Restaurant Herman is a Michelin-starred restaurant located in the exclusive Nimb hotel. Nimb is located in a historic building built in a Moorish-inspired style in 1909, and newly reopened in 2008 by the gourmet-oriented Nimb family. Condé Nast Traveller has ranked it as #40 on their list of the best hotels in the world. The restaurant overlooks Tivoli gardens and features a stylish classic Danish design with tall windows and a bright interior.
The culinary team is led by young and talented Thomas Herman. Chef Herman grew up in Southern Jutland, and after working in several acclaimed restaurants such as Arzak and La Broche in Spain, returned to Denmark to first head the praised restaurant
Kong Hans Kælder and then open his signature restaurant
Herman. Utilizing innovative techniques and integrating global influences, he remains true to his Danish roots in his cuisine, featuring modern remakes of Danish classics, using local and seasonal ingredients of the highest quality in every dish. His philosophy is that taste is attached to memories and emotions, and by bringing those emotions forward with his unique concepts and flavor combinations, he offers the diners a spectacular culinary experience.
We started our evening at Herman with several different amuse bouche tastings. First, we were asked to pick a leaf from a platter that our waiter brought out. This was a special oyster leaf with a unique taste reminiscent of oysters, a very unusual and a fun way to begin our meal.
A very pretty lightly pickled cucumber, in a gel form, garnished with local Danish herbs was our next bite, perfectly refreshing and offering a bright burst of sweet and sour flavors.
The Marron oysters from France were served with pine nut granita which added sweet and nutty notes, enhancing the succulent natural flavors of the oysters.
Nestled inside a hollowed out marrow bone and topped with smoked liquid cheese we found a tartare of veal mixed with chopped oysters, tarragon, and chives. The combination of veal and oysters with smoked cheese was incredibly delicious.
Our final little fun treat was a "oyster cloud" served on chilled stone. We had to pick up the stone and slurp the cloud in one bite. The cloud was composed of oyster water and green apples and topped with dried powdered seaweed.
Our bread was a mini Danish sourdough loaf bread with oats on top. This bread was amazing, fresh and warm, crispy outside and with a very unique soft texture inside that was almost like the texture of yeast-based pancake.
The bread was served with two kinds of butter: a gourmet churned butter and a goat cheese butter flavored with a special Danish salt from Læsø, an island off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula mentioned in the Northern mythology as the feasting place of the gods and famous since middle ages for its salt production. We absolutely loved this unique salted goat cheese butter, a perfect compliment to the scrumptious sourdough bread.
Our first official course was Scandianavian Shellfish & A Bisque of Dried Chamomile that came into parts. First, a large langoustine was served with chamomile marmalade, beautifully plated against a background of chamomile flowers under the glass plate. The langoustine was really tender and sweet, excellent with a touch of aromatic flowery fragrance from the chamomile marmalade.
The second part of the first course was a mussel bisque drafted with chamomile flowers, served in a bowl with a chamomile steam coming out from the bottom, producing a wonderful aroma and enhancing the presentation of the dish. The bisque itself was smooth and creamy, sweet with slightly tangy flavors. In the bisque, we found baby scallops, cabbage, chamomile spherified caviar pearls, and drops of oil made with Danish herbs. All the elements combined beautifully producing an amazing combination of textures and flavors.
Next, we sampled the North Sea Turbot, served with grilled spring onions, sauteed shallots, and wild garlic shoots. Pickled green Danish strawberries were a unique addition to the plate. The fish itself was cooked absolutely perfectly, wonderfully flaky, with a delicious buttery and salty flavor. The unusual Bearnaise sauce infused with garlic and rosemary was an excellent accompaniment to both the turbot and the new onions.
Like our first course, the Foie Gras and Cherry course also came in two parts. First, we were presented with a magical concoction of foie gras and cherry wine from Frederiksdal Gods winery from Rancio, Denmark. The foie gras and cherry wine were in a frozen powdered form, freeze-dried with liquid nitrogen. The specks of freeze-dried peanut butter powder added an interesting flavor dimension, pairing nicely with both foie gras and cherry.
The second part of the Foie gras course was a seared foie gras slice, topped with chopped endive salad and a nougatin, crispy wafer flavored with cherries. The crunch of the endives and cherry nougatin offered a nice contrast in texture with the smooth delicate foie gras. The cherry marmalade also was a delightful accompaniment.
A surprise bite before our main course were Æbleskivers, Danish puffed pancakes in a sphere shape, typically served around Christmas time. Æbleskivers are usually sweet, topped with powdered sugar and jam. These Æbleskivers were savory, filled with onions and smoked bacon, with a decadent topping of shaved truffles and black pepper dust and served with a refreshing cucumber marmalade. This was a very special treat for us, particularly after tasting the traditional sweet Æbleskivers earlier that day.
Our main course was an incredibly flavorful grilled shoulder of Iberian Pork, topped with a paper-thin refreshing radish slice, earthy morel mushroom, fragrant wild Danish herbs and smoky charred vinaigrette. The texture of the pork was very unique, so "melt-in-a-mouth" tender, succulent and juicy. The earthy Danish wild mushrooms topped with a sweet mushroom foam were just lovely. This was a perfectly executed, wonderfully delicious dish.
The cheese course was fantastic, featuring six different Danish cheeses, served with rosehip marmalade and pumpernickel and other kinds of breads.
With our coffee, we had some scrumptious petit fours presented in a fun way around the table.
Disguised among the real branches were the chocolate "branches" flavored with orange liqueur.
The marshmallows, flavored with vanilla and dusted with ash made from hay, were served on a plate of rocks.
Raspberry-filled chocolate truffles and caramel fudge were also excellent.
Our dinner at Restaurant Herman was a perfect culinary experience, flawless in every way. It had everything we look for in the restaurant of this level: warm and friendly service, local seasonal high quality ingredients, delicious unique concepts representative of classic local cuisine, re-invented in creative ways with modern techniques and global influences, gorgeous presentations, and the resulting dishes with delicious complex flavors that are well-executed. Herman gets our highest rating and we strongly recommend it to anyone who visits Copenhagen.
