AOC Restaurant, meaning Aarø & Co, is a great getaway surrounded by a classic setting, where the culinary philosophy is based on local flora and fauna used to create incredibly stimulating sensations of taste, color, smell and texture in one dining experience.
The owners of the restaurant are sommelier Christian Aarø and brand chef Søren Selin.
The AOC Restaurant was opened in 2004 under the name Premise and was renamed AOC in 2009. The following year, in 2010, the project received its first Michelin star, and in 2015 — the second one.
The AOC is located in the vaulted cellars of the historic Moltkes Palæ mansion, which dates back to the 17th century — a true hidden gem in the heart of Copenhagen just steps away from Kongens Nytorv, Frederiks Kirke and Nyhavn.
The interior of the restaurant is made in a classic style with modern elements. The main dining room retains the original vaults and stone floor of the authentic building, while stylish lighting creates a cozy and comfortable ambience.
Minimalistic wall art combined with soft floor rugs, comfortable chairs and light dining table settings create a sense of mystery.
The main corridor overlooks the very heart of the restaurant — the open kitchen. For the guests seeking privacy, the restaurant has an exclusive room for 10-18 people behind glass doors at the far end of the main hall. There is also a small aperitif room. Every aspect of the restaurant exudes class and grandeur that will remain key throughout the evening.
In the Photo: Owner & sommelier Christian Aarø
“It’s been a long story. I had the idea to open a restaurant back in the 1990s when we were working together with one chef in Copenhagen”, — says Christian Aarø. — Then we went different directions, I spent some time working in France and England, but when I returned to Denmark, I decided to fulfill my old dream. We reunited with the chef and went to the owners of the current premises to resolve the issue. This room served first as a storage for Burgundy, then there was an Italian restaurant, where a billiard room was in place of the kitchen, and the kitchen was in the place of our current office, everything was very unsightly, dirty, in a dilapidated state. Finally we shook hands with the owner and set to work on the renovation, which actually took 9 months — in 2004 we finally opened. Everyone told us that we would get a star, but we never succeed we split ways again. Then in 2009 I called another chef, who came from New York, and in 2010 we got our first star. But then he left for D’Angleterre, and I started looking for a new chef again. In 2013, Søren Selin took over our kitchen and since then we have been growing this project together for 9 years”.
In the Photo: Co-owner & brand chef Søren Selin
Søren Selin has worked in the best restaurants in France, Le Relais Louis XIII (2 Michelin stars) and Jules Verne (1 Michelin star), was the chef of the Alberto K restaurant in the iconic Royal Copenhagen hotel. Together with a team of dedicated chefs, Søren strives to achieve excellence in Scandinavian cuisine and bring out all that is beautiful to the maximum effect on our senses. He uses only fresh Scandinavian products, as well as seasonal products from both land and sea, with an emphasis on purity of taste.
“Our goal was to have a minimalistic menu with a focus on local Danish products”, —says Søren. — Of course, we order some products from abroad, for example, scallops from Norway, sea urchins from Iceland, dried seaweed from Japan, truffles from Italy and France. With about 20 courses on the menu, I want the guest to be able to focus on one or two key flavors, so that there is not an overabundance of everything on the plate and that it is simple and clear, but at the same time executed perfectly. The menu changes according to the season. We are changing things all the time. From the beginning of the project until today not a single old dish has survived, although we keep the recipes, but there is always a process of adding something new like a constantly spinning wheel, where I always try to keep a balance between flavors and textures. To be honest, sometimes it’s difficult to remove favorite items from the menu, it’s hard to say goodbye to them, as you need to do something even more exciting, moving forward and sparking interest among guests”.
Opening starters:
• Crispy potato with vendace roe
• Raw shrimp & roasted bread
• Mussel bun with scallop
• Beetroot & 100-year-old Balsamico
• Pine bark cheese & truffle
As a bubbly aperitif, Christian offers Champagne, represented by four positions, changing from evening to evening.
In the Photo: Julien Prélat Chantemerle Gourmandise Rosé
AOC, like many restaurants in Copenhagen, uses Rossini Caviar in many servings.
• Gooseberries & Rossini Black Label Caviar
• Oysters, cucumber & coriander seeds
Wine pair: Alvarinho “Terramatter”
Quinta de Soalheiro, Melgaco, Vinho Verde, Portugal, 2019
• Chawanmushi with sea urchin
Wine pair: Riesling GG “Frauenberg”
BattenfeldSpanier, Rheinhessen, Germany, 2018
• AOC Bread serving — Beer Bread & Buttermilk Butter
• Pear & Oscietra Caviar
Wine pair: Et Skud “Solaris” Nord Vingaard, Sealand, Denmark, 2019/20
“I remember that day in February 2015, when we were sitting in a restaurant waiting for the broadcast of the annual revelation of Michelin Guide”, — Cristian says. — Literally 15 minutes before the start of Live session, the phone rang, I shuddered and told Søren not to answer, saying that we need to focus on the announcement of the results. But Søren answered anyway…. And that was that call! The second star came. We were so happy and excited at the same time, it was a big breakthrough for us. We immediately bought our plane tickets and went to Stockholm for the awards”.
• Langoustine from Lose with Ponzu
Wine pair: Meursault “Clos de la Velle”
Domaine Olivier Leflaive, Bourgogne, France, 2018
Veal sweedbread, smoked in hay right before being served, served with a light bouillon made of veal stock infused with lemon verbena.
• Sweetbread with truffle & ceps
• Onion with kombu & Vin Jaune
Wine pair: Occidental Vineyards, Sonoma Coast, Californien, USA , 2016 — According to Cristian, this wine needs to be decanted for further revealing its notes.
• Deer with cabbage & aronia berries
Wine pair: Le Clarence de Haut-Brion, 2 emé vin de Château Haut Brion Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France, 2016
The AOC Vinoteca has an extensive collection of wines. Christian Aarø carefully selects wines from both the Old and New World regions so that food and wine come together in perfect balance and harmony.
The sommelier created two wine accompaniments, although some people wonder “why different wine accompaniments are offered for the same set, isn’t one idea pair exists between meal & wine?
But Christian has his own approach to this topic:
“In my opinion, this is a wrong idea, because different wines can be combined with the same dish, which in their own way emphasize and enhance the flavors on a plate. Here we have 2 options, the first one presents more democratic wines, the second implies the best vineyards along airy some vintage positions. Any pairing can be modified from 5 to 7 positions, as well as each wine could be ordered by the glass. But what I follow in choosing wines is to create the highest possible level of wine selection wherever, so that the guest always has the right to choose among different wines and find a worthy one to his taste and possibilities”.
Dessert part:
• White currant with elderflower
• Plum with woodruff & rose
• Nordic vanilla — being formed as vanilla beans, salsifis sticks soaked in dark licorice syrup are reminiscent of sweet licorice sticks with noble vanilla scent.
• Frozen canelé
• Pickled pine cones & chocolate mousse — cones for this are ordered from Siberia.
Wine pair: Riesling, Wehlener Klosterberg, Auslese Weingut Markus Molitor, Mosel, Germany, 2017
Christian Aarø and Søren Selin have two more projects, “N°2” which they opened in 2014 and “Trio” opened in 2017.
Christian Aarø & Søren Selin: “As like any team, we have been faced some difficulties on our long journey, but in terms of gastronomy, creativity, new ideas or wine filling we’ve never had problems. Daily improving of ourselves and what we do here lays deep down in our philosophy, helping us to keep our brand, style, quality of wines and products as high as possible. For us, the most important thing is when our guests, even sitting in a fine dining restaurant, feel themselves totally relaxed and natural, and their only care for the evening is a total immersion in perfection of flavors and the balance”.
AOC Tasting Menu — 2500 DKK
Wine pairing no.1 — 1200 DKK/5 glasses, 1500 DKK/ 7 glasses
Wine pairing no.2 — 2200 DKK/5 glasses, 2500 DKK/ 7 glasses
Juice pairing — 650 DKK/5 glasses, 850 DKK/7 glasses
AOC Restaurant
Address: Dronningens Tværgade 2
1302 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Contacts: +45 33 11 11 45; mail@restaurantaoc.dk
Opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday
18.30 – 01:00
Instagram: @restaurant_aoc
Editor-in-chief: Patricia Kolari
Text Writer: Marina Timoshevskaya
Technical Director: Evgeny Fedorov
Photos: EATWEEK GUIDE
