Illustration by Fig & Ginger, drawn from the review. The venue's own photo is on its way.
Natural wine bar in Nyhavn, Copenhagen
Den Vandrette
A Cellar on the Harbour
Most of the bars around Nyhavn exist to sell lager to people photographing the painted houses. Den Vandrette is a short walk up Havnegade and below street level, and it has nothing to do with any of that. It is the bar of an importer, Rosforth & Rosforth, which means the people pouring know the growers behind the labels, and the list reads like it.
The wine is low intervention and mostly French, with detours to Spain, Georgia and Australia. The by-the-glass list runs from pét-nat and orange through to a section for oxidative wines that most bars would never bother with: vin jaune from the Jura poured by the 50 ml, rancio from Spain, a solera blend. If you have only ever had sherry by accident, start there. The food is small plates for sharing, seasonal, built on organic and biodynamic produce, and the kitchen will work around most dietary requests except vegan. Monday to Thursday they also run tastings on request for groups of four or more.
Book if you can, and go early in the week when the staff have time to talk. Order a glass of something strange from the oxidative list, then let them steer the rest. It is a grown-up room that does not take itself too seriously, which is harder to pull off than it sounds.
- Order this
- A glass from the oxidative list, Jura vin jaune if it is open, Pét-nat to start, Two or three of the small seasonal plates, Koppi coffee to finish
- The damage
- $$$
- Go
- Monday to Thursday from five, before the room fills
- Find it
- Havnegade 53A, kld., 1058 København K
- Website
- denvandrette.dk