Category Archives: Restaurants and cafes

Sønderborg has a good variety of restaurants and cafes. When we come across one we will write a blog of our experience. The food, the service the atmosphere. The island of Als has some great restaurants and some mediocre ones. Let us guide you to a great dinner.

Review: Castillo & Co. Buffet Restaurant in Borgen

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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!

Kisling’s: Sønderborg’s new coffee shop

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Spring is here and summer is approaching. As is typical of this time period in Sondebrorg new places for having a drink or a bite to eat are rearing their head. The first to open this year is the very minimal Kisling’s, a coffee shop on Perlegade.

Kisling's Sonderborg

Kisling’s has been opened by Michael Kisling, a known face on the Sonderborg culinary scene, having been involved in the opening of Brøggeriet a while back. Kisling’s the coffee shop, however, is a different venture to that, focusing more on few, good quality products. Kisling in fact goes to Copenhagen every month in order to roast the coffee himself at Kontra Coffee where he used to be the roast master. So yes, Kisling DOES know his coffee very well.

Options for food are not very abundant: 4 sandwiches, a breakfast platter, and a lunch platter. However, what is offered is good quality, being offered in close collaboration some of the best suppliers in the area, such as bread from Skærtoft Mølle and sausage from Rønhave butcher. The prices are also very reasonable, especially when compared to the cafes further down the road, with the sandwiches costing 35 DKK and the platters 50 DKK.

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Michael first dropped in on a Thursday late afternoon for a beer and a small bite to eat. We then dropped in on a Saturday morning for breakfast. The good thing about the place, especially for us on a Saturday morning having woken up early, is that the place opens at 8:00 Monday to Saturday. This does mean, however, that it closes at 18:00 during the week (and 15:00 on Saturdays).

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It is great exploring new places in Sonderborg, especially when the quality is as it is at Kisling’s: good food, decent prices… and also an outside garden for the good weather we are starting to have.

The Kisling’s website is under construction so for updated information check the Facebook page.

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.

Takeaway Days: Hungry.dk

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Takeaways are very popular in Denmark, especially in university towns such as Sonderborg. The most abundant establishments (by far) are pizzerias (or… pizzarias, as they tend to be called here), offering seating at small tables in the waiting area, as well as delivery.

One of the ways of ordering online is through aggregate websites that help you find takeaways that deliver in your area, select what you want and order. One of these websites is hungry.dk, which seems to be the new kid on the block, having slightly fewer restaurants on the list in the Sønderborg area than similar websites. We decided to try it out one Friday evening when the wind was blowing, the rain was pouring and we were out of food!

Starting with the website itself, it is quite easy to use. I liked the fact that the different menu sections can be collapsed so I didn’t need to scroll down through e.g. burgers if it was pizzas I was interested in. I also liked that at the top they showed you the most popular dishes, as it helps tell you what is good from that place. The rest of the website is, as should be expected, easy to use, even allowing you to very easily select extra toppings for your pizza at the ordering page rather than at the paying page (or just by writing in a text field).

We decided to try Oasen – a couple of friends have spoken fondly of this place. Order through… now you just need to wait. The waiting time given was of 75 minutes, but the pizza arrived with no issues whatsoever within the hour. All in all very good service and I look forward to seeing more restaurants added to the list.

Disclosure: We were offered a voucher for 150 DKK in exchange for trying out the hungry.dk website and writing about it. The opinions on the website are our own.

Eating out: Restaurant Bind

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Ask people in the Sonderborg area to recommend a good restaurant to go out to eat at for some celebration, and you can be sure that Restaurant Bind in Kollund will be one of the top suggestions.

So when we had something to celebrate (new house! But more about that later) we decided to give Restaurant Bind a try.

First Impressions

You find the restaurant by driving along Flensburg Fjord towards Germany and find the restaurant close to Kollund, just before you reach Annie’s Kiosk/Okesøen. The restaurant is not very well marked, having just a small sign, similar in size to a Danish street sign. There is enough parking for the small dining room inside, and from there you make your way to the restaurant by following the signs.

The dining room itself is set out looking on the water, giving you very good views over Flensburg Fjord. On the day we were the first to arrive, so it was absolutely delightful to have the quietness of the restaurant and the view of the fjord all to ourselves.

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If possible I would recommend arriving for dinner before the sun has gone completely down to have the opportunity to enjoy the view. We were seated in the middle of the restaurant, but for even better views I would consider asking for a table next to the window next time.

The Food

First thing you should know about Restaurant Bind is that, unlike most other restaurants, there is a 3-course set menu that changes every 2 weeks, together with 2-3 other dishes that also change depending on what is in season. This does make your choice very easy! You can have a look at the menu online before you go to see what is on offer. It does, however, seem that there is no vegetarian option.

As a lot of people have said, the food is really one of the stars of the plate. Everything complemented each other beautifully. The portions were also, although as to be expected not on the huge size, plenty big enough to make you feel nicely full at the end of the meal. Having bread and water continuously supplied (for free!) to the table when needed also helped make the experience for me (a bread loving Mediterranean).

The Service

Arriving at the restaurant we were warmly greeted by a number of staff. The service remained impeccable throughout the rest of the evening. Considering this, I was very surprised to hear that one of the servers had only been there one week, and for the other it was his first day! So Kasper and Michael I bow my head to the excellent job you did.

Having said all this, if there is one downside to the place is that there is a sort of subtle upselling pressure from the owner that arrives at intermittent points during the evening, namely, aperitifs on arrival and tea after your dessert. This was not something I expected from such a restaurant, but I am sure it works, considering that even though I really don’t like most teas-except British black teas-I was close to saying yes to them! It was also a surprise to see that the alcoholic and non-alcoholic (juice) aperitif cost the same when the bill came. Nevertheless, this was a very very minor blip in an otherwise perfect evening.

Would we go again? When we have something to celebrate and want to treat ourselves, Restaurant Bind will most definitely be high on our list of options! I just need to remember to say no to things I do not like, but I guess that is my problem…

Brunch at Brøggeriet

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Last year we started a ‘survey’ of weekend brunch places in the area. Having Michael’s mum visiting on Sunday we decided to expand on this list by trying out Brøggeriet’s brunch. We arrived at Broggeriet close to opening time at 10am so it was absolutely no issue to find a table. It being a very warm day the tables outside were also available so we opted for one of those.

As part of the brunch, coffee or tea are included. The coffee comes black, with continuous top-ups. I was the only one having tea on our table. You get a sachet of earl grey tea and a glass of hot water. I wasn’t offered a selection of tea, so not sure whether other teas were available. However, milk was provided when asked. There were no extra top ups for tea (though may be available if asked).

The brunch was, of course, set up inside the restaurant itself so while the tea and coffee were being prepared we went for our first look. The brunch area is set up in two: a warm area with sausages, eggs, a quiche, grilled tomatoes and pancakes and a cold area with cheese and cured meats, fish, fruit and yoghurt. Oh…and cake! The variety here was bigger than what we saw at Cafe Figo.

None of us had anything negative to say about the food, except that the yoghurt was quite warm (but tasted good), having been on the table for a while. The day being very warm, this is to be expected. I was not impressed with the quiche, but then I rarely am in Denmark, but Michael liked it.

Going to the highlights I would say that the selection of fruit was good, I liked the pancakes (though there were different kinds… the small thick ones at the start and the thin big ones at the end) and the 2 cakes on offer (a cheesecake and an almond/marzipan cake) were absolutely gorgeous! The cheeses on offer were also quite varied and tasted good.

Verdict: At 109 DKK including coffee/tea, the price is cheaper than Cafe Figo and the same as the buffet at Ib Rehne Cairo (although that one also offers free juice). The selection was good and the quality very decent. Would try it again, but not before trying the Ib Rehne Cairo full buffet to see what that is about.

Restaurant Review: Curry Leaves

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Over the past few months the restaurant scene in Sonderborg has seen some changes. First there was Danish contemporary with the opening of Huset Blom close to the new year. This was followed by the opening of the Japanese Niso Sushi close to Easter. Now that the summer is close, it is the turn of an Indian restaurant: Curry Leaves.

Curry Leaves, Sønderborg new restaurant

Curry Leaves opened on the 4th of July close to the harbour (where there used to be an Argentinian Steak House up to a few months ago). We visited Curry Leaves with some friends of ours on the Saturday to see what the restaurant will offer.

First of all I would say I quite liked the decor. Quite Indian/South East Asian without being over the top in your face all the time. Also, the space was bigger than I imagined the restaurant to be looking in from the outside.

For the first week the offer was that rather than ordering from the menu you could get a free mango lassi welcome drink followed by a buffet of a variety of dishes. I thought this was a great way of introducing the people to a wide variety of dishes they might want to try at a later point, as well as encourage them to be adventurous with their choices; if you don’t like it you can try something else.

Curry Leaves Buffet

Although the buffet worked well from a selection point of view there seemed to have been some problems with supply. It could be that there were more people than they expected, with the restaurant being quite full. This meant that items constantly had to be replenished. They were doing a good job on the replenishment but, we were doing a much better job on the eating.

Curry Leaves Sonderborg buffet

Nevertheless, the food tasted good. I particularly liked the butter chicken and the pallac paneer (a spinach dish). I would have liked the food to be a bit more spicy, especially the vindaloo, which I expected to be super hot. However, considering that they were trying to cater for so many different taste buds (including kids) I think it was a good compromise. They also promised us that when it is a regular restaurant from next week, you can ask for spices to your taste level.

So some teething problems, especially with the buffet concept they had on for this one week. However, we should probably return after they have settled into the serving restaurant concept in a few weeks time and see how they perform then. After all, the food was tasty (if not spicy enough for me). Oh, and if you go, do try the mango lassi! It was an inspired idea to offer them for free in the first week as I am sure many people will have them again and again on future visits… including me!

Places to eat in Flensburg area

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Being so close to the German border, a trip over to ‘the other side’ is a great way of spending a Saturday. Once there, finding somewhere to eat is probably also a good idea, not least because it is typically cheaper than in Denmark. We always ask people from the area for recommendations of where to eat. This is what we have tried, and liked.

Restaurant Italia, Solitude

This restaurant is not actually in Flensburg. To visit you have to drive a bit further round Flensburg Fjord to an area called Solitude. However, it has been the most consistently mentioned restaurant by all. As the name indicates, it is an Italian restaurant, serving pizza, pasta, meat and fish.

The area it is located in is very picturesque. Do take a walk down to the water before or after your meal, or eat on the terrace if the weather is good. The food arrived quickly and was eaten just as quickly. The Italian friend we took there pronounced the pizza ‘as it should be’. If planning to visit on a weekend, do book. We called around midday for dinner that day and were told they are full after 7pm.

Gnomenkeller

Another regularly mentioned restaurant, this time in the centre of town. We tried this one when I had family over visiting. You have to go down into the ‘cellar’, as the name implies, but the atmosphere is quite charming. The restaurant’s main attraction is its meat. Service was quite slow and not very attentive, but the food made up for it.

Im Alten Speicher

This is one of the latest we were recommended. Located in one of the alleyways off the main street, it is in a very ‘hyggelig’ location. The decor inside continues on this theme.

Besides a mainly meat-based regular menu, they also have a seasonal menu. When we visited this was all asparagus based, and we both opted for something off this one. The food was great, as was the service…and they had English menus. A place to revisit when looking for great atmosphere with good food.

Hellas, Wassersleben

We were taken here by some friends of ours. As you probably can guess, it is a Greek restaurant a bit closer to the border than the town centre. The food was good at decent prices, and you also get an Ouzo with it! What’s not to like? Again, would recommend booking. The place was full when we went there.

Have you visited any of these restaurants? Or have any others you would recommend?

24937 Flensburg, Germany

24955 Harrislee, Germany

24944 Flensburg, Germany

24937 Flensburg, Germany

Niso Sushi: Running Sushi Bar

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It seems that the restaurant scene in Sonderborg is on its way up, with new options for us to try. After Huset Blom opened earlier this year, the end of March saw the opening Niso Sushi.

Nis Sushi Sønderborg

How it works

Niso Sushi follows a running sushi concept. This means that food is plated onto small dishes and placed on a conveyor belt on which it runs through the restaurant. The tables are then organised around the conveyor belt. So you can sit and grab any plate that takes your fancy from the conveyor belt. (If this is not to your liking, there is also a menu you can order from). Also, unlike most other running sushi bars, where you pay per dish you take, the system here works as an ‘all you can eat’, so you can taste all that catches your eye.

Running Sushi Sønderborg

The food

The food is presented on two conveyor belts running on top of each other. On the bottom cold items while on the top belt run the warmer dishes. It was nice to see that the conveyor belts themselves are covered, rather than open to the air!

As is to be expected, the main items on offer are sushi, that is a rice base which is complemented by other ingredients such as vegetables, fish or meat. These were served on the lower belt. On the top belt other dishes such as miso soup, dumplings, edamame beans and meat on kebabs were served.

The food was a success. If I had to find the least impressive dish that would probably be the soup as I wasn’t that keen on its gelatinous texture. However, I loved the sushi. Especially one of the fried sushi pieces, and one of the rolls with sesame on it. I know, my descriptions are not the best…we are not Asian food experts…but it all tasted good.

General Impressions

On entering the restaurant, I was impressed with how friendly the people were. They greeted you, they smiled, and looked genuinely interested in making the experience a good one. On sitting down at the table, I was also impressed at the cleanliness. This being a conveyor belt, with people taking items off it, I expected to see some dropped food etc. But it was spotless!

It was also good to see that the conveyor belts continuously had food on them, with new food continuously coming. Since we were not sitting at the start of the conveyor belt, there were, of course, empty spots. However, this was insignificant, considering that the conveyor belt was constantly moving. I was a bit sceptical about this aspect of running sushi bars, but it was clear that people were constantly working to replenish the food (and doing a good job of it).

The details

NIso Sushi is open Monday-Thursday 11:00-21:00 and Friday – Sunday 11:00-22:00, with running sushi bar starting every day at 17:00. The running sushi costs 168 DKK Sunday to Thursday and 188 DKK on Fridays and Saturdays (kids: 69 DKK).

A big thumbs up to this new addition in Sonderborg. It also augurs well to see that the restaurant was quite full when we visited on a Sunday night.

Store Rådhusgade 3

Be Indulged at Huset Blom

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The start of 2014 saw some movement in the restaurant scene in Sonderborg away from the central ‘town hall’ area. The restaurant Huset Blom opened in the middle of an unassuming residential area in an old, newly-restored villa from 1924. The restaurant is run by Pia & Klaus Bartholin who also run Cafe Alsion. Living very close to the restaurant, we decided to try it out for Valentine’s Day.

Huset Blom - New restaurant in Sønderborg

First impressions

It was clear from the start that the service we will get here would be above that you normally experience at other restaurants in town. We were greeted with a smile, and courtesy, our jackets taken and hung, and then shown to our seats. Seeing the building from the outside I expected the place inside to be decorated in a more traditional style, so it was pleasant to see a clean decor and plenty of space to move around in.

Food

The food concept at Huset Blom is ‘cosy food’. What this seems to mean is a lot of small sharing dishes that are nicely presented. You are, in fact, suggested to select a couple of dishes rather than a number of separate courses. The menu changes on a regular basis, depending on the season, with both an a’ la carte option and a set menu. For our first visit we opted for the set menu, which consisted of:

Lun fiskefrikadelle m. egen remoulade (Warm fish cakes with home made pickle relish)
Rogn m. røg, mandler & hindbær (Roe with almonds & raspberries)

Fennikelsalat m. granatæble (Fennel salad with pomegranate)
Serrano m. vores pesto (Serrano with home-made pesto)

Kartoffelkage m. urter (Herby potato cake)
Kæbe af gris braiseret i Jakobsen øl (Pork cheek braised in Jakobsen beer)

Citronfromage à la mormor (Grandmother’s lemon mousse)
Honningkage m. mandeliscreme (Honey cake with almond ice cream)

This was served in 4 courses on sharing platters, with homebaked bread and butter offered throughout (and continuously replenished! An utter delight for a Maltese girl in Denmark!).

Fish cakes with home made pickle relish - Huset Blom

As the saying goes, people first eat with their eyes. And there was more than enough for the eyes to be well satisfied. Unfortunately we only remembered to take photos of the first dish as we were too busy enjoying the food, but in all cases the presentation was a joy.

Roe with almonds & raspberries - Huset Blom

The taste was not far behind in coming. We both agreed that our favourites were definitely the fish cakes – the remoulade was superb – the potato cakes – surprisingly overshadowed the pork cheek as they were so good – and the honey cake with almond ice cream – I love almonds and everything that is made with them, but the ice cream was divine!

Drinks

The set menu comes with a suggested wine menu, which Michael went with, while I opted for elderflower juice. There are also wine suggestions to go with the a’ la carte option.

With every course Michael received a glass of wine and the waitress explained what the wine was, where it was coming from, and other interesting facts. At this point it was clear why they do not take a lot of bookings at the same time as the serving is quite intensive. The servers really take their time to make sure that you know what you are getting, without getting in any way intrusive or overbearing.

Final Verdict

It is a pleasure to see something new and different on the food front in Sonderborg itself. The quality is definitely a notch up on most of what is found in the town centre. The restaurant also seems to be targeting the business crowd more by not opening on weekends, but opening for lunch. The cost, as is to be expected, is higher than most other restaurants in town, so probably a place for a special treat rather than a quick weekday lunch.

For the foreigners out there, the menu and the website are, unfortunately, still all in Danish. However, once you get there, the servers were more than happy to explain things in English. At this point we really should mention Irene, our server, who did a terrific job all night of serving us with a smile and an obvious joy for what she was doing.

Will we back? Definitely!