Søllerød Kro

This is without a doubt the best meal I’ve ever had!!! The staff are incredibly helpful and knowledgable. I had the deer for a main which was cooked to perfection and literally melted in the mouth.

A royal feast for the eyes and taste buds. From the moment you step in, you know that you are in good hands now. Absolutely beautiful location (I call it the Italy of Copenhagen) with little green hills, stone houses, beautiful gardens. That followed by, solid silver cutlery, gold rimmed chairs and an incredible food and wine menu that deserves every bit of their Michelin star. I have been here once for our wedding anniversary and once for a 40^th year celebration of a colleague. Both times have been incredible experiences. It is not Noma in the sense of being innovative but this is a classical French cuisine with a Nordic twist. Looking forward to coming back!

The Inn was built in 1677 which makes it 335 years old. Kong Hans is in a building 700+ years old which would make Søllerød Kro half it’s age. That’s still nothing to sneeze at though, it’s had way more history than anything that I live near. If you you take a train out of Copenhagen to Holte, the walk into Søllerød Kro is about 20 min with you hiking through the Geelskov forest. Perhaps one of the nicest treks to a restaurant I’ve ever made. We passed the cemetery and also saw the adjacent museum and church. After seeing the signs we walked around the garden and I mistakenly tried to use the door into the salon. Oops. So we walked around the building until we found the courtyard, that has a decent amount of seating for those nice days. However the weather was shifting between sun and clouds and we thought it might rain. So they took us into the depths inside.
You walk trough the tiny doorway, passing a set of stairs and as you move forward, it opens up into the main dining room. In the back is an entrance to the courtyard and the two sliding glass doors that go into the kitchen. We were seated by our captain and sommelier Henrik, who we chatted with briefly. We had brought regards from Patrick, a former server here, from formel B., which we had dined with the night before. The message was for Jan Restorff, the long time manager of Søllerød Kro. From what I had read and from Patrick’s description, Jan is a man that knows everyone in Copenhagen fine dining and is one of the best hosts of all of them.
As Jan came out, we repeated out regards and we started chatting about where we had eaten and where we were still going. I had wished I had met Jan much earlier. He did indeed know everyone. He knew the folks at Kokkeriet and Den Rode Cottage which we were going to and he also knew Rene Redzepi as a young lad. Jan was the most connected mafia man in Denmark as far as I could tell!
We look at Søllerød’s extensive menu and there are many choices. We were a bit on a time constraint because we were trying to get up to Frederiksborg castle before it closed. The choices were
Green Menu — 3 salted courses based on asparagus, herbs, egg yolk and morels
Søllerød Menu — 3 to 6 course from a list of entrees,
Menu Prestige — and 8 course flagship menu
Lunch A la Carte menu — Single selections of some of the previous menus
so many choices! So we did a hybrid of the a la carte and Søllerød menus:
–Terrine of lobster with peas and wood sorrel
–Monkfish with fried white asparagus and Parmesan
–Artichokes with braised lamb and parsley
–Quail with sweetbreads, new onions, and green asparagus
–Roasted langoustine with new onions and wood sorrel
–Roasted turbot with white asparagus, egg yolk, and chicken jus
–Rhubarbs, white chocolate, and yoghurt
–Cheese with summer truffle and macadamia nut
–Apple, wood sorrel, and vanilla
You’d think that after many epic meals, with the last 2 culminating with Noma and Relae, that it could not be any better. Well it certainly comes close. Not to say that Søllerød is better, but it certainly holds it’s own against any dining establishment in the area. The use of Danish ingredients with the hybrid of French flavors and technique were outstanding. Every dish made me smile. After hitting up many of the New Nordic Cuisine temples, it was very comforting to be brought back to excellence in flavors I was more familiar with.
Jan and Henrik were superb in their hospitality, talking about food, wine, the movement of Danish cuisine and the likes of what traditional lunch and dinner is in the eyes of current society. We also made some friends with two Swedish diners nearby and realized that they too, traveled far and wide to experience the best food and culture they could from many countries. It was a wildly fulfilling meal and I had wished that we could have stayed longer. But there are only so many hours in a day and so many things to see.
Knowing that we had to catch a train north to Hillerød, Jan actually drove us back down the hill to Holte station, saving us 15 minutes of walking. You want to talk about personalized service? Now how’s that for hospitality? Jan is definitely the man. If you choose a handful of places to eat in Copenhagen, I highly suggest you leave town for Søllerød Kro. The warmth of the staff, the level of food and the sheer beauty of the area is totally worth it. Jan has been in the industry over 30 years and it very much shows. He might just be one of the best hosts not only in Denmark, but anywhere in the world I’ve been to.

This is a lovely restaurant but its price kind of means its most suitable for a romantic evening or possibly entertaining a business client. The food and drink were top quality and the service was excellent. Posh dining as it should be.