The Magical & Full Of Surprises Nimb Brasserie In Copenhagen

Simple and stunning entrance

Located opposite Copenhagen Central Station and on the side of the internationally known amusement park, Tivoli Gardens, Nimb Brasserie is easy to find and with its simple and stunning entrance, it’s hard to miss it. However, I need you to promise me that you will purchase your ticket for Tivoli Gardens before visiting Nimb Brasserie if you want an extra surprise (revealed at the end of this article). Please note, however, that you do not need to purchase a ticket to Tivoli Gardens to experience the cuisine at Nimb Brasserie and it is accessible from outside of Tivoli Gardens.

Some the restaurants within Tivoli Gardens are fast-food restaurants and most the guests want to satisfy their hunger pangs quickly so that they can enjoy the roller coasters, rides and game stalls. To experience these fast-food restaurants, it is mandatory to purchase a ticket for Tivoli Gardens. Therefore, there is only one restaurant in the vicinity of Tivoli Gardens that can label itself as fine dining and that is Nimb Brasserie.

Not being a fast-food establishment, it is a place where you can take your time, relax, talk to your fellow diners and truly enjoy European cuisine with a modern and playful touch. The staff are extremely attentive and do everything possible to ensure that you have a fantastic experience.

Fine dining to a tee

With both indoor and outdoor seating areas, you can either enjoy the Danish sunshine or slip inside during a chilly day to enjoy the cuisine at Nimb Brasserie. If you decide to sit by a window or outside, you will be able to see the beauty that is Tivoli Gardens including the open-air concert hall. For those of you that decide not to purchase a ticket to Tivoli Gardens, you will be surprised to learn that you will be fortunate enough to see the amusement park including concerts being performed too!

Fine dining is all about exceptional cuisine in a striking and formal setting coupled with exemplary services. This is delivered in all instances at Nimb Brasserie, which has light, airy and spacious seating areas with comfortable chairs and dark wooden tables covered with pristine white tablecloths, quality napery, glassware and white candles. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling add to creating an absolutely beautiful restaurant. This is a restaurant that is elegant, refined, stylish and also has smart and modern restrooms.

Can cauliflower really be a hero in a dish?

Delectable French cuisine inspired by the Nordic kitchen and presented in the most beautiful shape and form is what is available at Nimb Brasserie. Despite the food menu being limited, all items from it that arrived at my table were very palatable, which made me forgive the small amount of choices.

As a vegetarian, I had the starter of grilled white asparagus, asparagus crudites, chives, cream of bread and crispy bread (95 DKK/approximately 14 USD) which was followed by a main of roasted cauliflower, truffle, Madagascar pepper and beurre noisette (155 DKK/approximately 23 USD).

The starter was unusual and unique as I had never tried white asparagus before, which is slightly milder in flavour and much more tender than green asparagus. The main was incredible and the beurre noisette was sharp and sweet at the same time and had a crunchy texture due to the almonds; I absolutely loved it! When I was initially informed that the main was the only one available for vegetarians, I was slightly concerned and questioned whether one vegetable: a cauliflower could be a hero on a dish. Well, Nimb Brasserie surprised me with this dish and made the cauliflower a hero, through the way it had been cooked and presented; I am sure it will surprise you too! I have struggled to find the perfect French fine dining restaurant across Europe that delivers an outstanding meal for vegetarians and I was so impressed with my main at Nimb Brasserie that I will have to return again.

My fellow dining companion had a starter of caviar (100 DKK/approximately 15 USD), and a main of lamb, dill, Jerusalem artichokes and lamb glace (230 DKK/approximately 35 USD). My companion, a seasoned traveller and diner, stated that it was the best lamb that she had ever tried.

Overall, as I am sure you have got the impression, the food at Nimb Brasserie was superb as no component was overlooked including a single ingredient or the artistic plating.

Gooey, chewy and smooth dessert with a beetroot to shock!

For dessert, my fellow diner and I had the rhubarb “trifli” which was a rhubarb compote with raspberry sorbet coupled with beetroot and white chocolate meringues (95 DKK/approximately 14 USD). As rhubarb and raspberries are common in Danish desserts, it was nice to see how they were cooked in a French style and presented so elegantly in a dessert eating glass cup.

The beetroot meringues surprised me as I had never had a root vegetable in a dessert and was sceptical about whether it could work. I’m also not a huge fan of beetroot in savoury items so the likelihood of liking this dessert was slim. Nevertheless, the dessert was tasty and the flavours were balanced brilliantly. The gooey textures of the rhubarb combined with the chewy meringues and the smooth sorbet was a wonderful celebration in my mouth. The beetroot meringues worked well in the dessert and gave it another dimension; an unexpected flavour that only really came through once you had chewed most of the meringue itself and that was quite a little surprise.

Spot on wine pairing

Whilst the food menu at Nimb Brasserie is rather limited, the wine menu is nothing of the sort and would be something that would certainly surprise you. The helpful staff at the restaurant also give the option of pairing wine with each plate that you select and from my experience, their choices are spot on. The restaurant offers champagne, white wine, rose wine, red wine and dessert wine from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Spain and New Zealand. My favourite would have to be the Muscat de Rivesaltes, Gerard Bertrand (85 DKK per glass/approximately 13 USD per glass), which accompanied the dessert that I selected. This wine is golden and yellow in colour, has an aroma of marmalade and sultanas and is wonderfully fruity in taste.

A glorious surprise

Now if you haven’t been surprised enough with the option of seeing the exciting concerts of Tivoli Gardens from Nimb Brasserie, the bold cauliflower dish that is to die for, the root vegetables that take a dessert to another level or the extensive wine list available, then I know what will surprise you. Once you have finishing dining at the beautiful Nimb Brasserie, you should exit the restaurant from the back (as opposed to the entrance through which you came in).

From the back exit, take about 20 steps forward and look behind you; you will see where Nimb Brasserie is housed. The decorative lights and the bluish and black night sky make a fantastic picture and best of all, once a month there are fireworks in Tivoli Gardens so you can see some colourful sparkles in the backdrop of this beautifully designed building which is home to Nimb.