Vollmers

Tegelgårdsgatan 5

211 33 Malmö

Sweden

Telephone: +46 40 57 97 50

info@vollmers.nu

www.vollmers.nu

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Date of visit: March 2014

 

Jump to Danish review – Gå til dansk anmeldelse

 

The chef at Restaurant Vollmers in Malmö is Mats Vollmer, who has previously worked in various places in Copenhagen, such as Restaurant Herman and Søllerød Kro. He told us that he more cared about making food people would enjoy eating than making chocking food. Clearly, he also enjoys making creative food as we would see throughout this meal.

The restaurant itself looks elegant but still suitably informal to fit the service. More about this later. The restaurant also has a bar area where you can either have a drink or food (or both), although I don’t know if it’s the same food they serve here (but it most likely is).

The restaurant offers only one menu, which you can choose four, six or the full eight courses from. We went for six courses priced at 695 Swedish Kroner (€77.70). We also shared a wine menu priced at 595 Swedish Kroner (€67.22), and it was no problem to share – actually we probably had almost a full wine menu each.

For the four and six course choices, they took away certain dishes from the full menu, which meant that we would have the cheese serving, which is something we usually steer away from if there is another choice. So we did manage to persuade the waitress to swap the cheese dish for an onion dish earlier in the menu.

A few appetisers appeared before the menu began: First a very small piece of bread stuffed with a cep béchamel sauce.

Then a cauliflower dusted with cep powder, which simply tasted like a cauliflower.

Then small crispy crackers with sherry jelly, a bit of herbs and dehydrated pigeon powder, the powder being a lot of effort with, unfortunately, very little result as it was hardly noticeable here.

Lastly, chanterelles and ceps had been cooked, compressed and mixed with butter, frozen and then grated into a bowl. On top of this, the waitress poured a mushroom soup which melted the grated mushrooms. This definitely tasted lovely, but I couldn’t help but feel that all their hard work with the grated mushroom butter had been in vain when the creation just melted in the soup.

Then the bread arrived. I usually don’t care much about bread in restaurants, but this was a delight. There were three different kinds: Brioche, malt and Manitoba, and they kept coming throughout the meal. We ate loads of this, especially the brioche. The bread came with two types of butter: A regular one from cow’s milk as well as one from goat milk.

The first actual dish started the menu off with a bang – and what a beauty to behold! Hake was served with thin discs of swede (the vegetable), lovage butter, ramson capers, and small pearls of the same white wine as was served in the wine pairing. On top of this was poured a creamy soup made from hake bones as well as a bit of lovage oil. I had imagined that it would be difficult to discern the various elements after the soup was poured on, but everything stood out perfectly. My only tiny point of criticism is that the texture of the hake was not quite as good as when hake is at its best, but this is really a minor detail. This is a dish that I will remember for a very long time (9/10).

Next dish was an egg yolk heated to 62 degrees, covered with pork and potato foam. On top was a potato crisp. My wife at the time called this dish perfection, although she missed a bit of seasoning. For me it was also a very pleasant dish, with the pork being the highlight, although I simply didn’t enjoy it quite as much as she did (8/10).

Third course was lemon sole with dried cod roe on top, which the waitress heated up/toasted with a jet flame. Around it was melted butter, and on the side was strips of radishes and cucumbers, lumpfish roe with lemon and Danish smoked cheese. Except for the fish, the lemon and the butter, the elements in this dish usually don’t do much for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by this lovely dish (8/10).

Fourth course was the aforementioned onion dish, which consisted of pearl onions that had been glazed and cooked with sherry vinegar. On the side was a piece of butter and a powder of sour cream with wild onions, probably as a reference to crisps with sour cream and onion. The amount of vinegar was a bit too much for me, as was the butter, which I simply couldn’t finish. Nevertheless, this was still a pleasant and well-cooked dish. Onions can be very sharp if they aren’t cooked enough (as I clearly saw just a week later at Kadeau in Copenhagen), and these onions had no sharpness at all except for from the vinegar (7,5/10).

The main course was oxtail cooked for 24 hours, which had then been mixed with the stock the cooking had created, with a mushroom jelly on top. Brioche had been fried, and Jerusalem artichokes were served two ways – as a puree and boiled and fried. On the side was spooned a local Swedish sweet wholegrain mustard. Despite a slight lack of seasoning in the oxtail, this dish showed slowly cooked beef at its best – full of flavour and power. The mushroom jelly was a nice touch but did disappear a bit in this combination. Overall, a very pleasant dish (8/10).

Then we were served a small palate cleanser in the form of carrot jelly and carrot granité with yoghurt. This was just a cleanser rather than an actual dish, and served its purpose very well (7/10).

Dessert was a thin piece of hardened chocolate dusted with seaweed on top of a chocolate mousse. On another plate was an apple sorbet and slowly cooked apples (the type called Ingrid Marie), which had then been caramelised. Around it was seaweed cream topped with small pieces of seaweed. With the seaweed this was definitely a creative take on classic dessert elements, but we simply didn’t enjoy this combination. The seaweed worked best with the chocolate, although the amount dusted on top of the chocolate disc was simply so much that it made me cough, whereas it simply seemed odd when combined with the apples. The powerful seaweed flavour also drowned out most of the apple flavour, especially from the sorbet, which was surprising since Ingrid Marie is quite an acidic type. There are positive things to say though: The chocolate mousse was lovely and intense, and the texture of the ice cream was perfect too and not too cold (5/10).

Petit fours was a lovely mix of various ingredients and textures – chocolate, passion fruit, sweet bread, pumpkin seeds, etc.

Service was superb throughout. We weren’t walked to the toilet, our chairs weren’t held when we sat down, and at times there was a bit too much waiting between the courses (although later this was intentional as we quite quickly became full from eating the lovely bread), but this was practically the only difference between the service here and at the best three-star restaurants I’ve been too. The tone and style of service was very similar to Noma – we felt like meeting an old friend the minute we came in. Although there was only four tables this night, one waitress took care of everything, and she always had time to talk and explain and never seemed to rush. And imagine that this restaurant doesn’t hold a single Michelin star (because of its location – more about this shortly), yet the service was as good as in some of the best (and most expensive) restaurants I’ve ever been too – and better than in several three-star restaurants! Add to this, that this was done by a single person in the dining room.

The waitress was also the sommelier, and she always explained why she had chosen that particular wine for the wine pairing. Another noteworthy detail was that after we had asked for a picture of the second wine, she left the bottle on the table so we could take pictures if we liked after tasting every wine for the remainder of the menu.

When it comes to value for money, this restaurant has been the best value in all of Scandinavia. Scandinavia is a very expensive part of the world, and in Copenhagen just across the strait (a 35 minute train ride away) a menu of this length would usually set you back 800-1,000 Danish kroner (€107-€133) for the food alone. Here a six course menu was 695 Swedish Kroner (€77.70). Add to this four appetisers, a palate cleanser, petit fours (which is often absent in the aforementioned restaurants in Copenhagen) and all the bread we could eat (and we ate a lot). Water was 35 Swedish Kroner per person (€3.91), which is the cheapest water I’ve had in any high-end restaurant in Scandinavia. The only thing we found a bit expensive was a cup of tea, which was 85 Swedish Kroner (€9.60), but this is easily forgivable. So, per person a menu + half a wine menu + water came to 1,027.50 Swedish kroner (€114.87), with tea 1,112.50 Swedish Kroner (€124.38). This would buy a menu + water but no wine in a similar restaurants in Copenhagen, in some not even a menu. This is of course still a lot of money if you’re used to prices in for instance Spain, but compared to the prices levels in Scandinavia this was a steal! Add to this the consistency in the cooking here. Even though we didn’t like the dessert, it was not poorly made. Except for the dessert every single dish was at a very high level – something that I rarely see in even well-established three-star restaurants. If you put personal preferences aside and only focus on the technique, this meal has been one of the most perfectly executed meals I’ve had anywhere.

It was recently announced that in 2015 there will be a separate Michelin guide for Scandinavia. At the time of writing, the inspectors only visit capitals in Scandinavia, as those countries are part of the guide “main cities of Europe”. When the Scandinavian guide appears, I am convinced that Vollmers will receive at least one star – if not more. As you can see from this website, Vollmers was better than several three-star restaurants.

Dansk anmeldelse

 

Vollmers

Tegelgårdsgatan 5

211 33 Malmö

Sweden

Telefon: +46 40 57 97 50

info@vollmers.nu

www.vollmers.nu

Samlet vurdering: 8,5/10

Besøgets dato: Marts 2014

Chefkokken på Restaurant Vollmers i Malmø er Mats Vollmer, som tidligere har arbejdet på flere toprestauranter i København, bl.a. Restaurant Herman og Søllerød Kro. Han fortalte os, at det var vigtigere for ham at lave mad, som smagte godt, end at lave mad med chokfaktor. Han kan tydeligvis også godt lide kreativ madlavning, som vi fik at se under det her måltid.

Selve restauranten er elegant, men stadig tilpas uformel i stil med betjeningen. Mere om det senere. Restauranten har også en bar, hvor man kan nøjes med en drink eller også spise, selvom jeg dog ikke ved, om det er det samme mad, der bliver serveret her (men det er det højst sandsynligt).

Restauranten har kun én menu, hvorfra man kan vælge fire, seks eller alle otte retter. Vi valgte seks retter til 695 svenske kroner (580 danske). Vi delte også en vinmenu til 595 svenske kroner (497 danske), og det var intet problem at dele. Vi fik endda nok næsten en hel vinmenu hver.

Hvis man vælger fire eller seks retter, fjerner de på forhånd udvalgte retter fra menuen, hvilket betød, at vi ville få osteserveringen, hvilket vi oftest undgår, hvis vi kan vælge noget andet i stedet. Vi fik overtalt tjeneren til at bytte osten ud med en løgret tidligere i menuen.

Vi fik et par appetitvækkere, før selve menuen blev serveret: Først et miniaturebrød fyldt med en bechamelsauce med karljohansvampecreme.

Derefter et lille stykke blomkål med karljohansvampepulver. Det smagte, desværre, blot af blomkål.

Derefter kom små sprøde kiks med sherrygelé, lidt krydderurter og dehydreret duepulver. Pulveret var desværre lidt spildt arbejde, da man knap kunne smage det.

Den sidste appetitvækker var kantareller og karljohansvampe, der var blevet tilberedt, presset og blandet med smør, frosset og så revet. Tjeneren hældte en svampesuppe ovenpå, så de revne svampe smeltede. Det smagte dejligt, men det føltes igen lidt som spildt arbejde, når det lille kunstværk blot smeltede i suppen.

Så kom brødet. Jeg går sjældent synderligt op i brød på restauranter, men det her var en fryd. Der var tre slags: Brioche, malt og manitoba, og de blev fyldt op gennem hele måltidet. Vi pløjede os igennem bunkevis af det – især briochen. Brødet blev serveret med to slags smør: En af komælk samt en af gedemælk.

Den første ret startede selve menuen med et brag – og sikke et prægtigt skue på tallerkenen. Kulmule kom med tynde skiver kålrabi, løvstikkesmør, ramsløgskapers og små perler af den samme hvidvin som vinen fra vinmenuen. Oven på blev hældt en flødelegeret suppe lavet af kulmuleben, samt lidt løvstikkeolie. Jeg havde forventet, at det ville være svært at smage hver ingrediens, efter suppen var blevet hældt på, men alt kom til sin ret. Min eneste lillebitte kritik er, at konsistensen på fisken ikke var helt så god, som den kan være, når kulmule er bedst. Det er dog en meget lille detalje. Både min hustru og jeg vil tænke tilbage på den ret i mange år (9/10).

Næste ret var en æggeblomme, der var varmet op til 62 grader, serveret med svinekød og kartoffelskum ovenpå. Min hustru kaldte retten ren perfektion, selvom hun dog savnede lidt salt og peber. Jeg nød absolut også retten, især svinekødet, men var dog ikke helt så betaget som hende (8/10).

Den tredje ret var rødtunge drysset med tørret torskerogn, som tjeneren kørte en gasbrænder henover. Rundt om lå smeltet smør, og ved siden af var anrettet strimler af radiser og agurker drysset med dansk rygeost og stenbiderrogn med citron. På nær fisken, citronen og smørret er jeg generelt ikke vild med de andre ingredienser, men jeg blev positivt overrasket over, hvor godt det fungerede her (8/10).

Den fjerde ret var den tidligere nævnte ret med løg, som bestod af perleløg, der var blevet glaseret med sherryeddike. Ved siden af lå en lille firkant smør og et pulver af syrnet fløde med vilde løg, hvilket nok var tænkt som en reference til sour cream & onion-chips. Der var lidt rigelig eddike i retten til min smag, og jeg kunne heller ikke få alt smørret ned. Trods det var det dog en lækker og veltilberedt ret. Løg kan rykke meget i halsen, hvis de ikke er tilberedt længe nok (som jeg fik at se ved selvsyn blot en uge efter på Kadeau i København), men disse løg havde ikke antydningen af skarphed på nær det fra eddiken (7,5/10).

Hovedretten var oksehale tilberedt i 24 timer, som så var blevet rørt sammen med fonden, der opstod under tilberedningen. Oven på lå en svampegelé. Et par stykker brioche var blevet stegt i smør, og jordskokker blev serveret i to tilberedninger: Kogt og stegt og som puré. Tjeneren hældte en sød lokal grovkornet sennep på tallerkenen til at fuldende billedet. Selvom oksekødet manglede lidt salt og peber, var det langtidstilberedt oksekød, når det var bedst: Fyldt med smag og kraft. Svampegeléen var et fint lille præg, men den forsvandt lidt i sammensætningen. Alt i en alt en rigtig vellykket ret (8/10).

Før desserten kom en lille ganerenser på bordet i form af gulerodsgelé og gulerodsgranité samt yoghurt. Det var blot en renser og ikke en egentlig ret, og den fuldendte sin rolle fint (7/10).

Desserten var en tynd plade stivnet chokolade drysset med tang. Pladen hvilede oven på en chokolademousse. På en anden tallerken var en kugle æblesorbet, langtidstilberedte Ingrid Marie-æbler, der sidenhen var blevet karamelliseret, og små prikker af tanggelé pyntet med små strimler tang. Tang i en dessert må siges at være noget helt nyt for mig, og det tilføjede klart en kreativ kant til to ellers velkendte dessertingredienser, men vi brød os ganske enkelt ikke om sammensætningen. Tangen fungerede bedst med chokoladen, selvom der dog var drysset så meget på, at det fik mig til at hoste. Sammen med æblerne smagte det ganske enkelt underligt. Tangens kraftige smag overdøvede også smagen af æblerne – især sorbeten, hvilket var lidt overraskende, nu Ingrid Marie ellers er ret syrlige. Der var dog også noget positivt ved retten: Chokolademoussen var udsøgt og intens, og isens konsistens var helt perfekt og ikke for kold (5/10).

Petit fours var en flot blanding af forskellige ingredienser i flere teksturer – chokolade, passionsfrugt, kager, græskarkerner osv.

Betjeningen var suveræn fra start til slut. Vi blev ikke fulgt på toilettet, stolen blev ikke holdt for os, når vi satte os ned, og af og til var ventetiden mellem retterne lidt for lang (selvom det senere var med vilje, da vi hurtigt blev mætte af at spise alt for meget af det dejlige brød), men det var praktisk talt den eneste forskel mellem betjeningen her og på de allerbedste trestjernede restauranter, jeg har været på. Betjeningens tone og stil var meget a la Noma. Det var som at komme hjem til en gammel ven, i det øjeblik vi trådte ind ad døren. Selvom kun fire borde var besat denne aften, tog en tjener sig af hele restauranten, og hun havde altid tid til at snakke og forklare og havde aldrig travlt. Tænk bare, at den her restaurant ikke har en eneste Michelin-stjerne (pga. beliggenheden – mere om det om lidt), men alligevel var betjeningen lige så god som på nogle af de bedste (og dyreste) restauranter, jeg nogensinde har været på, og endda bedre end på adskillige trestjernede restauranter! Tænk så også på, at det hele blev klaret af en enkelt person på gulvet.

Tjeneren var også sommelier, og hun forklarede altid, hvorfor hun havde valgt netop den vin til vinmenuen. En anden detalje, der er værd at nævne er, at efter vi havde spurgt, om vi kunne tage et billede af den anden vin, vi fik, lod hun under resten af måltidet flasken stå på bordet, så vi kunne tage et billede, hvis vi havde lyst, efter vi havde smagt på vinen.

Mht. hvad man får for pengene, har den her restaurant været det sted i hele Skandinavien, hvor jeg har fået mest for pengene. Skandinavien er generelt meget dyrt, og i København, blot 35 minutter væk i tog, koster en lignende menu oftest 800-1.000 kr. udelukkende for maden. På Vollmers kostede en menu på seks retter 695 svenske kroner (580 danske). Derudover fik vi fire appetitvækkere, en ganerenser, petit fours (som sjældent er inkluderet i prisen på en menu i København) og alt det brød, vi kunne spise (og vi spiste meget) med i prisen. Vand ad libitum kostede 35 svenske kroner (29 danske) per person, hvor det i København oftest koster 60-100 kr. Det eneste, der var lidt dyrt, var en kop te, som kostede 85 svenske kroner (71 danske), men det var hurtigt glemt. Så per person lød regningen for mad + en halv vinmenu + vand på 1.027,50 svenske kroner (858 danske). Med te var det 1.112,50 svenske (929 danske). For det beløb ville man i København højst kunne købe mad + vand, men ingen vin, på en restaurant på samme niveau – på visse restauranter ville man endda ikke engang kunne købe maden alene for det beløb. Det er selvfølgelig stadig mange penge, hvis man sammenligner med priserne i f.eks. Spanien, men når man tager prisniveauet i Skandinavien i betragtning, var det et sandt røverkøb! Læg dertil det høje gastronomiske niveau på Vollmers. Selvom vi ikke kunne lide desserten, var den på ingen måde mislykket. På nær desserten lå hver eneste ret på et særdeles højt nydelsesniveau – hvilket er noget, jeg sjældent har set på selv berømte trestjernede restauranter. Hvis man sætter sin personlige smag til side og kun ser på det rent tekniske, var måltidet ganske enkelt et af de mest fuldendte måltider, jeg har fået noget sted i verden.

Det blev for nylig offentliggjort, at Skandinavien får sin egen Michelin-guide i 2015. På nuværende tidspunkt besøger guiden kun Skandinaviens hovedstæder, da vi hører under “Main cities in Europe”. Når Skandinavien får sin egen guide, er jeg overbevist om, at Vollmers får mindst en enkelt stjerne – hvis ikke flere. Som man kan se på min side, var Vollmers bedre end adskillige af de trestjernede restauranter, jeg har været på.