Sam S.

Fabulous ambience, well spaced tables, phenomenal food and an extensive wine list. Amazing service to top it off makes for an evening to remember. Four of us had dinner here and they prepared a 19 course vegetarian meal for three of us and all the courses were following the exact same concept with some substitution for allergies etc. Each course was amazing and I liked all but one course of the entire evening. Kitchen staff were on hand to serve each and every course and our waitress for the evening was excellent, attentive and on the ball. She was also very engaging and knew a lot about the food and wine. This restaurant deserves three stars in my opinion and delivers amazing flavors with amazing presentation. In terms of the end of the meal it would have been nice to have some sweeter things like petit fours to cap off a cold winter night. Besides that it was a fabulous evening. Wine list is expensive, but then again, alcohol is expensive in Scandinavia. The choice was good and some of the wine was reasonably priced. My favorite course of the evening was the langoustine followed by the onion :-) happily come here again anytime. It's world class food and service here.

G. C.

18 courses! 16 were excellent. One (the quail) was slightly too salty. And one (the chanterelle) was extremely over salted. I felt like someone was trying to sabotage one Michelin Star out of them. I also had the non-alcohol pairing. 4 out of the 7 pairings were great. 3 tasted just downright weird. Their sister restaurant, Trio, had no misses, and a whole lot cheaper. For 2 Michelin Stars, and for this price point, I really expected a flawless execution. (I uploaded 10 photos. How many did Yelp let through?)

Bo B.

We came here and were blown away by the food and the service. The cute restaurant is underground and has some great wine selections. All the food was delicious and refreshing but we could have done with less desserts as we were totally stuffed by the end.

Tony Y.

This place isn't one of the best restaurants in Copenhagen; it's one of the best in the world. It's a shame that it'll never show up as one of your top hits but I'll tell you, it's a 2 Michelin that's worth trying. At least they serve you cooked food and meat which is more that I can say for in regards to some of the other restaurants in Copenhagen. The dishes are Nordic but creative. You get your protein but still see how flavors can come from dehydrated food. Not everything works but enough of it does to say that I'm impressed. Choose AOC for your next Copenhagen trip. Unless you like eating grass for $300. Then you can try the other spots.

Elei Z.

The food is amazing. Every single dish and every single bite takes your breath away. It's mostly a mixture of seafood and vegetables. There's a juice pairing if you don't do wine pairings - which I absolutely loved. The juices paired perfectly with the dishes. Few places have juice pairings, and I'm so glad AOC does. The one frustration I had was that the food came out far too slow. I got there at 8:30pm and didn't leave until past 1am. You spend a few minute eating and savoring the food, but most of your time is spent waiting for the food. I'd absolutely love to come back if it wasn't an all night event.

Will S.

SUPREME. UNFORGETTABLE A|O|C was exquisite. The meal was exquisite, the service attentive. I cannot forget the flavors here. It is one of my fave restaurants I've experienced in Copenhagen or anywhere. The reviews on Yelp showed me range of tastes from various Yelpers who appreciate sensory experiences on a plate. I loved this resto from what I read and was enthused to come here. Søren Selin, at the helm, joined A|O|C in 2013 and got a second star during his tenure . Impressive. But stars don't impress me necessarily so I had to try The website describes "AOC is situated in the vaulted cellar of the historic mansion, Moltkes Palæ,dating back to the 17th century just a few minutes from Kongens Nytorv in the centre of Copenhagen" It's a stunning building! The restaurant setting alone is a bit off-putting, not crazy about going to the basement of some ancient building to eat, LOL. But once I was there, I felt welcomed, the environs stark, yet; the art on the walls beautiful. It is comforting here, the wait staff friendly like my favorites restos in CPH. And the wine cellar is super impressive. The food and wine (curated by Aaro) pairings symbolized a renaissance of flavors for me-- I sensed hunter/gatherer, foraging and refined culinary innovations on a beautiful plate-- produced by an artist concocting surprising flavors from simple ingredients. Chef Søren shared with his guests oft missed experiences with foraged edibles beautifully presented, invented delicious flavors and Aaro's wine selections embraced the flavors on the plate and shifted the diner's palate to ecstatic. I am in like with the flavors and wine pairings here. I took some iPhone captures of the plates and wines for you. Hope you visit this quaint, Scandi austere yet beautiful restaurant with food to feed the eyes and the soul. Oh lets not forget my stomach was extremely happy. Verdict? Loved it. Coming back. Visits: 1 Tip: Earliest dinner appointment is best as this is easily 2 1/2 hours. Then a stroll through the shops and cafes on Kongens Nytorv, just a stroll, because you're both perfectly sated, and you wonder if you'll ever forget this meal.

Kim N.

In the shadows of Amalienborg Palace, AOC lies in the 300+ year old cellar of a historic mansion. Sommelier Christian Aarø Mortensen and Rasmus Grønbech used to run a restaurant here called Premisse. Since Grønbech left to open Grønbech & Churcill, Chef Ronny Emborg has joined to transform the restaurant to culinary incarnation. I head read many good things about it and how it was one of the strongholds of the current Nordic cooking movement. It would be fitting that we would follow our lunch from Grønbech with that of Emborg in the same day, though completely by reservation coincidence. Making your way downstairs into the cellar, you are pitted against a massive wine room presenting some of the best wines from around the world. As I waited for my friends I took a seat in very comfortable lounge area. When they arrived we were led towards the back and sat close to the kitchen though it was just out of view. Our server Sheila greeted us with a very cheerful manner and we were given some moments to decide on how we wanted to approach the menu. Of course this was a vacation to we were going all in on the Sensory Courses. We also decided to half get one wine pairing and half getting the other and splitting. As it was decided it would look like the following: The Sensory Courses MACKEREL, in hay ash, parsley, green tomatoes & buttermilk EGG YOLK, mi-cuit, cauliflower dill seeds, chives oil & bleak roe DANISH OYSTER, poached, new green peas, pods & cabbage turnip SWEETBREAD, fried, milk skin, pearl onions & thyme PORK BRISKET, grilled with malt, small radishes, potatoes & rams COW MILK CHEESE course, with syrup and rye, bread BLUE SHEEP CHEESE course CELERY, granite, walnut, apple & dill oil MILK ICE CREAM, buttermilk dust, fried salsify & sugar beet syrup Wine Selections Pairing 1 2009 Wild Sauvignon Blanc Greywacke Vineyards, Marlborough, New Zealand 2010 Chardonnay, Beaujolais Blanc Domaine Terres Dorees, Jean-Paul Brun, France 2010 Grüner Veltliner, Rotes Tor Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Wachau, Austria 2009 Nuits Saint Georges Domaine Daniel Bocquenet, Bourgogne, France 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Clos du Val Winery, Napa Valley, California, USA 2009 Eiswein, Riesling Berg Weingut Markus Huber, Traisental, Austria 2008 Château Doisy-Vedrines, 2. Cru Classé Sauternes Bordeaux, France Pairing 2 2009 Wild Sauvignon Blanc Greywacke Vineyards, Marlborough, New Zealand 2010 Chardonnay, Beaujolais Blanc Domaine Terres Dorees, Jean-Paul Brun, France 2010 Grüner Veltliner, Axpoint Smaragd Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Austria 2009 Echezeaux Domaine Daniel Bocquenet, Bourgogne, France 2004 Cabernet Sauviognon, Howell Mountain Dunn Vineyards, Napa Valley, California 2009 Eiswein, Riesling Berg Weingut Markus Huber, Traisental, Austria 2008 Château Doisy-Vedrines, 2. Cru Classé Sauternes Bordeaux, France Emborg certainly is an ambassador to the New Nordic Cuisine. The cooking is quite progressive and the flavor combinations very intriguing. As an award winning sommelier, the wine selections with a few overlaps, were globally varied and matched very well. Sheila our captain and the rest of the staff were quite fun considering what looks like a very formal environment. We again asked about Smørrebrød and traditional Danish lunch (as we did at all the restaurants) and again we got very lit up responses. In fact our servers at AOC would be considered Mafia at a popular Danish lunch joint in town,visiting several times a month so needless to say we got the great recommendations there and a number of other good local spots. Great friendly comfortable service. Afterwards we got an extensive tour of the kitchen and also got an in depth description of service and many of processes that go behind preparing the good well before it is cooked for diners. Excellent, beautiful food while well taken care of. A stellar example of how Copenhagen is a force in the gastronomic world.

Karen Y.

A trip of a lifetime, with my travel besties, landed in beautiful Paris for 4 days and then adventurously in Copenhagen (Kober-haven as it sounds like from the locals...) Paris: Celebrated at Le Cinq... At the magnificent George V hotel (review to come...) Copenhagen: 2 amazing out of the world "eating" extravaganza at... 1) Geranium (in another review) and 2) A/O/C - - yes, we did a major splurge. Like my guy friends, who saves for a year just to plunge it all in 1 weekend at Hakkasan, in Vegas (#truth) Nordic Cuisine is mostly about fish (either fermented/ or fresh catch, lots of edible flowers, and shellfish... Less about meat (bc of the weather, meats are mostly imported, making it very expensive). However don't be deter by this, even if you're a total carnivore like me... You will be amaze what these creative chefs do with a simple dish. A/O/C - *2 Michelin (potentially getting an upgrade.. I heard) *decor, kind of like eating in a cave... With better lighting and much better food. *service is impeccable, there were no mishap, forgotten plate, just a very friendly "host" who not only photobomb our pictures but also teased us to no end about us "not drinking"... LOL *food - left us mostly speechless and maybe one "wtf" moment when we had to crack our way to a fingerling baby potato... Yes, you get a hammer... *presentations of the food were beyond creative, beautiful and made me wish I could pocket these "steal worthy" clay plates even West Elm would be jelly. *Like all Michelin star dining experience, it comes with a pretty steep price tag... (1800 Danish Krones per person, about $280 USD) To this I say #YOLO! As their tasting menu changes with the season, I can only share what I think would be great stable to represent the artistry of A/O/C. 1- the fried sweetbread with edible flowers 2- the baked Nordic fish in pine 3- the "hunt" for the baby potato Happy adventurous feasting!

Jenn P.

We had a lovely meal at AOC a few weeks back. We made a reservation just a couple days in advance for a Saturday night. The meal was very lovely; the dishes were extremely interesting without being totally off the wall and the servers were extremely patient and knowledgable. THE GOOD: THE FOOD: Wow. If you told me I'd be happily gnawing on reindeer moss during this dinner, I would've laughed in your face. Welp. I guess I like this weird mushroom / algae hybrid after all. All of the food was inventive, thoughtful, and cohesive. Pictures to follow, but everything was *two thumbs up*. Several dishes are put together at the table which is cool to watch. We especially enjoyed the reindeer moss, the celery root & caviar amuse bouche, the baked onion with caviar, and the Nordic vanilla. SERVICE: Wow. Pretty impeccable. Really knowledgeable, helpful, and genuine: exactly what a two Michelin star restaurant should be. Our main server, Aleks, was upbeat, sweet, and very helpful. There was also a blonde lady who was AWESOME; she and another server noticed I wasn't touching my pancake and went to make me another one without liver in it, without me asking (*unfortunately, it was the pigeon as a whole that was turning me off, but A+ for effort and for being so sweet about it!!). Additionally, at the end, I wasn't feeling great (not AOC related, had been sick for a couple of days) so I decided to leave and my friend paid the bill. On my way out, I told the server who was getting my coat what was happening, and I've never seen someone run faster to grab a jacket in my life. When my friend got back to the hotel, she said that the staff was worried about me, which was so thoughtful; I felt terrible for running out of them like that. THE NOT AS GOOD: Truthfully, these are both very small complaints, and mostly just constructive. PACE: Dinner took 4 hours. I know that you don't want to rush through a dinner like this, but at times, we felt a little antsy. ATMOSPHERE: The restaurant is in the basement level but I found it to be extremely hot down there; I kept going to the bathroom because it was like 10 degrees colder in there. Also, we had a weird interaction with one of the servers where we asked him to take a picture of us before the meal. He was visibly uncomfortable; I wish he had just told us no (although later in the night, other servers were taking pictures of other patrons, so I don't understand what the big deal was). Just put us off to a weird start; then I felt uncomfortable taking pictures of the food so I kept doing it quickly and then putting my phone away. Awk. All in all, we really liked AOC and had an overall positive experience. Would certainly recommend if you are in Copenhagen and have lots of time + money to spend. It is an interesting & unforgettable culinary experience.

Michael U.

Awarded two-stars by Michelin, but largely under-discussed by most culinary tourists visiting Copenhagen, AOC was chosen for dinner on Saturday largely to determine how it's "rating" correlates with the rest of the city's best, a sort of calibration to what the Red Guide is looking at in a city whose top-ranking cuisine is fairly new in terms of culinary history. Located in an old Wine cellar on Dronningens Tværgade, the vaulted ceilings and low lighting creating a dramatically different look from the natural woods and earthen objects of other 'New Nordic' restaurants in Denmark, AOC is toqued by Chef Søren Selin who has run Christian Aarø's kitchen since 2013, his menu offered as a 1,700DKK tasting or 'a little less' for 1,400, the longer experience totaling anywhere from 20-25 individual plates depending on the evening. Far more formal than Kadeau, the Chefs here remaining in the kitchen and leaving not only the course descriptions but several tableside preparations to a team of young Women and Men who carefully balance showing some personality with professionalism, it was with seating offered at a table large enough for four that the meal quickly got started, a flurry of seven bites served sequentially highlighted by a crispy cigar of Sorrel wrapped around warm Rhubarb plus Cabbage and a deep fried nest of Reindeer Moss filled with a creamy puree of Chicken Liver and foraged Mushrooms. Additionally enjoying two Vegetable duos, the differences in flavor far more notable side-by-side than one would be able to appreciate in isolation, the following course was a DIY-Crepe that was essentially a fun way to serve Beef Tartare while the follow-up of White Asparagus with torched Mornay was impressive in its simplicity, the clean snap of the barely heated stalk contrasting against the charcoal bittered but creamy coating. Covering Snacks in about twenty minutes, the expediting here not quite that of Kadeau or Geranium but far better than most of Copenhagen's kitchens where courses come at varying intervals with no discernible pattern, the proper menu began with a sizable green Turnip hulled out filled with a chilly potage of trimmed Oysters and herbal Granite that balanced iodine with bitterness amidst thick Cream, the follow-up of seared Sea Scallop and Daikon 'Mille Feuille' playing off a similar idea but bringing it up a few notches by way of pickled Asparagus, a welcome addition found in the fluffy Blue Mussel Bread at its side to soak up any remaining liquid. Sending out Bread next, a sizable loaf of Spelt Sourdough that replaced the water component with a regional Beer that baked off slightly sweet and paired very nicely with two styles of Butter including one infused with Kelp, the following course was described as a restaurant signature and prepared tableside, the Salt-baked Onion cleaned and added to a base of sweet Onion Custard before being topped with a big spoonful of Golden Caviar, the combination expectedly intense with a long linger that likely would have been even better with the Juice or Wine pairing to help intermittently refresh the palate. Seafood and Vegetable-centric like most of Copenhagen's top tables, plates eleven and twelve presented Norwegian Crab in two distinctly different styles, the first a too-hot-to-touch grilled Leg served next to a burning bouquet with a saline Dipping Sauce while the second placed Shoulder Meat in the context of a Dumpling, the 'skin' made of Lardo and the broth an aromatic yet lightly flavored Kombu. Getting heavier as the plates progressed, charred New Potatoes and Mushrooms in Cheese Foam a rich lead-in to grilled Greens served next to an emulsion of Lambs Tongue and Spinach Cream, the staff seemed particularly proud to present the meal's final savory, the short hunting season for Roe Deer yielding an exceedingly lean piece of the Loin that was served rare under a slick of Spinach and Ramson Butter. Putting together a fairly large collection of Cheeses, but only offering a Chef's selection each day, Saturday night saw the kitchen send out 40-month Danbo that was sliced tableside and offered with Crackers, Honey and two additional composed selections, the folded Beet Root with Viking Blue particularly memorable, even if only for one bite. Making a production of pre-Dessert, the Branches and Berries clipped and crushed with mortar and pestle before joining an intensely herbal Sorbet, it was actually the follow-up of Sunchoke 'glass' atop Caramel and Hazelnut Ice Cream that proved to be one of the best courses of the night, the earthiness just enough to balance the Sugar while the following bites of Salsify made to look and taste like Vanilla plus three Mignardises were all pleasant enough and a fitting continuation of the flavors most recent tasted.

Zoey A.

Things to deduct from five-star: - it's located in an underground cave which is a little creepy - the cold turnip soup with Danish oysters that were absolutely slimy and weird - sweet pickled vanilla pod Things that I loved: - great wine pairing; I went for the more expensive option but I was told both would pair with the menu equally well - that bite of cod; the bones were a little unmanageable but that bite, yum - the snow crab two ways: that little wonton bite was great, but the broiled snow crab leg was even better - the idea of burning thyme for a dish; revolutionary experience

Onki W.

Things I really liked were the service, the use of seasonal and local ingredients. Loved all the different produce they used, and the deer meat really stood out. It was tender, bold flavored and gamey. When I go to Michelin restaurants in the U.S, I always feel like there are not enough vegetable dishes, but AOC does a good job on balancing vegetable and protein. The presentations were good and fun. However, i'm giving it 4 stars because I think the flavor had a lot of repetition, and the environment was a bit mundane.

Jeff B.

We went to AOC for our anniversary. We both had the seven-course menu with the wine pairing. Before dinner began, we selected a sparkling wine and enjoyed a few appetizers. These were all very interesting and got the night started on the right foot. The seven course menu included: - CUCUMBER & LUMPFISH ROE, smoked cheese & tarragon - ARTIC CHAR, oysters, daikon & oyster cream with dill oil - COD, cabbage, sik roe in butter emulsion - CELERIAC, with morrels & crisp chicken skin - LAMB, yellow beats, smokes marow & onions - CAMOMILE, pear & thyme - CARAMEL, hazelnut & jerusalem artichoke The wine pairings were equally awesome. You can find out about those on their website. I was very impressed with the flavors of the meal and the combinations of those flavors with the wine. It certainly takes a special skill set to do that effectively. I think the dinner plus wine pairing was around 1800 DK/person. So, it's only a special occasion type of place for me. Also, do the math on seven glasses of great wine. You might be a bit tipsy at the end of dinner. But it is truly a great experience. I hope to try AOC again with more exciting food/wine combinations.