If you've known me for more than a minute, you've probably been informed that I find Aarhus dull. But in honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd take a moment to explore the softer side of this little city I now call home. After all, such an occasion is a fantastic excuse for a nice meal out.
There may not be much going on here, but this city has no shortage of dining opportunities. In fact, the Telegraph recently named Aarhus the culinary capital of Denmark! In 2015, for the first time, restaurants in Aarhus received Michelin stars. Three of them, even—one star per venue. The city is also home to Nordisk Spisehus, an amazing concept: this restaurant partners with Michelin-starred restaurants across the globe to create regularly changing themed menus. If I hadn't been sold on Aarhus University, the trip here at the end of my interview for their five-course tasting menu with paired wines sealed the deal. While our budget these past few months has been too tight to splurge on the fancy places, stay tuned for a 2016 tour de Michelin-starred-restaurants starting this spring.
For some charming lighter fare, we settled on A. C. Perch's Tea Room, a Danish tea merchant who first set up shop in Copenhagen in 1885, and has added tea rooms to its shops recently.
This tea house has venues in Copenhagen and Aarhus, and offers over 150 varieties of tea, finger sandwiches, cakes, scones, and sparkling French wine. It turned out that Nicolas wasn't even aware of the concept of high tea, so the decision was simple really. After many years of putting up with French culture, which mostly enjoys its blissful ignorance of the existence of Valentine's Day (despite the best commercial efforts of French merchants), I forced my Frenchman into a (belated) Valentine's outing.
Overall, the food was nice but simple. The tea room is small, with just about a dozen tables, and it's a good idea to book online in advance. The atmosphere was charming, at once elegant but also intimate, cozy in that way the Danes have perfected. The scones were the highlight, warm, soft, and oh-so-buttery. Served with a selection of fresh jam, creamy lemon curd, and clotted cream, they were just the perfect accompaniment for a warm pot of tea. And the selection of tea was enough to excite a tea enthusiast such as myself.
I suspect we'll return, at the least to test some more teas and to slather a few scones in clotted cream.
There may not be much going on here, but this city has no shortage of dining opportunities. In fact, the Telegraph recently named Aarhus the culinary capital of Denmark! In 2015, for the first time, restaurants in Aarhus received Michelin stars. Three of them, even—one star per venue. The city is also home to Nordisk Spisehus, an amazing concept: this restaurant partners with Michelin-starred restaurants across the globe to create regularly changing themed menus. If I hadn't been sold on Aarhus University, the trip here at the end of my interview for their five-course tasting menu with paired wines sealed the deal. While our budget these past few months has been too tight to splurge on the fancy places, stay tuned for a 2016 tour de Michelin-starred-restaurants starting this spring.
For some charming lighter fare, we settled on A. C. Perch's Tea Room, a Danish tea merchant who first set up shop in Copenhagen in 1885, and has added tea rooms to its shops recently.
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| Our little table at A. C. Perch's Tea Room |
Overall, the food was nice but simple. The tea room is small, with just about a dozen tables, and it's a good idea to book online in advance. The atmosphere was charming, at once elegant but also intimate, cozy in that way the Danes have perfected. The scones were the highlight, warm, soft, and oh-so-buttery. Served with a selection of fresh jam, creamy lemon curd, and clotted cream, they were just the perfect accompaniment for a warm pot of tea. And the selection of tea was enough to excite a tea enthusiast such as myself.
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| The "classic ceremony" high tea for two at A. C. Perch's Tea Room |
