The story
Set in Cottageparken between Klampenborg and Taarbæk, a stone's throw from the Øresund strait, Den Røde Cottage occupies a setting that feels genuinely apart from the city — without being far from it. The ground-floor dining room is deliberately intimate, creating the kind of close atmosphere that rewards unhurried meals. Upstairs, a private room accommodates parties of up to 36.
Chef Simon Lerche leads the kitchen, shaped by his training under Jan Friis Mikkelsen at Tinggården and a stint at Kadeau. The cooking sits in a neo-classical register: local, seasonal produce handled with technique that draws from the French tradition, but without molecular theatrics. Everything, the restaurant insists, is made from scratch. On the floor, restaurant manager Morten Magh — previously at Le Sommelier and AOC — brings both precise hospitality and deep wine knowledge to every service.
That combination has earned Den Røde Cottage recognition at the highest level: White Guide awarded it Masters status, praising the precision of the cooking, the quality of the seasonal ingredients, and wine pairings that consistently elevate each course.
The lunch menu spans oysters and marinated herring at one end, and dishes like butter-fried new potatoes with lovage, seared scallops with peas and fennel, Norway lobster with beetroot and rose hip, and venison with poached rhubarb and new potatoes at the other. Desserts lean on Danish produce — fresh strawberries with sorbet and raw cream, or a fried Camembert with pickled blackcurrants.
For private dinners and events, the kitchen shifts into a more composed, multi-course format. A spring menu, for instance, moves through pikeperch with green asparagus and dill cream, grilled white asparagus with ramson hollandaise, cured venison with smoked cheese, veal with miso and horseradish sauce, and Danish strawberries with caramelised almond. Optional additions — caviar, foie gras, lobster and truffle — allow the menu to be extended for those who want the full evening.
The restaurant describes its kitchen as driven by love for good craft and traditional dishes in its own interpretation — a phrase that holds up when you look at the detail on the plate. Seasonal events punctuate the year: a Midsummer's Eve dinner in the park, a shellfish evening, a truffle night, a monthly Friday bar. The atmosphere throughout is warm and informal, with what the team calls attentive hosting without formality — tradition meeting renewal, as they put it, in a setting that happens to be rather beautiful.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Just a stone's throw from the Øresund, The Red Cottage sits idyllically in Cottageparken between Klampenborg and Taarbæk. After eight years, Anita Klemensen decided to close the restaurant at the end of 2017, but not long after, the kitchen was brought back to life by a new, young team. It is now helmed by Simon Lerche, who trained under Jan Friis Mikkelsen at Tinggården and has also worked at Kadeau. Floor service is overseen by restaurant manager Morten Magh (formerly at venues such as Le Sommelier and AOC), who commands the room with a steady hand and extensive wine expertise. The first floor houses private event spaces, while the main dining room on the ground floor is modest in size, creating an intimate atmosphere. The cuisine can be described as neo-classical, focusing on local ingredients, with techniques firmly rooted in classical French cooking. Expect subtle modern twists, but rest assured there are no outlandish molecular gastronomy experiments. The meal begins with three delightful snacks before the first proper course: salted mackerel served with cucumber and caviar. This is followed by perfectly cooked, flavorful butter-poached cod, balanced by crispy cauliflower, salted capelin roe, and a sharp, tangy accent. The dish is beautifully paired with a glass of Schäfer-Fröhlich’s 2016 Schiefergestein Bockenauer Trocken Riesling from Nahe—crisp, mineral-driven, full-bodied, and complex. Next comes a succulent virgin lobster tail draped in lardo, which is served alongside an unusually delicate and creamy potato soup poured tableside, allowing the lardo to gently melt into it. The fried veal sweetbreads with mushrooms and an intense truffle sauce deliver rich umami and subtle sweetness, balanced by a welcome touch of freshness from red wood sorrel. Magh once again demonstrates his expertise with a confident wine pairing—an elegant Roagna Langhe Rosso 2013 that boasts nearly Barolo-like qualities. Following another exquisite course of pink-roasted moose fillet with sweet beetroot and tart blackcurrants, we opt for the cheese board, featuring a selection of five excellent French cheeses. For dessert, the menu features a lovely lemon-almond cake served with lemon sorbet and torched meringue, perfectly complemented by the wonderful Château Piada 2001 Sauternes, which carries delicate notes of saffron. For those abstaining from alcohol, a dedicated juice menu offers a curated selection of house-made beverages, all thoughtfully paired with the courses. Overall, it was an exceptionally enjoyable evening in the woods, marked by remarkable precision and flavor. The craftsmanship is top-notch, transforming seasonal local ingredients into masterclass dishes.
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