Tag Archives: restaurant

Brunch at Hotel Baltic

Last year Hotel Baltic in Høruphav was reopened under Silje Brenna and Jonas Mikkelsen. The pair already run other restaurants, including the Michelin-star owning Hotel Frederiksminde in Præstø so we’ve been looking forward to trying it out. We finally managed a visit for Sunday brunch on Mother’s Day.

Sunday brunch at Hotel Baltic is served family-style in the bistro overlooking the harbour. We were first to arrive (a bit before opening time of 10:00) and were warmly welcomed in and shown to our table. On sitting down we were offered juice, tea and coffee (all included in the price).

Once the drinks were in place, the food started arriving. The food arrives at the table on shared platters. We first got a muesli and yoghurt bowl each. This was then followed by cold dishes such as cold cuts, cheeses, salmon and prawns, then hot dishes of liver pate and bacon as well as scrambled eggs and sausages. The final offering was pancakes.Throughout all this there was delicious homemade bread and butter, both of which were replenished as needed. I particularly loved the  prawns with lemon mayonnaise and, surprisingly (as I was very sceptical on seeing it) the scrambled eggs.

Reading those items you might think it doesn’t sound like it’s different to any other brunch in town. However, on tasting the food it is clear that the quality of the items is significantly better. This is also reflected in the fact that the source of the ingredients is told to you as the food is brought to the table. They are clearly proud of their suppliers, and they should be.

The brunch costs 245 DKK (or 125 DKK for children under 12), including tea, coffee and juice, which was a very fair price for the amount of food and the quality. The brunch is served on Sundays from 10:00-12:00 and you should plan to spend two hours there. If planning to go we would recommend you book or at least phone ahead as, although not full when we visited, the place is not that big. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

The bistro is kid-friendly but since the experience is cozy it can be a challenge combining the “slow-food” with energetic kids. We were lucky to have one kid sleeping and the other one happy for a run just outside in the grass for a while and a trip down to look at boats. If we didn’t have two small kids on our hands we would definitely try out the evening menu in the restaurant based on what we experienced for brunch. Maybe for our next kid-free evening!

Havbo 29
6470 Sydals

Torve-Hallen, South European Food

One of the new restaurants in Sønderborg in 2016 is Torve-Hallen, with a Southern Europe inspired theme and fantastic views over the water. We went to try it out today for lunch.

Torvehallen Sønderborg

Ambience

Having views over Als Sound, it would be very hard to mess up the ambience: just give great views over the sound and everyone would be happy. And this is what has been done, with big windows overlooking the water on both levels, and an outside balcony on the second floor.

The interior is decorated with grafitti pieces by local artist Welinoo and there is imagery from Paris, Madrid, Rome, LA, Sydney, Berlin – and Sønderborg on the walls.
Streetart Torve-hallen Sønderborg

Besides the view, the place is quite nicely set up, with a wood burning oven, different seating areas, and a very airy feel. I loved the herb plants in random places on the two levels. A sniff of rosemary always makes me feel at home, where we had a big rosemary bush right outside our back door.

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Service

There are two levels to Torve-Hallen: a downstairs which feels more like a food hall, and an upstairs which has more of a restaurant feel with tables set up. We opted for the upstairs, where we were told that for lunch there is no service, but we are to order downstairs. On ordering we were given a buzzer to collect our food from the order desk.

Having gotten used to a pub culture in the UK, where you order at the bar, this was perfectly fine for us. It also meant that there was a bit of movement in the place, and our young son running around was not a problem (also as there weren’t that many people at 11 am). Other than that, everyone was very welcoming and helped when we had questions with a smile. No complaints!

The food at Torve-Hallen

Here the outcome was very split. We ordered a burger and one of their artisan pizzas. The artisan pizza was really good! A dough that is thin but not too thin, with still a bit of chew to it, and good quality toppings. The burger, however, was not that much of a success for us.

Let’s start with the positives of the burger. First off, I loved that the burger was not a monstrous constructions often offered in cafes here that I always struggle to understand how to eat. You could actually manage to taste all components of the burger together easily and without much mess. I liked that. However, when it came to the taste, it felt like someone looked at a McDonalds burger and attempted to improve on that. Luckily for them, they did manage to improve on that, but there is not much more positive I could say. Unfortunately, on biting into it, McDonalds is what first came to mind and kept on returning with every bite.

There was one amazing bit to the burger though! I loved the ketchup-like sauce offered with the fries! The only downside was that I could have had oh so much more! Especially as they first gave me regular fries rather than the sweet potato fries I had ordered. To their credit, they noticed before I even did and gave me a portion of sweet potato fries before I had even noticed! So again, great service.

They have an interesting selection of beers and seem to use the same distributor as Fox and Hounds. We haven’t yet tried the coffees there but could imagine they would be quite good.

Good beers at Torve-hallen in Sønderborg

Overall

So what would be our recommendation here? Do check it out. On a nice day sit upstairs on the outside balcony, or next to the big windows on other days. As for food, stick with what they do best: pizzas! Asking around, everyone we have talked to who has had pizzas has nothing bad to say, but everyone who has had the other meat dishes was not as impressed. And if you can, ask for a side of the amazing ketchup they serve with fries. Even if just to taste it :D.

 

Ristorante Da Nico – Fast pizza, good food

Pizza restaurant Da Nico, SønderborgOn our way home one night from a concert at Sonderborg Castle we were discussing what to cook for dinner. As we walked by Ristorante Da Nico on Brogade we decided on a vim to go in for dinner. We have walked by numerous times by never actually made it inside and since it’s been a year we thought it was about time to try out this cozy looking place.

The place is well lit and simply decorated with items and posters from Italy giving it a homely, self-made, unpretentious feel – a bit at odds with the Danish way of making things cozy, dimmed and candlelit. This you can also see on their website which is straight to the point of the menu and nothing else.

(I think) The place is run by an Italian husband and wife Roberto & Nicola Pino.

We were there before six in the evening and the only guests in the restaurant so we had the waitress and cook to ourselves. While we were waiting for our order we were offered some complimentary bread and butter.

Our pizzas were fast to arrive, they were simple but made with fresh ingredients. The pizza base at Da Nico is thick and soft like the Neapolitan variety which makes the whole pizza a big meal.

All in all a good experience and a quick meal.

Brogade 14
6400 Sonderborg

Castillo & Co: Revisited

Around one year ago we visited Castillo & Co and said we would probably not visit again. However, around a month ago Muzeyde, the owner, commented on the blog admitting that there were some teething problems in the beginning and that we should give it a second try. We agreed.

IMG_20160531_173654Have things improved? We would say: Absolutely! In the past month we first tried the evening buffet and I really liked the salads selection. On the day we visited everything looked fresh, colourful, and tasty.

The fact that my least favourite dish (a curry pasta) was one of Michael’s favourites and his least favourite (a meaty pasta dish) was my favourite also shows that the food has improved.

Besides the salads there is also other warm food, such as ribs (my guilty pleasure) and other warm meat dishes. The dishes, although maybe not all labelled, are mostly labelled at least with what meat is in them.

Castillo & Co, Borgen Sønderborg

Then earlier this week we also tried out the a’ la carte menu. Michael tried the tenderloin, I tried the beef sandwich and my mother, who was visiting, tried the chicken burger. The plates were all empty by the end of the meal, and the food was enjoyed by all (including our young son tasting all our food). The prices are also very competitive when compared to the cafes in town and we like the value for money you get here.

Castillo & Co buffet restaurant Sønderborg

Finally, we sent my mother ‘incognito’ to try the brunch buffet. She liked the food and had very good service. In fact, the service has been great on all visits. We thought it could be because they knew who we were, but they also served an older non-Danish speaking woman with a smile and very friendly service. My mum particularly liked the ice-tea.

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So our experience of Castillo & Co has changed significantly from our visit one year ago to today. To the question of if we would visit again, we would say: Very likely. The convenience and the buffets, especially, are excellent for meals out with children where you want to be sure they would like something on offer rather than you order one dish that they refuse. There are plenty of high chairs as well if you need one, although do be warned that they have no harnesses, so if you have an escape artist do take this into consideration.

Disclaimer: Castillo & Co offered us gift cards for food for three meals to try out the different selections on offer.

Saigon Sandwich: Vietnam comes to Sønderborg

It took Sonderborg Nyt till 1st of June to report about it, and us till the middle of June to spot it (I know!). But we have spotted it, and we have visited and tasted! With the help of some friends we went to try out Saigon Sandwich earlier this week.

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Saigon sandwich is a Vietnamese restaurant/take-away on jernbanegade 46, close to the wool shop and what used to be Blockbuster. On offer are a mixture of cold sandwiches (inspired by the French baguette, the French having colonised Vietnam from 1862-1954) and warm dishes. Between the four of us we ordered summer roll for starters and a mixture of the warm dishes for mains.The starters were, of course the first to arrive, together with a peanut dipping sauce. Unfortunately, our reaction to them varied from OK to ‘wouldn’t ordered them again’. So the start was not that promising.

Luckily for us, the main course dishes were a much bigger success! I absolutely loved my dish of stegt oksekød med pebersauce, which I ordered on the recommendation of the owner. The indbagte kylling and andesteg got also similar raving reviews, with the indbagt rejer getting a great (though not as impressed) review. The portions were also huge! I managed to eat mine, but only just (and with a bit of help from our son). A downside to our mains was that they all arrived one by one, with the last of us four receiving his plate when the first had nearly finished.

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The drinks were also a success. I had (2 glasses!) of homemade citronvand. I also tasted the coconut juice one of the others had and liked it (though not all did). After dinner, one of us also got the Vietnamese ice coffee with condensed milk. Another great tasting dish!

So my recommendation would be: steer around the summer rolls (will try the spring rolls next time) to take your pick from the main courses. Also make sure to try out the Vietnamese drinks. Some of them might not be to everyone’s taste, but I sure liked them all!

Would we be back? Well…I still need to get a glass all to myself of the Vietnamese coffee (and I don’t even drink coffee!), and I need to taste the soups, and oh…get another glass of that citronvand. So I guess, the answer to that is a big yes!  But only when I have some time.

Sønderborg’s new steakhouse: Barbie BBQ

There is a new restaurant in Sønderborg and if you haven’t been yet – it’s worth trying it out.

Sønderborg has seen some interesting new food and beverage places pop up the last year or two but in my book this one might be the most interesting so far.

The restaurant is named Barbie (as in barbecue not Ken’s girlfriend) and the theme is “new American barbecue” which means slow roasted meat like pulled pork, pork belly, beef brisket and steaks with sides of mash & gravy, coleslaw and mac & cheese.

The decor of the place is very simple and basic. There is concrete floors and bare ceilings with simple wood furniture like something out of the hip meat packing district in Copenhagen.

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But the building actually has a long history. It goes back to 1903 when it was built as the first Danish assembly hall in the then-German Sønderborg. In 1907 it became a restaurant/dancehall ‘Kaiserkrone’ that could seat 500 and host balls for 800 people. Once the German navy base closed down it became a cinema and more recently it has been the shop called Als Design Center (which still exists online). Now it is again a restaurant and this time it has room for 140 inside and 50 outside making it one of Sønderborg’s biggest restaurants.

The people behind the restaurant are no rookies in starting restaurants. Barbie is started by twin brothers Rasmus and Jakob Oubæk and Christian Brandt. Rasmus Oubæk has been nicknamed “The King of Bearnaise” and these guys run six popular restaurants in Copenhagen that get good reviews.

OK enough chatter – on to the food we had in Sønderborg…

We made a booking an hour before we arrived on Saturday evening and we could get a table without problems. Once we got there the place was busy but not completely full.

The menu is really short (4 snacks, 8 mains, 3 desserts) so it wasn’t too difficult to pick something. We ordered the ribeye steak and brisket sandwich, a pilsner and an elderflower drink.

We went there with our 7 month old son, so we were a bit worried that he would be noisy. But because of the bare walls and concrete floors the place was buzzing with noise from all the other tables so a squeal now and then from us did not get noticed.

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The food arrived in no time and we dug in. The steak was good, juicy and tender and came with a big pot of bearnaise sauce. I enjoyed the sauce; Ann found it a bit too sweet.

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The brisket sandwich came in two small homemade buns. The meat was really, really tender. This was served on a tray with baking paper and the coleslaw in a polystyrene cup. Thinking back this has a cheap, cafeteria feel to it but the food was good so we didn’t think about it at the time. The fries and coleslaw were good but nothing to rave about.

Our son got to try the two meats as well and he got a lot of enjoyment from the ribeye. The brisket was so tender that he could not manage to get much of it up to his mouth.

The beer I had was their pilsner on tap. However it did not taste like a pilsner at all – it was more like a wheat beer. I enjoyed it although I would think their bottled IPA goes better with this type of food. Ann loved the elderflower drink (and that’s her drink of choice…every.time. So that is praise indeed).

They also offered us a bottle of tap water and unlike any other restaurant in Sønderborg they do not charge for tap water.

Overall we really enjoyed it. We were in and out of there in hour which is good timing for us with the age of our kid. Without a kid we would have definitely stayed for longer. Due to the acoustics and the size of the place it is not a particularly romantic place, but I will definitely come back with a group of friends for a night of laughs, banter and good food.

Fish Buffet at Propperiet

Propperiet is one of the 3 restuarants next to each other on the harbour. Its focus is mainly on fish and meat. It is open for dinner every day, but on weekends it is also open for lunch with a fish buffet. We decided to try the buffet out this past weekend, and what a difference from the last buffet we reviewed! Both service and the food quality get a big thumbs up here!

We were greeted with a smile and shown to our table as we arrived. We could then help ourselves to the buffet, with drinks brought to the table. The buffet is set up along a long table. As the restaurant is quite small everyone is seated quite close but not on top of each other.

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The website says that there will be at least 20 options at the buffet, and I would say that that was easily present on the day we went. Amongst what I remember off the top of my head there were green mussels to 3 types of salmon, stuffed squid (my favourite) to vitello tonnato. For 19 DKK you can also get a shot of schnapps (3 varieties on offer).

We were very impressed with the presentation, variety and quality of the food. If I had to have one criticism it would be that the items on the top level are not made for short people like me! I couldn’t see inside to see what was in them. But then, at 160 cm not many Danes are my height! At least everything was well labelled so I could ‘see’ what was inside.

Sonderborg buffets have been redeemed! Definitely one to return to.

Review: Castillo & Co. Buffet Restaurant in Borgen

Update: We revisited Castillo & Co in June 2016. For an updated review check out this post.

As happens every spring, Sonderborg starts getting new restaurants and eating/drinking places. First this year was Kisling’s. Now it is Borgen’s turn with Castillo & Co., serving a buffet lunch and dinner. The name Castillo & Co. is a reference to Borgen itself, since both indicate castles in different languages. When asked for a newspaper article why the ‘& Co.’, the owner mentioned it was to make it a bit softer.

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As always we were curious so we went for lunch there today. On arrival we were quickly greeted with a smile and shown to a table where we could sit with a pram (barnevogn) next to us. We then ordered drinks and were directed to help ourselves at the buffet. A great start – we were hopeful.

The service continued to be good, with a friendly and present server (when needed) and dishes constantly replenished and plates cleared away. Only slight niggle might be that it took a while for drinks to make it to our table, a wait made worse as we were very thirsty. As the place was quite busy we can excuse this.

However, the place is really let down by the quality of the food. Unfortunately, the food is less than inspiring:  it all looks as though it came from frozen and just heated, with the focus being more on quantity than quality. A cold selection with cheeses and cold cut meats, eggs and some fruit. There is also yoghurt and muesli, but I could find no bowls so had to use a flat plate, and an apple cake. On the other side there is the hot selection with fries, eggs, bacon, sausages, breaded fish, chicken and pasta & noodles. There are also pancakes. It would be good, however, if everything was labelled, especially the sauces!

Would we go again? Most probably not. At full price I would more likely opt for a sandwich from Kvickly – cheaper and better quality – or go to another location. If you are still curious maybe try it out in May, when the buffets are half price: 35 DKK for lunch and 45 DKK for dinner. But remember: We tried it so you don’t have to!

Poshing up Take-Away: Det Franske Hus

Having had a baby recently time is often at a premium and preparing food low on the agenda. Unless you have friends who bring food over (thanks!) or food stocked in the freezer this may quickly end up in a take-away bonanza. However, quickly you will probably get tired of eating pizza, sushi and/or Chinese.

One place where you can get something that bit different is Det Franske Hus. As the name implies, the place in Broager is run by a Frenchman, Thierry Manane and the aim is to provide good food for its customers. The regular menu on offer is not wide but it changes regularly: a weekly menu (Monday-Friday), a weekly fish menu (Tuesday-Saturday) and a monthly menu are offered. It is mainly for pick-up from Broager, but we were also told that for a charge of 150 DKK they will deliver to Sonderborg.

We opted for the weekly menu on take away last week: warm salmon mousse with fish cream and shrimps as starter, stuffed pork filet with baked leeks and rosti potatoes as main, and apple tart with apricots for dessert. You do not need to order all 3 courses and in fact we ordered 2 starters, 3 mains and 2 desserts between 3 people and got more than full.

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The food came packed in aluminium foil dishes in a polystyrene box. All dishes had clearly marked information on how to warm them up (temperature and duration). It seems that some thought does go into this as the same temperature was required for all dishes, making warming up easy. Warming up times was between 15 and 20 minutes, after which the food was warm through very nicely. This is how the weekly take away offer is served. The other items from Det Franske Hus is offered as catering and is delivered warm and ready to eat with the appropriate china to serve it from.

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We enjoyed all the food. I was particularly surprised by the starter, as it was not something I would have ever picked. The cabbage, in particular, was really nicely spiced probably with cumin, which is not something I would have thought of. The main was a decent piece of pork, though a bit salty, especially for my non-Danish mother who was visiting! The dessert was again really good.

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You can easily order the food by calling them before 10 am on the day and you can agree a time to pick up (or organise delivery). Payment can be in cash or by bank transfer after you collect the food (they have no card terminal).

We were really satisfied with what we got. Furthermore, it is not only for daily food that the place is set up. It is, even more so I would say, set up to deliver food for special occasions. And in fact, that was part of the reason we tried it out: as a trial run for a special meal we have coming up. The trial run went smoothly so we will definitely be ordering more food from there!

Dining at Ballebro Færgekro

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Ballebro Færgekro is an inn right at the edge of the water at Ballebro, where the ferry connecting North Als to the Jutland Peninsula stops. The inn was built in 1729, but only became an inn in 1870. The rooms are located in a building to the back, while the restaurant overlooks the water, just meters from the waters edge. Unfortunately we were there after dusk so could not enjoy the view. However, having been in the area at other times the views would most definitely contribute even more to the dinner itself.

The Menu

The website doesn’t give any information about the food served. The instructions state to call and ask to hear more. However, we took a chance and just called to book and turned up for the surprise.

The menu offered on the day consisted of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts out of which you can choose whatever combination you want. The price is the same for all dishes in the same course. .

The Food

The starters offered were a venison carpaccio, cod and jerusalem artichoke soup. The mains were beef steak, braised beef and day’s catch of fish. The desserts were baked pear with ice-cream, chocolate mousse and cheese platter. For each plate, we opted for the first 2 options in each section as listed above. Michael also opted for the driving wine menu. The starters also came with bread and butter and the mains with potatoes (we got chips and boiled).

The food arrived at our table at a leisurely but timely pace. It was all very nicely presented and tasted really good. We would say that the quality matched the price. Our favourites were probably the venison carpaccio for Michael and the beef steak for me.

The Service

We were there on a Tuesday evening, which was clearly not a busy day. In fact, there were only 2 other tables: a single woman and a table of three, with some time us being the only guests. The fact that the server wasn’t based in the restaurant room we were in meant that it was all quite relaxed, while the server appeared at regular enough intervals without imposing. I cannot fault the service at all: pleasant, charming and timely without being intrusive.

Overall Experience

Very positive experience for a somewhat special meal out at a decent price. The cost of 2 three-course meals, a 3-glass wine menu and a juice came to a bit under 1000 DKK. Even though the restaurant was empty, do book ahead as the previous time we tried to go there a function on the day meant that we had to leave. Booking also means that they are actually waiting for you. If you prefer to know what is on the menu also do ask in advance; as you will notice there were no vegetarian main courses on the day.