The first Syrian lunch

One month ago it happened -while at work- to meet an American traveler who -I don’t know how and why- recommended me some good places for food for when I visit Malmö, Sweden. She recommended me a place which is arguably the best place for ice cream in Malmö; a fine dining-like place, Saltimporten Canteen, and a Syrian restaurant, which has just opened its doors this year, being owned by some Syrians refugees.

It has been a month since that mysterious meeting with the American traveler, and it has just happened that I visited Malmö, without forgetting about these foodie recommendation; and because the hot days are gone, I didn’t bother to check out the place for ice cream. Furthermore, although I would have loved to visit Saltimporten Canteen I didn’t arrive there in time, because it is open for lunch only until 14:00. So, I was happy to try the Syrian restaurant, which serves hot meals just good for the cold weather outside, and it has a broader opening time, from 11:00 until late evening.

It was the first time trying Syrian dishes, which made me very curious and excited about this experience.

The place where I eaten Syrian food is called Damaskus. The place doesn’t look like a Michelin one, not even like another close to any good standards in design and quality of the materials. To me it looked very similar to many of the Turkish-Arabish restaurants; the same the service and the personnel.

However, my opinion doesn’t suppose to be a negative one. On the contrary, I loved the welcoming and warm attitude of the staff (or better said of the member of the family owning the place). She, the waitress, was very open, smiling and willing to support us with all the needed information. She was also the one helping us to decide what to eat.

I went there with the thought to have “tbr Kebbeh, and red chili paste” as the American traveler suggested to me. However, the waiter told me that this dish is more an appetizer, and suggested I should get something more. Then I asked her for the dishes that are traditional Syrian in the highest grad. She had also difficulties in making such recommendations, because all the dishes were Syrian according to her. However, I went for a Fatteh with chickpeas. As drink I took a traditional Turkish yogurt.

From the moment I ordered the food it took a bit of time until I got it. In meanwhile more guests came in, in the same time with the smell of the food cooked in the kitchen. The more guests the more the waitress had to run, because she was alone there.

The moment of receiving the food came and we were delighted to see the new dishes in front of our eyes. My wife got also two Syrin dishes but I don’t remember their names.

Because I am use to eat dishes such of red chili pastes with bread, I asked for bread here as well.

The dishes were very tasty but they were also very big, heavy and filling…so much that we took half of them to go.

We spent in this little restaurant about two hours and enjoyed the first Syrian experience. Both the red chili paste and the fatteh with chickpeas were delicious, but I highly recommend the fatteh if you get to try Syrian food. It tastes soooo good!

Damaskus restaurant was my first Syrian experience; now I am looking forward for the following one.

Best pizza…with Danish twist!

What does the name Christian Puglisi say to you? It would be interesting to hear some answers to this question. For me, Christian Puglisi is the Rene Redzepi of the organic movement. Inspirational cook this guy; not only for what he did at Relæ, but also for this new place, Bæst.

For a long time I wanted to visit Bæst restaurant. The main reasons: the prices for the pizzas seem reasonable, and the thought that is served in a place founded be Puglisi. However, it looked that many others thought the way I did, because the restaurant was full in the evening of my visit; luckily I had a reservation.

Bæst is located in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, which -at least for me- doesn’t mean it is difficult to find. Moreover, it is very close to another nice restaurant in the city, Kiin Kiin.

The only table I found available at the time of the booking was for 17:30 of an Sunday,  and even so, at that very early evening moment, three tables were booked already. The place made a great impression on me from the beginning: welcomed by a Italian (by accent) waiter, clean, dimmed lights, and a huge pizza-oven just behind my chair.

Then the menu. It is small, but not really…what I mean with this is that there are offered two options for the so called tasting menus: the small tasting menu & the large tasting menu. Beside them there is the possibility to order a la carte pizzas, cheeses (made on the spot just at the upper floor). After a short talk with one of the waiters we chose to go for the small tasting menu. It is important for mention that if one, at a table, wants one of the tasting menus, then all at that table should have it; the same happened with us; yet, we added a portion of mozzarela.

The first round of the servings came quickly including many cold cuts, salad and some other products I cannot remember by name, but are present in the picture.

Then, it was time for pizzas, two of them served at different times. We were three at the table, so we got a slice for each. They were absolutely delicious, and now I can say that this is the best pizza I have eaten in Copenhagen since I settled here, four years ago.

Last serving (a moment when we were all full) consisted of pork, pumpkin polenta and beetroot with mascarpone. The beetroot has never been something I would fight for, the same happened this time. However, the pumpkin polenta was delicious. The pork was good as well, but the corn and the other ingredients it came with I didn’t like them.

Dessert is not included in this small tasting menu, but we couldn’t eat it anyhow. We just had a coffee, though the offer is very poor: filter coffee and espresso.

After about two and a half hours at Bæst we asked for the bill, which I would say was a bit costly for what I tasted and for my expectations as well.

For three persons, with three small tasting menus, a portion of mozzarella, water (even though it is tap water, it is charged 25 Dkk for a big bottle), 2 x glass wine, a filter coffee and an espresso we payed 1600 Dkk!

As a final remark, I love their pizza, and I cannot wait to go back there for 1-2 pizzas with some wine, which I recommend you to do as well.

 

American burger 3

No matter how much I like a place I don’t usually go there twice; yet there is a place I have already visited three times, and I am not sure Sunday was the last time. The place I am talking about is Sallies Restaurant and Snack Bar in Albertsund, Denmark.

The place tries to offer an american experience to its guests, and the first clue in such direction is it’s motel design (yes, there is a restaurant and a motel in the same place) with rooms which come with parking spots just in front of their doors.

However, I first went there at the invitation of some friends. I couldn’t say it amazed me; apart from the american-like style that can be noticed from outside, there were nothing else that captured my attention. Moreover, I didn’t like that there is offered a buffet-menu as well; I am not a fan of buffet places, and I see them as low quality offering. I don’t really remember what it was that I ate first time, but I remember that after about six months I visited Sallies again, and this time I had a Burger Club with some fries topped with cheese and paprika; appealing to try was also the coffee shake. Even that time I was surprised I was visiting this place for the second time, and I couldn’t see it coming another visit there.

Yet, last Sunday at the suggestion of the friends I was there for the first time, we drove again to this place and had a great time with lots of burgers, fries and milkshakes. This time I had the Bad Boy BBQ burger with the same fries with cheese and paprika, and the same delicious and big glass of milkshake.

The food as good, and the atmosphere as well, with almost all the tables taken, only the tables from outside were available, and so it was ideal we had made a reservation before going there.

We were five persons, and had four burgers, five burgers four fries and a snack and paid about 670 Dkk, which I would say it is more than ok; being one of the cheapest burger places I have eaten in Denmark.

Go and try it on your own, hoping you’ll enjoy it was well.

Meeting The Beast

I use to be marked by the facts I hear or the images I see, especially if they are linked to food and traveling. One of these situations has as subject a burger restaurant; namely Grisen in Copenhagen.

I first saw pictures and read short posts about it on social media channels as Facebook and Instagram. However, the posts I remarked about Grisen were not just some boring ones, but something which were made to attract views and mark memories.

Baring in mind this place, I had chased the chance to visit it, and inevitably I have finally got to eat there.

It is not the common restaurant you may think about, but it is still pretty close to the Danish style: diversity in unity, with different chairs, sofas, lamps etc in a not very large but not small either place. Moreover, there are plenty of pictures all around the walls, pictures representing the staff and the food. The menu is already sat on almost each table, having the style of the menus you may find in kebab or pizza places in Denmark. Moreover, the menu is not very large, but it offers enough for all tastes of burger lovers. On the menu there is also a corner for drinks, not very rich in offering either.

The action goes like this: enter the restaurant without having a booking, take a place at any table you find available, grab a menu, decide upon what is that you want and go the the counter to order. It sounds like you have been there isn’t is? it does to me at least! To me it sounds like a fast food restaurant at a better quality, more money and better looking.

I got the beef burger with fries and a lager. It sounds common, but it was not, due to the fact my beef burger was not like any beef burger but I chose to have it with double, and so I turned it in what is called on Grisen’s menu as “The Beast”!!!…and it is true, it looked like the beast… the beast of all the burgers!

However, it looked amazing but when it comes to the taste, I would say you can get a better one at the Greasy Spoon Restaurant in Copenhagen.

All in all, I had a great time at Grisen, a place which I would say offers a new concept; something in-between fast-food and family restaurant! A place just perfect for a cheap burger at a good quality, grabbed just on your way to a party or a meeting with friends.

My bill was thin: 240 Dkk for two burgers, one portion of fries, a beer and a cola.

PS. Bare in mind that the payment is done only in cash or Mobile Pay.

Shrimps à la Alabama

Today has been a long day out: walking, walking and again walking. The day couldn’t go on without refueling our bodies (mine and my wife’s one).

We didn’t choose any random place, but we considered some of the places we have had in plan to visit anyway. However, we decided to visit a place based on the pictures we saw on Instagram; it is Alabama Social.

As we found out ourselves, the restaurant is located in central Copenhagen, just over the most crowded bikes bridge in the world, in the direction Nørrebro.

There is a terrace, tables, chairs, people and good food. I can say this based on my visit.

I am not a big fun of lunch menus; I consider them very scarce in offerings; something like a second league in football comparing it with the first one. This experience didn’t contradict my opinion.

The lunch menu at Alabama Social has more or less six dishes and three desserts. Yet, two of the dishes captured our attention, and we went for them: chicken waffle and shrimp sandwich.

We received them quick, almost as quick as you continue reading from a paragraph to another in this post.

I had the sandwich; it looked good and big enough. Without tasting it I squizzed the lemon over it. Not a inspired moved, because the sandwich has already pickles in, and thus I turned it in a double sour sandwich. Yet, in some parts there were enough shrimps to overcome the sourness of my lemon.

While eating our main dish, I saw the waiter taking two jars with some very good looking  stuff in, to a table next to us. In his way back I asked what were those. I found out there were cheese cakes; and I ordered a jar instantly.

We had wine with our main dishes, but we ordered a bottle of water for the dessert, expecting get some very sweet cheese cakes.

The jars looked very appealing with the dessert in, arranged in layers: biscuits on top, blackberries in the middle and the cheesy-cream at the bottom. It was sweet but not as sweet as we expected, so the water was not really need it. However, it looked enough, and it proved to me much, since I barely eat it, and my wife had only half of it.

All in all: 2 mains x 2 desserts = 550 DKK…a fair price for a decent lunch.

Romanian food experiences disappointed me this time

In this post I am going to present shortly my culinary experiences I have had during my holiday in Romania. I will be talking solely about the experiences I had while eating out, not about the ones eaten home at my family.

My holiday lasted about one and a half weeks, time when I was road-tripping Romania, crossing 14 counties, traveling from Dambovita up to Maramures, and then down again to Dambovita (my home county) from which I went one more time up the country, this time in the eastern part of Romania, in Bacau County.

I traveled all these areas because there were many points of interest (tourism wise) for me, points I have never traveled so far, eg. to the Merry Cemetery, Timisoara, Corvinilor Castle etc. However, apart for this points of interest, food was another goal of my trip. I use to travel for food, and I am very interested in tasting local foods, or just eating out and trying the talent of different chefs or the level of service different places have to offer.

I am quite used with the local food in Romania, but I am still excited about eating out -in Romania- as often as I can, looking for exciting experiences both through the places and service, but also through the dishes.

This time I was pretty disappointed with most of the experiences I have had in Romania; and here starts my story:

Me together with my companions first ate out in Baile Herculane, a touristic destination in the western part of Romania (very popular not long time ago). There we had dinner at a place named Restaurant Pizzerie Cristal; a random place we discovered in the middle of the town. From the street the place looked clean and appealing, with plenty of guests inside, and a menu of interest for me (with grilled trout and the traditional papanasi).

The disappointment started here from the very first moment, with waiters being inattentive at us, letting us stand in the middle of the restaurant without welcoming us or having any kind of interaction with us. After some moments when we waited for their attention, we decided to go to them and ask them. Just then we got a table. That was also the moment when we began to discover more about the places. There was water on the floor but nobody cleaned it, or place a sign of slippery floor. The waiters seemed to be all very uninterested in their guests. Moreover, some of them just used our chairs to support themselves while discussing about their guests or arguing that some guests left the place without paying. Then some of them began a fight with another guest who apparently didn’t received its order for a long time. At a moment I received the food I ordered; grilled trout with boiled potatoes. If the fish was good, the potatoes were cold and not very well boiled. The first positive aspect from waiters’ side came only when my wife received hers papanasi, and the waiter decided to give us two spoons instead of one, since there was only one person who ordered it. At the end of the dinner, on one side, we paid a cheap price for a dinner, but on the other side the food and the service matched the price we paid; both being very low.

The next time we ate out properly was in Timisoara. This time we chose the place that was recommended to us from our hotel’s receptionist. The restaurant is named Casa Bunicii. It is located in downtown Timisoara, and it has a very lovely garden; a perfect place for a dinner in a nice summer evening. Although there were many guests, we managed to get a table without having a reservation. The waiters seemed to be guests-orientated, apart from one of them who seemed very uninterested in working there, waiter from who we had never received back any answer to our requests, so we had always to ask one more time another waiter. Yet, the food was delicious and comes in the right portions.

In Cluj -the next major city we stopped in- we asked the receptionist of our hotel for some recommendations of good restaurants, but we were not able to receive any hint; we were sent however to the historic center of the city, being told that there are plenty of restaurants. It is truth that there are many restaurants and eateries, and after a long walk around them we decided to eat at Bistro Vienna, a bistro with terrace and a menu close to the Austrian menus. However, from the first interaction with one of the waiters we faced the same problems: poor service and extremely long waiting time. The waiter was quite irritated by our questions related to the menu or availability, closing the discussion with a invitation to stay only if we want to wait about 45 minutes until we receive the order. We stayed! We chose a table for ourselves, order and then wait. The drinks came first, and the food came after a long waiting time. I got a portion of Bistro ribs; the food looked ok, but it tasted not very good. The ribs were kind of plain; the cabbage was fade, while the boiled corn was almost sour. Then, the waiter forgot about the portion of papanasi my girlfriend asked for, so I had to go and order it again. When it finally came the waiter realized he had never cleaned our table after we finished the main dish. In the end we paid about 40 euro, and left the place disappointed, wondering whether we’ll find a decent place with a good service or all the places have the same issues in Romania.

Next stop was at Spanata, in Maramures, a place very popular for the Merry Cemetery. After we visited this tourist attraction we head for lunch at Complex Pastravul, a place recommended to us by a local. Complex Pastravul is a guest house somewhere close to the nature. It looks very clean and well maintained with a terrace behind the building and two deer in a small garden in front of it.

The menu is quite exciting with many dishes representing Maramures’s region. I decided to go for a goulash soup, a portion of warm polenta with sheep cheese and scarps, and a lemonade. The excitement was very high, but it was cut off be the news that the waiting time for the food was of about 45 minutes; and it proved to be no more and no less than 45 minutes. The waitresses were running all the directions, but they seemed not to be enough. I saw guests disappointed and leaving, but me, together with all I traveled with, decided…again…to stay. In the end it was all worth it, because the food tasted very good. However, the disappointment remains for the lack of attention businesses pay to services.

One of the best experiences I had, was the coming morning, when I had breakfast in the restaurant of Maestro Hotel in Vatra Dornei. There I had for breakfast food most of you’ll like to have for lunch or dinner: fried chicken livers, and fried cheese. Here the place was clean, the menu was rich, the prices not bigger than other places I was eating before, but the service was very good -at least in comparison with the other places: the waiter was welcoming, polite and customer-minded. The food came in good time, but I have to mention there were not many guests either. However, this was the first place I left tips at a restaurant in Romania, after driving about 1000km and eating in many different restaurants; the tips was worth it.

The last part of my holiday in Romania I spent it in Bacau, my wife’s city. There I use to ate at my wife’s mom -who cooks very well- but it happened to eat out three times. First time I ate at Restaurant Manhattan. There I had a portion of lasagna and the Romanian traditional dessert profiterol. Beside I had a glass of fresh orange juice. The atmosphere was very decent, and the service as well. There was a waitress who behaved nicely, and the food came in good time, especially if compared with the other experiences I had in Romania before. The food was good, though the orange fresh juice tasted a bit “not fresh” and the profiterol was a bit different than what I knew it should be like; moreover, it was very big, more than enough for a hungry man.

The second place I ate in Bacau was Pizzeria Luca. Luca restaurants have spread around Bacau and now they can be found all around the city offering different goods: from pretzels to sandwiches and pizza. I discovered this place by driving by it and it caught my attention with the crowds present on its terrace, and through its appearance: made of wood and clean. The first impression on spot was still not satisfying: we entered the restaurant, passed by some waiters without being greeted or asked anything, reached a reception where the waiter in charge there didn’t even looked at us for about 2-3 minutes although we were just face-to-face. In the end, we were sent to a table, with a cold voice. The waitress who served us was quite professional though, and together with the quality of the pizza we had, we declared the dinner to be ok.

The last dinner out we had in Bacau was at restaurant Piazzetta, located on the way to the town Roman. The place serves as a restaurant and bed and breakfast. From the street it looks just like a big house, but after making few steps the footpath takes you to the entrance in the restaurant, terrace and parking lots. Here I first made a reservation for the dinner, and we arrived there at 19:30. The staff at a first impression was professional. Once we got at our table we had to wait about 40 minutes for the waitress to get our order; at that moment she said that it will take maximum 30 minutes to receive our dishes. In the end it was 2 hours of waiting for the food, and I am not exaggerating. It is the worst experience I have had. It is a pity for the food and the place which both deserve more.

My holiday in Romania ended with a coffee in Otopeni Airport, at a lounge which name I don’t recall. However, although the prices are high -as it usually happen on airports- the service satisfied me very much. The waiter was welcoming, helpful and prompt.

All in all, after all these experiences I had in Romania, I can say I was very disappointed and I believe all the businesses activating in the service and hospitality sector in Romania have to improve seriously if they want to attract more tourists to them. I was surprised unpleasantly by the lack of training of the staff in the restaurants I visited, the lack of personnel and the lack of quality and creativity when it comes to food, situation I met in most of the places I ate.

Next time I will travel to Romania I plan to try some of the restaurants in Bucharest, and I have already higher expectations; based on the experiences I had in Bucharest before leaving Romania to live abroad, but also on the fact that being a capital city there is a bigger diversity and more people with money willing to spend them on quality stuff, including here food as well; so where there is demand for a product or a service, I expect that there are also companies willing to bring that on market.

As soon as I’ll get to visit any of the restaurants in Bucharest I’ll write about it here!

Sol over Gudhjem

Almost all the materials presenting Bornholm as a tourist destination, as well as most of the persons who have been there will tell you that you should try Sol over Gudhjem once you arrive on the island.

This happened to me as well, and honestly speaking it was a fact that I liked, since I am always interesting and wiling to try new dishes at the destinations I visit.

My girlfriend and I traveled Bornholm for about three days, but from the first moment I stepped on the ground of the island I became impatient to get to eat Sol over Gudhjem.

However, on the island, almost in all the urban/rural areas there are big buildings special designed for smocking herring, in particular, and other spices of fish, in general. Yet, the most famous one is the one in Gudhjem; so, together with my girlfriend we decided we wanted to try this dish from the most popular smocking house.

Sol over Gudhjem can be translated in English as “Sun over Gudhjem”; from my knowledge of the Danish language I would even go further and translate the name of the place -Gudhjem- in the house of the God (“gud”=god; “hjem”=house).

The smokehouse is situated in the harbor-central area of Gudhjem, and it is easy to find, since it is in the touristic area of a very tiny village.

Once we discover it, we weren’t surprise to see it was very crowded, because it is a very popular place, as I mentioned before. The place is huge, but is not a restaurant, but more of a fast-food where you wait in line to order, pay and receive a device that bips when the food is ready, moment when the food can be picked up and enjoyed. We followed all the steps of this ordering chain, with the mention that being very crowded the waiting time was consistent as well.

The dish itself is composed of smoked herring, with green salad, chives, onion, radishes and raw yolk, all of them on a slice of rye bread. I am not a big fan of the raw yolk, but once mixed with the fresh salad and the herring, it doesn’t really taste as it is mixed there. It might sound the dish is not consistent, but I would say it is just enough to let you enjoy the area after the meal ;-)!

Yet the Sol over Gudhjem dish can be found and eaten not only in the smokehouse in Gudhjem, but all over the places in Bornholm, even in restaurants. However, I would recommend you eat at least once at a smokehouse around the island.

Bon appetit!

Restaurant Kadeau (Bornholm) seen through my eyes!

Even before I booked the tickets to Bornholm I had the wish to eat at restaurant Kadeau, the only Michelin-stared restaurant on the island. Then, once I booked the plane tickets, the first thing I did was booking a table at Kadeau; with about one month prior the visit there were some available spots in the restaurant, but only after 20:30, yet we booked one for the evening of our arrival on Bornholm.

Me and my girlfriend arrived on the island on July 26, a sunny day for the sunniest region of Denmark. Our plan from home was to rent a bike and ride it to the restaurant and back, thinking that it would be an enjoyable way to visit the restaurant and explore its surroundings. Another option was to travel there by public transportation; however, once we got on the island we realized that public transportation is very poor on Bornholm; first it took us more than an hour to get to our hotel located in Rønne, only few kilometers away from the airport. Then, once arrived at the hotel we learned from the receptionist that the public transport on the island -in the direction to the restaurant Kadeau at least- runs until about 18:00, so there were no real chances to get to the restaurant by public transport. Then, the bike-shops were also closed at that time; they close at 18:00. Last option was a taxi, but we learned that from Rønne to Kadeau the charge is 450 Dkk for one way, too expensive in our opinion. In this circumstances we decided to call to the restaurant and try to reschedule our booking, or if not possible to cancel it because there were no way we could get there in time. Although on the website there were no available tables for the next day, when we called we were able to receive a table; however all this chain of facts didn’t affect, but rather intensified the greatness of our night at Kadeau.

The second day we rented a car so it was easier for us to move around. Only driving the car to the restaurant we realized what a uninspired idea could be to ride on a bike there and back. This is because there are about 24 km/one way till the restaurant, with short distance through a sort of a forest where there is not any road for bikes or lights at night.

Now to talk about the experience at the restaurant; it was beyond the words. What enhanced my experience was the location of the restaurant. As I said it is located in the middle of nowhere, at some kilometers from the main road, on the rocky coast of Baltic Sea. The view is superb, the atmosphere is quit and relaxed. The deign of the restaurant is not fancy, but it has something that made me like it: the big windows around all around the dinning room; beside this the tables outside are also contributing to a pleasant evening, for those who choose to seat there.

When it comes to food, the menu is offered in two options: eight courses menu or five courses menu. Beside them there are three appetizers offered before the first dish of the menu, coffee and sweets for coffee. I opted for the eight courses menu, while my girlfriend chose the five courses. Generally the food is delicious, although I can not say there were any exceptional dishes. The food is enough, so that after the first four-five dishes I was full, so the remaining ones were an extra.

An amazing fact about the food was to see one of the kitchen members going outside the restaurants and picking some flowers from the “garden” to use them later for the dinner’s menu; that was a boosting moment to my experience. This note comes as an example of the fact that all the dishes are based on local products from Bornholm.

When it comes to drinks, because I drove I went for juices only. However, there are pairings for both juices and wines. I didn’t take the pairing because I knew I couldn’t drink so much, but I had three bottles of juice locally made (Bornholm Mosteri).

All in all, for one large menu, a small one, a wine pairing for the small menu, and three juices we paid 2680 Dkk. It was reasonable for that level I would say, or at least I was satisfied with it.

I would end this post by encouraging any of you reading this post -if you have the chance to visit Bornholm- not to hesitate to visit this restaurant; you would thank yourself for this choice. However bear in mind that Kadeau Bornholm is open only a few months a year, during the touristic season.

Lunch at Far’s Dreng

Far’s Dreng (in English “The boy of the father”) is a restaurant located in central Copenhagen (http://www.farsdreng.com/). I discovered it by chance after one of my friends posted a pic with a waffle from this place. It looked appealing and I decided that I have to visit it as well. Two days ago I got some spare time at lunch time and together with my girlfriend we decided to have lunch there.

The place is designed in line with many of the Danish similar restaurants: simple insides, abstract art created with the use of old-second-hand stuff in a room not carefully maintained..however, it has its charm. The place has some French-like tables outside on the sidewalk, plus room at the street’s level and another one at the first floor; yet the tables are not so many in the end. For example we got a table at the first floor and there were two more tables and the bar.

We had an avocado sandwich, a croque madame, a waffle and two lemonade. When we received them, they looked delicious, however I was quit disappointing with the croque madame which bread was so hard -or the knife so bad- that it was almost impossible to cut it. There is an option to get some avocado with the croque madame for 10 Dkk extra. I would have liked to have a glass of Pinot Noir, but they don’t have this wine variety in the menu.

The lemonade is good, homemade, but it comes in a quite small glass, so if you are thirsty, get two of them ;-)! Tap water is available for free at the bar.

All in all for the above mentioned order we paid 270 Dkk, quite ok bill for Denmark’s level of prices, though the place didn’t impressed me much.

Ven island – the perfect destination for a day trip

Ven is a tiny island in the Øresund stright, belonging to Sweden. Being an island it can be visited only by ferry, and there are three possible departing points towards Ven: Landskrona (in Sweden, with scheduled departures all year round), Helsingør in Denmark, and Copenhagen (only on summer time).

Me and my girlfriend took the ferry from Copenhagen. The tickets we booked online with only a couple of hours before the departure; then all we needed to do is to get ready and show up at the ferry a bit before its departure time. There is no check in or requirements regarding any arrival time prior boarding.

The ferry is not huge, but it has a sort of a restaurant and place for bicycles, if one wants to take the bike with him/her. However, there is a 90 Dkk fee for the bikes, the same fee one pays for renting a bike on the island of Ven.

I have not mentioned that the little island of Ven is a perfect destination for tour on bike. Thus there are many tourists who take their bikes with them or rent them on the island. We decided to rent bikes on the spot, so after a ride of about one and a half hour with the ferry we arrived on Ven. There we walk for about five minutes uphill until we arrived at the shop where the popular yellow bikes are rented. There is a huge parking lot full of all kiind of bikes (tandem; with support for kids; classic etc.).

The weather was not great but the enthusiasm was high; it was the first time when I was about to start a trip on bike. So we took a map of Ven from the bike shop and we were gone. There are many tourist on bikes, and very few cars. There is harmony and relaxation because no matter the way one take there is no risk of getting lost. There are few houses, many cafes and beautiful nature. Our first stop was a little harbour, just under the old church of Sankt Ibb. There are many little shops with ice-cream snacks and possibility for picnic. After an ice-cream, we head to the church from where we took a beautiful picture and stunning sight. Then we continued riding around the island, discovering many cozy places and beautiful nature. However, due to the weather we didn’t stop for picnic, but we stopped for lunch a Pumpkin Delicatessen and Cafe. It was a very good experience: I had a great pizza with goat cheese and many glasses of organic apple juice, one of the best I have ever drunk. After the lunch the sky broke and and we head back to the harbour, not before we returned the bikes.

The ferry from Copenhagen lives at 09:15 and returns at 16:30, so it is important not to miss it. If missed, there are many camping opportunities on Ven.

There are many positive aspects about Ven, and it might be worth it to visit it for more than one day, but we didn’t have more time; yet, we want to go back there one day.