Restaurant Zeleste

Outstanding! We were looking for a good cozy romantic restaurant… and great service! We found it! Thank you Jannick and Amanda for an amazing experience!

Food: 3.0÷5.0
Service: 2.0÷5.0
Value: 2.0÷5.0
Décor: 3.5÷5.0
Overall: 3.0÷5.0
Reasonably good food in a spot just off the main Nyhavn stretch. According to one of the waitresses, the building has had past lives including as a flower shop, a blacksmiths shop, and a brothel. The food was decent but the prices are very high (as are all the tourist-​trappy spots near Nyhavn, and the service was frankly pretty poor (the waitstaff tend to disappear which makes it hard to flag someone down).

Service was nice, still ways to go with the cutlery and plates. Beef was a little bit tough but the taste was good.
Seating was a bit uncomfortable but the restaurants interior and exterior was very nice. Would come again.

We came here on New Years Eve and had the set menu. We were warmly welcomed and our server was the lovely Emilie My. The ambience was festive and the staff had taken care to dress the tables so they looked really special. The food was outstanding and every one of the seven courses was delicious. The standout dishes for me were the ½ lobster and cheese course. The wine pairings were also excellent, although the first white wine was a bit light on taste and body. I would have given 5 stars but for the wine and that we were not given any bread (not that I’d have had room for it). It’s a bit on the pricey side but worth it for a special occasion or treat. Service was impressive despite the restaurant being packed — professional, efficient and with a smile. We will definitely be back again.

I have been here a few times, and I have to say the best thing about this place is their very charming outdoor courtyard with fireplace in the middle of the restaurant. Inside they have all these different cozy, intimate rooms. The location is amazing, and the atmosphere is so hyggelig. Their brunch is fantastic, but heir dinner is just ok. One time I brought a friend, and he said their burger was the best he had had in his whole life, so that’s a big compliment. Downside is that, because it’s Nyhavn, it’s pricey, but I only think it’s worth to pay for this place because of the atmosphere and their courtyard. It really is special.

Zeleste is my favorite brunch haunt, hands-​down. The food is really lovely and the cozy ambiance always makes for a warm visit. I also believe that they do a nice job greeting customers when they enter the restaurant. At times, I’ve noticed that the service from the wait-​staff can be a little spotty. When it’s busy, and there are only 2 people servicing the whole establishment, you can wait a very long time to get something as simple as water. I forgive them — but they would earn 4 or 5 stars if they had slightly more attentive service. But for Copenhagen, I think I’d consider this place pretty good, service-​wise, as they don’t roll their eyes at you or assault you with attitude, which sadly is the norm in CPH. Give Zeleste’s weekend brunch a taste!

So you’ll never find a great deal in Nyhavn, which is tourist central in Copenhagen, but if you turn the corner onto Store Strandstraede, you can find Restaurant Zeleste, which is as charming a bistro as you can find in these parts. And crowded. I don’t know the Danish word for «Oy!» but… Oy! Was it crowded with a mix of tourists and extended families from what I could tell. I was lucky to get a table for one in the large cobblestone patio in the back. Unfortunately, it was leaning quite a bit because of the uneven floor, so I kept worrying my wine glass was going to slide off. Anyway, it was tough getting the attention of the waitress once I got seated since I didn’t represent a big tip. Flailing my arms reflected a sad act of desperation.
Fortunately the ambiance of the tented interior courtyard and the food itself helped make up for the hectic evening the staff was having that evening. I started with a bowl of their Jerusalem Artichoke Soup (95 DKK = $ 16.84), which was a nice creamy blend of artichokes and pumpkin that warmed my palate (see photo). The entrée was the Grilled Entrecôte (192 DKK = $ 34), a nice slab of beefsteak, nicely grilled and accompanied by a hefty wedge of pommes Anna, heavily buttered, a cauliflower purée, and wild mushrooms (see photo). It was a hearty portion which definitely satisfied my appetite. The interior maintains the charm of its 17^th-​century origins with private dining nooks, but a fifty-​dollar tab for one is a bit steep for this penny-​wise tourist.
FOOD — 3.5 stars… superior bistro fare, but the prices appear targeted to the more monied tourists
AMBIANCE — 4.5 stars… wears its centuries-​old history well
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… on the passive side for this solitary diner
TOTAL — 3 stars… if you need to dine in Nyhavn, this doesn’t strike me as a bad option

Ein feines Restaurant in Wurfweite des Nyhavn, mit Dänischen Spezialitäten, die man nur empfehlen kann.
Das Restaurant liegt in einem Fachwerkhaus und hat einen sehr heimeligen Innenhof (mit Kamin). Umgeben von den anderen Fachwerkhäusern sitzt man dort gut geschützt vor Trubel und Lärm. Um die Mittagszeit gibt es kleine Gerichte mit Fisch und Schalentieren. Vorweg wird frisches Brot und Butter (nach-)gereicht, damit der erste Appetit schon mal gestillt werden kann. Die Flasche Wasser (mit frischem Kräuterzweig) ist obligatorisch. Die Portionen sind nicht so groß, daß man den Tisch verstärken müßte — das ist aber auch gar nicht gewollt. Hier wird mehr Wert auf Qualität und weniger auf Quantität gelegt. Der Wein des Hauses kann nach Verbrauch abgerechnet werden, d.h. es wird eine Flasche Weißwein im Kühler an den Tisch gestellt und man zahlt anschließend das, was getrunken wurde. Praktisch und gut. Das Personal ist jung und aufmerksam — und manchmal auch noch ein wenig unbeholfen. Das macht der Charme und Freundlichkeit aber wieder wett. Wir waren mehrfach tagsüber dort und waren immer sehr zufrieden. Genau das richtig für einen kleinen Imbiss um sich für die Besichtigungen oder das Shopping zu rüsten, bzw. sich davon zu erholen.