Amass
Bergamot, Barley Juice
Carrot, Cauliflower, Potato Crisps
Egg Yolk, Fava Beans, Garden Herbs, Sunflower Seeds
Potato Bread, Roasted Kale, Almond Puree, Hemp Seed Oil
Mackerel, Green Strawberries, Rapeseed Oil
Danish New Potatoes, Lovage Oil, Hemp Seed Puree
120-Day Dry Aged Beef Tartare, Smoked Sea Snails, Black Chestnuts, Salted Turnips, Roasted Hay
Peas, Borrage Flowers, Sunchoke Leaves, Marigold
Chicken Thigh, Chicken Broth, Brown Butter, Fennel Oil + Snap Pea Salad, Gooseberry, Pickled Fennel Seeds
Crispy Olive Oil Cake, Frozen Bronze Fennel Parfait, Sour Caramel
Roasted Beetroot Sorbet, Rhubarb Cultured Cream Broth, Salted Barley, Pickled Pine Crumble
Chocolate Ganache, Torched Marshmallows, Cardamom Crackers
A rare non-Nordic success story in the post-Manifesto era, Chef and owner Matt Orlando an American who began his cooking career in Southern California, Amass was booked as the final dinner during an eight day stay in Denmark, the restaurant’s out of the way location in Northern Christianshavn yet another quirk that helps it to stand out, though not always in ‘good’ way.
Originally opened in summer 2013, Orlando fresh off stints at world-class restaurants including The Fat Duck, Per Se and noma, the later a nearly three-year CDC position during which he developed a passion for Copenhagen and its terroir, diners visiting Refshalevej 153 can almost universally expect to pass right by before retracing steps in an area filled with warehouses, the small sign pointing up a flight of stairs that are descended once inside to a room that is both tall and wide.
Far from an intimate setting, the budget tables, concrete pillars and pop-art murals all creating an atmosphere far more ‘American hipster’ than what is found at Stud!o, kadeau, Relæ or other Michelin-starred spaces in town, it was after checking in with a hostess who would later be seen serving wine and helping clear tables that a party of one was led to a seat adjacent the kitchen, the line of sight partially obstructed by a pony-wall and shouts of “YES CHEF” booming at an unnecessary volume at least seventy times throughout the course of a nearly three and a half hour meal.
Following the same pattern as many ‘New Nordic’ restaurants in offering only a Chef’s Tasting, the Menu 695DKK and an extended version adding another three courses for 200 Krone more, it was with a glass of cold Bergamot and toasted Barley in hand that the meal got started, three types of vegetables baked into crisps whetting the palate prior to a deep vessel oddly reminiscent of a dish from Manfreds that afternoon featuring a sous-vide Egg Yolk and Sunflower Seeds in an herbal Pudding.
Celebrated by many for simplicity similar to what Puglisi suggests at his flagship, Chef Orlando even going so far as to have a biodynamic garden on-site from which many Organic Herbs and Vegetables are sourced, the next item offered was Amass’ famous Bread imbued with Potato Skins, the grilled round served hot and moist alongside a spread made of Kale and Almonds actually quite delicious despite its heft and a nice lead in to the night’s first proper ‘course’ of fresh-caught Mackerel topped in diced Green Strawberries alongside a slick of Rapeseed Oil.
Having seen a fair number of “New Potatoes” by the 47th dining destination of the trip, Orlando’s version fairly underwhelming atop pureed Hemp Seeds and the flavor of Celery, course three featured dry-aged Beef hidden beneath Flowers amidst the brine and sweetness of Sea Snails and Black Chestnuts with Turnip Chips, the depth of flavor compelling enough to warrant eating a fairly large portion before the menu once again took a step back with sweet Garden Peas compromised by the bitter and dirty flavors of Calendula and Sunchoke.
At this point subjected to a lengthy delay, the room no more or less busy than prior but nearly forty-five minutes separating a two-part main course from those before it, suffice it to say that Orlando’s Chicken Thigh in Brown Butter did little more to wow than a store-bough Rotisserie Bird, the Salad also missing the boat by being too acidic and thus making another piece of Potato Bread necessary, though the wait for it was also quite protracted.
Now anticipating a series of holdups, an issue encountered several times in Copenhagen when the menu transitioned from savory to sweet, the source of the bottleneck was discovered as the open kitchen allowed one to watch Chefs normally charged with Produce move back and forth to the Pastry station, essentially a two man show that steals labor from one place to accomplish something known to be necessary, though the first of three Sweets was fairly light work with the fragrant Fennel Ice Cream Sandwich premade and only in need of its assertive Caramel drizzle.
Uncertain as to why such a large operation would not employ a proper Pastry Chef, the subsequent Sorbet of Beetroot with sour accoutrements delayed by nearly twenty minutes with another forty separating it from what was essentially a plate of deconstructed S’mores, it was mercifully just past to 22h00 that the check was requested with a nearly 10km bike ride back to the hotel yet to follow.
http://amassrestaurant.com