We spent Saturday night in Copenhagen as a stopover before our flight to Iceland the next morning. With one night to kill, we could have just taken it easy, had an early night…but where would be the fun in that? Instead, we booked dinner for two at Geranium.

The restaurant is attached to a sports stadium. We’d been sent an email a week before saying that due to an event at the stadium (I’d assumed something to do with sport), the restaurant recommended getting dropped off at a nearby park and walking the rest of the way.

Little did we know that the event was actually Beyonce and Jay-Z so the place was HEAVING with people. We found the entrance to the restaurant, where one of the staff was standing beside security guards at the VIP entrance for the concert, and we got shown through.

The restaurant was beautiful and we had a seat for two next to the kitchen (which is more the plating up area as the kitchen is behind another wall—probably where the chefs can shout and hurl knives at their underlings). There’s a nice view across the park and not into the stadium.

We handed over our puffy jackets at the entrance and chatted to the staff member who asked where we were from. The next five staff we met somehow magically knew we were Australians then, like it was beamed from one mind to another (though probably had a bit to do with our accent and them being well trained to know these small things to make immediate connections with guests). We waved at the Australian chef who was from Sydney who was standing next to the chef called Sydney.

Seated we were offered champagne from a trolley, the sommelier going through the three by-the-glass options and one half-bottle (a Bollinger rosé). The prices varied from expensive to more expensive. Glen chose his and then I asked for the Dom, excitedly asking for a bottle before realising my mistake and ‘changing’ it to a glass.

Then the performance began and we were treated to 16 courses, each one beautifully presented and delicious. We had our favourites along the way, making fun as we usually do of the whole us trying to be fancy thing. The American server was fun and made me feel at ease.

After the appetisers and mains, one of the staff took us for a tour of the cellar (overstuffed and needing expansion), through to the back kitchen and the ‘experimental’ kitchen with its private dining, and then to the back-back kitchen which has a view of the inside of the stadium. Unfortunately, we didn’t see Beyonce (who cares about Jay-Z?) but we could feel the bass throughout the whole meal.

The dishes had all come out in fairly rapid succession, the sun keeping us company through the roughly three hours that we were there. When it got close to 10:30 we were warned about getting taxis with the concert finishing soon so we hurriedly paid the bill and left the restaurant…only to walk out with every other damn person from the concert.

Buckley’s chance of getting a taxi, we walked with the thousands of people to the nearest station. (We didn’t have any money for the bus so it took us about 20–30 minutes to walk to the station.) There we crammed onto the platform and it was only through sheer dumb luck that the train, which was going to the airport, stopped with its doors right in front of us.

There was a lot of shouting from the guard and not everyone got on the train (flashes of what it would be like if you actually HAD to get on the train because of persecution made me anxious and we didn’t have to fear for our lives) but luckily we did. At the next stop it thinned out and within about 20 minutes we arrived at the hotel, getting in just after midnight.

Can’t recommend Geranium enough. It’s way up there with our experiences of Alinea and would 10/10 go again.

(You can read Glen’s hilarious and more detailed review here.)