit is good!”). As co-founder Patrick notes, “It’s the social part of sharing a good meal that drives us. We want to create the warm feeling you get when you visit a friend’s House and share a meal with them.”

Restaurant Kaptajn

Sortedam Dossering 45A
2200 København N
Opening Hours:
Mon & Tues Closed
Weds – Sun 12:00 pm – midnight
NB: From 12:00 pm is light lunch, snacks and wine
Dinner is served from 5:30 pm

 

Photos by Freya McOmish.

 

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Rebecca Thandi Norman

Rebecca Thandi Norman is a co-founder and Editor-in-Chief at Scandinavia Standard.