Restaurant Schønnemann

Four Steps Down Since 1877

4 of 5

Four steps down off Hauser Plads and the century changes. Schønnemann has served herring, beer and akvavit in this cellar since 1877, which makes it one of the oldest places to eat in Copenhagen. The house history says farmers from Amager and charcoal burners from Gribskov used to stable their horses on the square and come down for a beer, a few snaps and something to eat. The charcoal burners have thinned out. Not much else has.

It is a lunch restaurant and nothing more, open from 11:30 and finished by five, with seatings at 11:30 or noon and again at 14:14, a time slot that tells you somebody here has a sense of humour. The herring list alone runs to pepper herring with fried capers, elderberry and bog myrtle herring, plum and Madeira herring with crackling, and fried herring laid in brine. The tartare section reads like a guest book, with one version stirred with cognac credited to Michel Roux Jr. The English site counts 24 beers and more than 140 snaps. The house even has a rule for portions: two pieces to lay the foundation, three to be full, four to finish with a smile.

Book well ahead, since the Christmas season fills the room early. Start with herring, because that is what this cellar was built on, then a tartlet with sweetbreads and mushrooms, then the tartare. Take one snaps on the server's advice and leave the other 139 for another year. Nobody down here is trying to reinvent lunch. That is the pleasure of it.

Order this: Pebersild with pepper mayonnaise and fried capers, Tartlet with sweetbreads and mushrooms à la crème, The Michel Roux Jr. stirred tartare, One snaps from a list of more than 140
The damage: $$
Go: A weekday lunch, booked, at 11:30 or the 14:14 seating
Find it: Hauser Plads 16, 1127 København K
Website: restaurantschonnemann.dk