I’m very happy to present a special review of one of my favorite restaurants in Copenhagen: House of Souls!
As I already mentioned, we went out for dinner on Friday. Normally, I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s day - I honestly don’t really care that much about it. But since we hadn’t been out for dinner in a while, we thought it would be a nice idea. Also, most restaurants offer special multi-course menus for Valentine’s, and I think that’s a great opportunity to try something you normally can’t order at one of your favorite restaurants. So we selected House of Souls (www.houseofsouls.dk), which specializes in the creole/ cajun cuisine that New Orleans is known for. Since I first tried it, it has quickly become a favorite of mine, because the food is just amazing!
The atmosphere is rather clean, not too much decoration apart from a giant oil painting of world record sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner and some musical instruments. They play soft jazz or blues in the background, which suits the theme very well. The crew is great, always happy and very friendly, including the cutest waiter who will dance while taking your orders!
As I said before, they did have a special Valentine’s menu, which we opted for. It had some very yummy-sounding dishes that are not on the usual menu, so why not give it a try? And we were not disappointed! Every dish was spectacular, and I even ate one of the two marinated prawns, although I usually don’t like shellfish, just because the marinade was so incredible!
Here’s the menu:
New Orleans smoked lobster soup with caviar
Grilled prawns, tomato chips and macadamia creme
Beef tenderloin with green pepper glaze, sauce amore and pommes du pont
Cointreau-glazed pineapple with coconut ice cream and ginger tuille
The lobster soup was simply amazing. It had a smoky note to it, was perfectly seasoned - a pure delight. It came with red caviar on a crispy piece of bread, and I could have easily eaten five portions of this! I wish they would put this on their permanent menu…
As I said, I normally not a fan of shellfish, but these prawns were delicious! Grilled in a spicy and fruity marinade, they harmonized very well with the rocket salad and soft macadamia creme. We also had some home-made cornbread on the side, which was perfect as well.
I’m not a big steak person, and when I order something in a restaurant or steak house, I always go with the filet. I’m very picky when it comes to meat, and anything that’s fat or “chewy”, I won’t touch. But this tenderloin - beautiful. Great quality meat, prepared to perfection, cooked medium/ medium-well, just how I like it, juicy and tasty. A spicy tomato paste on the side (probably the sauce amore), and some oven-baked potato wedges with a nice seasoning (assuming this is called pommes du pont, even though I hadn’t heard that before). On top of the meat there was a good chunk of home-made chives butter, which complemented the taste of the meat perfectly. All in all, an amazing course!
Dessert - my favorite! As far as this menu had gone, I was already blown away, and the dessert just put the cherry on top. Small balls of fresh pineapple, glazed and caramelized with Cointreau, and a scoop of home-made coconut ice cream. I think the coconut was roasted, which gave the ice cream an especially delicious twist. The pineapples were still warm, so the components played together perfectly.
We chose a white wine (2012 Babich Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand) to go with the entire menu, even though it didn’t quite match the main course. But we’d tasted this wine there before (I’m a sucker for Sauvignon Blanc!) and it is simply great, so we decided we could always order a glass of red for the main course - but in the end, we felt like that would be a bit much wine for us!
All in all, I would definitely recommend House of Souls to anyone looking for a great meal in Copenhagen - it is definitely something completely different from the “standard” New Nordic food you get at so many other great places here. It is warm, spicy, exotic - and amazing! Plus, the prices are absolutely fair, and you can normally get away with sharing a starter and then going for a main each, because the portion sizes are generous (though not wasteful). Definitely try the Creole Duck (comes with a blueberry-rosemary sauce) and the Beef Bayou (with grilled prawns), or go for New Orleans classics like the Seafood Jambalaya or Jerk Chicken. And if you go for dessert (which you should!), I can warmly recommend the cheesecake!
House of Souls
Vestergade 3, 1456 Copenhagen (www.houseofsouls.dk)
House of Souls on TripAdvisor: here
Sarah says
Auf die Merkliste: Nicht hungrig Lauras Blog besuchen…
Hannah says
Sieht toll aus! Aber wo verstecken sich denn die Kartoffeln?
Interessante Diskussion übrigens: Einige Köche wehren sich gegen Fotos und Tweets von ihrem Essen - ist das Werbung oder nimmt das jede Spannung?
http://www.midilibre.fr/2014/02/13/gilles-goujon-fait-la-guerre-aux-tweets,821945.php
crowdedearthkitchen says
I enjoyed this post. I plan to spend time in Denmark this summer learning about the cuisine, and am trying to get a head start!
Laura says
That sounds like a great plan! If you want to check out some typical “New Nordic” cuisine food, I can warmly recommend The Standard (I’ve posted a review of that as well) or Oliver And The Black Circus (review is coming!). Hope you enjoy, and I’d be glad if you came back to the blog every once in a while :)