Marchal sits inside Hotel d’Angleterre on Kongens Nytorv, one of the most iconic rooms in Copenhagen. It has held a Michelin star since 2014, the kitchen has changed hands more than once, and Alexander Baert now runs the pass.
We have eaten here many times, so this was not a first impression. It was more a check-in: where does Marchal stand now?
The lunch started well. A glass of Ruinart, followed by gougères with truffle and Comté. Four of them, warm, rich, melting, and gone too quickly. We shared them and wished we had ordered more.
Then came the chicken: poulet au vin jaune with pomme fondante and green peas. We both ordered it. The chicken itself was perfectly cooked, and the vin jaune sauce had balance, even if we wished for a little more depth.
The golden coating looked as if it might bring texture, but it did not add much. Not crisp, not memorable, more a coating than a crust.
The pomme fondante looked pretty, hollowed out and filled with peas, but it brought little flavour to the dish.
The real problem was temperature. The chicken was neither hot nor cold, but stuck in that middle no kitchen should send out, least of all one with a Michelin star.
A dish like this lives or dies on details. At Marchal, too many of them were slightly off.
Still, the kitchen feels in better shape than on our last visits. That is a feeling, not a verdict, but it is ours.
Service remains the old story at Marchal. We always watch the room: whether there is a rhythm to it, whether tables are being looked after, whether guests seem relaxed.
At Marchal, the floor has always been uneven, and maybe it always will be. Some of the staff are genuinely good. Others set the bottle down and leave you to pour. That suits us fine, but at this level many guests expect the refill, and they notice when it does not come.
Again, it is the small things. Marchal gets many of them right, but keeps missing enough of them to matter.
As a hotel restaurant, it is good. As a Michelin-starred lunch, it is expensive and not entirely convincing.
But the room is beautiful, the address is iconic, and for many people that will still be reason enough to go.
Not fully this time, at least not as a Michelin-starred lunch.
Probably. The room is beautiful, the address is iconic and we have a history with Marchal. But next time, with adjusted expectations.
