Stud!o at The Standard
Rhubarb Dill Juice
Potato Crisp, Vinegar, Salt, Roe and Cress
Quail Egg, Black Salt and Summer Truffles
Tartare of Veal , Hay Oil, Elderberry, Capers, Chickweed and Rye
Aebleskiver, Salted Danish Cheese, Gruyere and Truffles
Sourdough, Dark Malt Crisp, Butter and Cultured Cream
Raw shrimps and grilled cucumber, Green rhubarb and dill
Baked witch flounder and weed, Butterboiled leek cane and ramson
Danish squid and mussel, Beach plants and parsley
Grilled dove and grilled cherries, Aromatics and black garlic
Sheep yoghurt and sichuan pepper, Raspberries and roses
Blackberries and grilled beetroot, Sour cream and dill
One of three dining concepts at “The Standard,” an Art Deco building constructed in the 1930s that has since been re-positioned as a modern destination along the waterfront, Stud!o has been said by many to offer one of Copenhagen’s most impressive tasting menus in the ‘New Nordic’ era, the recent announcement that Chef Torsten Vildgaard would be leaving to join Renè Redzepi at noma 2.0 speaking volumes of the man’s talents while also stoking a personal interest in the project based on a lunch enjoyed on July 7th.
Originally opened in late 2013 as a partnership between Manifesto co-creator Claus Meyer and Chef Vildgaard, a Michelin Star it still holds quick to follow even as the rest of the building including Summer Concerts and a Jazz Club often draw attention away from the stylish space and open kitchen tucked away on the second floor, diners visiting Stud!o are promised a menu of ‘curious and playful’ cuisine at both lunch and dinner, the waitstaff polite but formal while the majority of plates are presented by Torsten and his team of Chefs.
Visited on a fairly warm afternoon, the cloudless Copenhagen sky a rarity that saw many locals sunbathing along the inner harbor with only a light breeze through open windows helping to cool the low-ceilinged room, it was without hesitation that still water and a glass of Rhubarb-Dill Juice was selected to accompany the 100DKK 9-course menu, a Sandwich of crispy Potato strings quick to arrive and whet palates around a briny center of emulsified Vinegar, Fish Roe and Cress.
Seated at a wooden hightop in plain view of the kitchen, a total of just five guests matched by an equal number of men working in relative silence, bite number two came by way of a Stud!o signature placing a lightly cooked Quail Egg beneath Summer Truffles alongside Black Salt and several whole Eggs in a carton, the single bite bursting in each diner’s mouth and quickly flooding the palate while a follow-up of Veal Tartare was served in a disturbingly small calf’s bone topped in Hay Oil with Elderberries and Capers intended to be spread on a Rye Crisp.
Moving at a good pace compared to many similarly rated spaces, the small crowd giving Chefs an opportunity to vary pacing by table, plate four was once again described as a ‘signature’ with Vildgaard’s take on an Æbleskiver successfully putting Cheese and Truffles where Jam usually fits, the Sourdough made from Meyer’s starter expectedly good on its own but better with Butter or Soured Cream while Malt Crackers in an envelope seemed somewhat superfluous.
Still rooted in foraging and the best local produce, but clearly rooted in classic French technique as evidenced by peerless Sauces that compliment but never overwhelm, the first proper plate of the day came by way of raw Shrimp tucked inside leaves alongside salted and grilled Cucumbers with nuggets of frozen Dill atop, the juice ordered early on clearly intended to pair and doing so in a manner that accentuates sour notes that are balanced by the sweet Crustacean.
Serving fairly large portions of proteins to compensate for the abbreviated menu, evening diners offered one extra course plus two additional snacks for an additional 300DKK, a plate of Witch Flounder roasted on its perfectly cleaned bones came next bathed in foamy Garlic Butter with tiny black Capers adding both brine and texture, the follow-up of barely-boiled Squid cut into Noodles offering light resistance to the tooth in a creamy Mussel Sauce with Beach Herbs and the assertive flavor of Miso.
To this point very impressed, not one stem, seed or flower out of place or unnecessary to the compositions, Stud!o’s final savory came by way of rosy Pigeon Breasts kissed by the grill alongside warm Cherries cooked in foraged spices and blanked in Sorrel atop a Sauce of Black Garlic and Pan Jus, a duo of Desserts managing the delicate task of adding Herbs to something sweet with purpose rather than on principle as numbing Szechuan Peppercorn Ice Cream found its foil in Raspberries and Yogurt while a frozen disc of Beet Root perched elegantly atop Blackberries perfumed in Licorice and kept from being too sweet by Crème Fraiche.
http://thestandardcph.dk/en/studio#omstudio