Smørrebrød restaurant in Indre By, Copenhagen

Aamanns 1921

The Chef Who Took Rye Bread Seriously

3.5 of 5

When Adam Aamann opened in 2006, by his company's own account, smørrebrød was not something a chef with any self-respect bothered with. The Danish lunch table had gone tired and cheap. His idea was simple enough to be dangerous: treat the open sandwich like real cooking, build it on organic sourdough rye, and make everything from scratch. Twenty years on there is a small Aamanns empire across the city, and 1921 on Niels Hemmingsens Gade is the flagship.

The room borrows from a church, with high ceilings, handmade benches and big chandeliers throwing warm light over people eating herring. The kitchen follows the season and is not shy about it. This autumn the herring comes with sea buckthorn, carrot, crème fraîche and crackling. The beetroot piece, with Vesterhavsost, buckwheat and tarragon, is a vegetarian sandwich nobody orders out of virtue. Cold-smoked Hiddenfjord salmon arrives with kale, apple and almonds. Dessert is a chocolate sandwich, the Danish kind, made with Friis-Holm chocolate, plum and Madeira. The Michelin Guide recommends the place, and the bill reminds you of it.

Lunch runs every day until five, last orders at four. The set lunch is the smart play: two pieces plus cheese or dessert. Add the beer and snaps deal, one large beer and two of the house snaps, and ask the staff which snaps they are proudest of this month. Come hungry and clear the afternoon. Rye bread this good deserves the time.

Order this

The set lunch of two pieces plus cheese or dessert, Marinated herring with sea buckthorn and crackling, Beetroot with Vesterhavsost, buckwheat and tarragon, The beer and snaps menu

The damage

$$$

Go

A long weekday lunch, ordered before the 16:00 last call

Find it

Niels Hemmingsens Gade 19-21, 1153 København K

Website

aamanns.dk