Copenhagen’s Superb Restaurants
Era Ora
When it comes to Danish dining, Noma steals the limelight. But there’s another restaurant in the city that should be on any foodie’s bucket list.
Era Ora, meaning ‘About Time’, is tucked away along Christianshavn’s romantic canals, having opened in 1983. And it’s stunning, in every sense.
This is Copenhagen’s oldest Michelin-starred restaurant, first awarded in 1997, and its been awarded year after year ever since. Critics believe this is one of the finest Italian restaurants outside of the region, and we agree. Not only that but it’s also the only Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in the whole of Scandinavia.
This is Italian fusion dining. Era Ora is all about blending the finest flavours that Italy has to offer from across its many regions. It’s something owners Elvio and Edelvita, and head chef Nicola Fanetti share a true passion for, flying in 90% of their ingredients from Italy.
Then there’s the wine. Standing at around 90,000 bottles, the pair owns Europe’s largest collection of Italian wines, collected over a period of 31 years. The collection is huge and has to be maintained off-site – in the restaurant, 3,000 are stored in the wine cellar. The collection includes Italy’s finest wines, and Elvio and his son travel regularly to personally collect them from the most prestigious suppliers.
At Era Ora, every experience will be different. Their expert sommelier is on hand to personalise your dish with a choice of paired wines, which can include exceptional vintages worth £1,000 a bottle.
The experimental menu changes every 3 to 4 weeks. A dinner here will set you back several sumptuous hours as you work your way through 9 or 10 delicious courses. Both lunch and dinner menus are classicly Italian, with ‘stuzzichinos’ (appetiser), antipasti’s, pasta, main courses, desserts, cheese and coffee.
Behind the menu is one of the youngest Michelin head chef’s we know of, Chef Nicola Fanetti (he’s 27). We went into the kitchen at the end of the shift and discovered Nicola took charge of only a small team but a passionately happy one at that, most of which are native Italians. The way they seamlessly produce such stunning food without any more help is almost unbelievable.
The interiors work in harmony with the food and its concept. You could spend hours here and you’ll feel so immersed you won’t even notice you aren’t in Italy. Co-owner Edelvita Santos took care of the interiors, which speak of Tuscan verandas, earthly southern colours and high ceilings, amplified by the outdoor terrace and Roman Garden patio. The team at Era Ora believe that eating should be ‘a completely sensual and intellectual experience evoking history, culture, memories and emotions as well as taste and texture.’
And, well, we can certainly vouch for that.