An understatement. This was the very longest of languorous lunches in the history of the world. Or at least in the history of my world and that is not insignificant; in my 30 years on this earth I've had my fair share of long and languorous lunches. My sister and I arrived at Amass restaurant at 12 o’clock and left at 5.30pm. Five and a half hours of lunching is a new record for me.
The 2013 opening of Amass restaurant in Copenhagen was much anticipated, making headlines around the world. Head chef and owner, Matt Orlando, has worked with the likes of Heston Blumenthal, Raymond Blanc, Thomas Keller and Rene Redzepi. He was sous chef and, most recently, chef de cuisine at Noma, number one on the world’s best restaurant list.
The food is clearly influenced by Orlando’s time at Noma, but the atmosphere is more casual and relaxed than one imagines Noma’s would be. I wouldn’t know; getting a reservation at Noma is like trying to get tickets for Glastonbury – lines open at specific time, you have to keep ringing and ringing and when you do finally get through it is only to be told that all available places booked out within an hour.
Relaxed fine dining may sound like an oxymoron and it is certainly a difficult balance to strike. The venue helps – a big open plan warehouse space in a former shipyard building. It’s stylish, without being stuffy. A big mural of graffiti gives a touch of the street, along with the music – think happy hip hop like Ugly Duckling, J5 and A Tribe Called Quest.
Most of all, though, it's about the service, which is casual, but attentive, smooth and efficient. The kind of casual which seems relaxed on the surface, but you know behind the scenes they run a really tight ship.
If you didn’t feel comfortable already, the first dish is designed with this in mind:
“It is supposed to be eaten with your hands. People think Noma when they come here and it can make them a bit uptight... but I can see you guys don’t need to be told that.”
First course and we were already cackling away like hyenas after one glass of bubbles.
One place where they do lean slightly more towards fine dining pretentions is in the naming of their dishes, which simply lists ingredients. 'Potato, Vinegar, Marigold' turned out to be one of the most refined potato salads I have ever eaten. Tiny cubes of potato, cooked al dente and coated in creamy mayonnaise with flecks of zingy lemon pulp, ceps and marigolds from the kitchen garden. Salt and vinegar crisps might sound like an odd accompaniment, but the vinegar was subtle and they were big on crunch, a great textural contrast.
I am not a huge fan of the PR success story that is kale. Kale chips? Please, as if being a vegan wasn’t bad enough already. But Amass might just have changed my mind. The kale salsa which they served with the bread was a revelation and it actually tasted like kale. Somehow that ‘healthy’ flavour of sulphur and iron was made palatable with a heavy dose of lemon and a kick of chilli.
It may also have helped that the salsa and the bread it accompanied were made by one of the most attactive men I have ever had the pleasure to be served by.
“Enjoy and eat as much as you like. So long as you keep finishing the bread, I will keep bringing it to you.”
When he left my sister said to me,
“Please can we eat it as quickly as possible so he comes back?”
Our waiter commented later on the impressive number of breads we had consumed. Yeah, the bread was good, but it could have been road kill and my sister and I would have plowed through it in the hope of another visit from Mr Long Lashes.
Red Lettuces, Roasted Chicken Skins, Langoustine and Beach Plants was our joint favourite. It was the little cubes of chicken skin that did it – they tasted like hot pork scratchings, but both juicy and crisp. Neither of us is particularly keen on raw crustaceans, but the langoustine was so fresh, soft and tender that it practically melted on the tongue, a fabulous contrast to the crispy chicken skins and crunchy beach plants.
The accompanying wine, a pinot blanc from the Alsace with a disconcertingly huge nose and rich colour, was surprisingly light and delicate, with citrus notes that complemented the seafood. It was our favourite of the paired wines.
Grilled Corn, Egg Yolk, Black Pepper Oil looked deceptively simple. The broth captured the essence of the grilled corn so well it was uncanny. There was a nuttiness and sweetness to it that worked brilliantly with the yolk, which had been cooked in an oven at 43 degrees to achieve a taffy-like consistency.
Beets, Plums, Red Seaweed, Almond didn’t photograph well, but was a delight to eat. Sour dehydrated plums contrasted with soft, sweet slivers of beetroot and drizzled with almond oil, which was so rich and smooth it could almost be described as creamy.
A light dusting of spices had me baffled and I had to ask the waiter. He explained that it was made from dehydrated and ground black citrus. This was cleverly paired with a glass of red that was spicy but mellow, with hints of black pepper.
Wild Duck, Sorrel, Oysters, Spinach was as pleasing to the eye as to the palate:
The gamey duck breast was cooked perfectly, the flesh rare and tender with crisp, salty skin. It was well complemented by a herbaceous, creamy mayonnaise and the spinach brought a touch of freshness in what was otherwise quite a rich, intense dish.
After a little stroll, or rather stumble, around the kitchen garden we returned to our table for Red Aroma Apples, Yeast, Whisky Caramel. I should be able to explain the method behind this dish at great length, but both the explanation and the dish were delivered by Mr Long Lashes.
Something about freezing the apples to keep the flavour… those eyes…. Something about vinegar on the puff pastry. What? Did I hear that right? I don’t know. Swoon, swoon.
We thought that was it, but then he reappeared with a napkin full of mini cupcakes. Something about carrot and hawthorn berries... No idea about the accompanying sauce... Uncertain of the method or ingredients that he had just so laboriously explained, we renamed them “gash cakes”:
More cackling like hyenas at high volume.
How uncouth.
We could see the waiters were keen to set up for the dinner service, so we ordered another glass of the pinot blanc, settled up and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the unexpected warmth of the winter sun at a table in the kitchen garden.
I had intended to see much more of Copenhagen last weekend than I did, but I don’t regret it for an instant. As my sister said,
“Holidays are about having fun. We’re having fun. Why stop having fun to go do something because you think you ought to?”
Agreed. And why curtail not only one of the longest and most languorous of lunches, but one of the best? In the history of my world anyway.
Amass: Refshalevej 153, 1432 Copenhagen, Denmark; +45 43584330; info@amassrestaurant.com
Lunch: Fri-Sat 12pm-4pm; Dinner: Tues-Sat 6pm-12am
Tasting menu DKK 575; Smaller lunch menu DKK 395; Extended tasting menu DKK 775
Wine pairing for tasting menu DKK 375; wine pairing for extended tasting menu DKK 595