Restaurant Jordnaer is first and foremost a love story. A former gang member, Chef Eric Kragh Vildgaard found his path in life through cooking and meeting his wife Tina. Together with Tina as the restaurant manager, they created Jordnaer which was awarded its first Michelin Star in 2017 after nine months of opening and its second in 2020.
Located 20 minutes from the city center, the elegant restaurant is actually located inside a humble 3-star hotel. When asked about the location, Tina was very honest - “it was the only place we could afford at the time”. And yet they didn’t let that limit their ambition. Their motto is “only the best for our guests”, striving for perfection while using the best produce possible. Eating here is both a feast for the eyes and the mouth as the dishes are some of the most gorgeous and delicate I’ve ever seen. Speculations were abound on Jordnaer getting 3 stars ahead of this year’s Michelin guide and while they retained their 2 stars, they are no doubt on the right trajectory on achieving the highest honor in the near future.  |
| Jordnaer is located inside Gentofte Hotel |
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| The elegant dining room at Jordnaer |
From the start, we had 4 different champagnes to choose from as an aperitif. The wine selection (especially champagne) is something the restaurant is really proud of. As such they even have a champagne pairing to go with the tasting menu.
Our meal was impressive from the start. Dishes looked deceptively simple but actually had layers of flavors with quite a bit of Japanese influences and ingredients. The three tartlet snacks at the beginning of the meal were fantastic and set the tone for the evening:
King Crab with blue mussels and sake
Lobster Claw with yuzu emulsion, dashi gel and trout roe cured with umeshu and shiso
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Tartare seasoned with aged soy sauce, wasabi oil, and pickled myoga (Japanese ginger). Served with a soy emulsion on the bottom and Belgium Beluga caviar on top
The crispy Rosset Waffle has become a signature at the restaurant. The underside of the waffle was filled with a cream of Fjord shrimp, lemon zest and chives, and then topped with Elegance Baerri caviar. Did I mention that the chef loves to work with caviar? Lucky for us we got to try it in a few different ways during the night.
One of my favorites was the beautiful hand-dived Norwegian Scallop presented on a metal skewer. The scallop was quickly marinated with pear juice and finger-lime, and served with a floral sauce of rose oil and white currant.
Our first serving of Norwegian langoustine was the Langoustine Tartare topped with a bouillon and cognac gel, clarified Marinda tomato water, and Spanish olive oil. As we will have the tail part in a later dish, this was a fantastic way to use up all parts of the langoustine.
Danish Oyster served with a buttermilk sauce flavored with horseradish juice, wasabi oil and dill. The spicy kick from the sauce worked wonderfully with the oyster.
Green Asparagus Salad with watercress purée and Noilly Prat foam. As we dug into the salad, we found - what else? - caviar underneath the bed of flowers.
Then we had the second part of the lobster - the first was the lobster claw tart at the start of the meal. The Danish Lobster Tail was lightly poached and seasoned with black pepper. Topped with a white asparagus cream panna cotta, gel of Sicilian pink grapefruit, and finished with a beurre blanc sauce of grape juice, buttercream, egg yolk and Amalfi lemon zest.
As mentioned before, the chef loves to work with caviar so we had a dish with just caviar as the main ingredient. The beautiful Ossetra Imperial Caviar was served with a clean and elegant sauce made with fresh walnuts.
Hamachi served with an emulsion of oyster, fresh wasabi and ponzu sauce
The bread course was a delicious mix between a brioche and Japanese milk bread which was served with salted butter on the side.
Norwegian Langoustine cooked on yakitori grill and served with a buttermilk beurre blanc sauce flavored with yuzukozo and koji foam. A dish with flavors of fattiness, spiciness, acidity and umami all rolled into one.
Our mains finished strong with this beautiful Dry-aged Turbot farced with morels, shiso, and black winter truffle. Served with a wonderful truffle sauce and Vin Jaune foam.
Desserts were equally stunning! The Fraise des Bois from Malaga was served with a sauce made from rhubarb and geranium oil, and topped with a hiprose sorbet.
My favorite was the gorgeous Honeycomb with a semi-frozen parfait seasoned with camomile, Tasmanian honey and lavender gel which was then topped with a milk ice cream.
Petit Fours:
- Lavender & Vanilla Madeleine
- Canele made with Diplomatico rum from Venezuela
- Custard Tart with Nutmeg
- Lychee & Rose Sugar Jelly
Thank you Eric and Tina for the wonderful experience! As parting gifts, we received a loaf of their homemade bread and butter to enjoy the next morning.
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