Kadeau (2, Copenhagen)

This was probably the most unexpected meal I had last year. I’ve dined at Kadeau before, maybe 2-3 years beforehand and thought it was a good meal with solid flavors. However, this time when I revisited during Preservation Season, it blew me away and was my single favorite meal from 2024. At this point, Kadeau is probably the purest form of New Nordic cuisine right now (even moreso than Noma in a lot of cases) and they absolutely nail the bright, light flavors. Surprisingly though, they’re one of the first restaurants where I felt they played with texture really effectively — crunchy, soft, smooth, hard, but my favorite was how they incorporated chewiness into some of their bites as well.

A few highlights:

• Their preserved tomatoes and plums dish was probably the single best bite I had last year, sweet, tangy, chewy, crunchy it really had it all

• The raw shrimp dish with mahogany clams and magnolia had some of the most naturally sweet shrimp I’ve tasted

• Tongue and loin of red deer was a simple preparation, really letting the flavors of the deer come through, but surprisingly wasn’t too gamey

• Of course, their famous hot and cold smoked salmon was a hit — genuinely just melts in your mouth from how soft it is

• And I always love ending on their warm walnut pie, just comforting, simple, and nostalgic in a way

Kadeau has quickly become my top recommendation for people visiting Copenhagen. They’re crushing it lately and I have to go back to try their Growing Seasons menu — if you don’t already have a reservation to go here, you absolutely should make one.