‘We had the guys from St John come over from London to serve up mussels and pigs’ trotters, Frankie Gallo from Barcelona came to make his famous pizzas for us and Fayuca, an amazing Mexican restaurant in Canada, served up Oaxacan bean tamales. We did the strawberries and cream,’ says British-born Jamie Lee, head chef of Copenhagen’s Fiskebar restaurant, as he reflects on its all-star tenth birthday party in June. ‘About 3,000 people turned up, from across the Copenhagen hospitality industry. We took over the whole car park and had a big stage in the centre for DJs with food stalls around the outside and partied till the early hours of the morning. It was really overwhelming to have so much support.’
When arriving in Copenhagen’s Kødbyens district on a bleak December morning, it takes some imagination to picture the carefree summer party scenes he describes from six months ago. It’s cold, around one degree above zero, whilst human sightings are scarce – only eyes are detectable through coats-cum-duvets and heavy-duty scarves. The area resembles a derelict parking lot, an expansive forecourt littered with the odd pushbike or truck. Encased by 1930s low-rise industrial white units (giving this specific pocket of the district the nickname ‘The White’ – notably different to ‘The Grey’ or ‘The Brown’), it’s just waiting to be filmed for a post-apocalyptic motion picture. Stroll further in and you’ll discover the units skirting its perimeter, housing a cluster of Copenhagen’s most exciting restaurants and bars.
Fisekbar, co-founded in 2009 by former Noma sommelier-turned-wine-maker Anders Selmer, is one of them, and has ironically made its home in a district that literally translates to mean ‘Meat City’, or the Meatpacking District to most. Its façade does little to signify the restaurant’s seafood specialism, as the oversized lettering on the roof reads Kød og Flæskehal (meat and pork hall) and sits beneath a sultry stone cow. Inside, Fiskebar offers a welcoming and vibrant retreat from the abrasive winter. Whilst not entirely cosy, it’s calming and comfortable, a place one could easily stay all day. The 100-cover dining room, positioned around a rectangular central bar, has deliberately honoured its slaughterhouse roots. Think original wall tiles, concrete floors and meat hooks used as coat hangers, albeit a 1,000-litre floor-to-ceiling aquarium does pay homage to its more recent incarnation.