Big ambitions in well known location: A new fish restaurant is opening in Aalborg

In the beginning of the year, we revealed that the restaurant Textur was moving out of their premises on Vesterbro 65 by the sculpture Gåsepigen (“the goose girl”) and relocating to Stjernepladsen where they have now opened a giant new restaurant.

Now their previous location will be home to another restaurant.

The 26-year old Emil Thaarup who has many years experience from numerous Michelin-winning restaurants in Copenhagen is opening a new ambitious fish restaurant with the simple name: Restaurant Emil.

Restaurant Emil will open in the middle of August, and the opening hours are Tuesday – Saturday from 17:30.

The menu offers the best from the world of fish and shellfish from the oceans around Denmark.

“I want to create a calm and informal atmosphere in the restaurant where the level of gastronomy is high.

We are going to play around with things in the kitchen and won’t have a specific style. I am going to use methods and techniques from both the Nordic, French, and Asian kitchen,” Emil explains.

The best ingredients ensure a sky-high level on the plate

The quality of the ingredients is secured, among other things, because of Emil’s father.

“He is a fish exporter in Strandby and chooses the best fish from auction every morning. And then it is the season, availability and quality of the individual ingredients that decide what we serve that night,” Emil reveals.

Thus, there won’t be a permanent menu card but the direction of the night is (somewhat) set.

You can choose between a Small Menu set at 350 kroner or a Big Menu at 550 kroner. It’ll be possible to buy both a wine and juice menu, and they will also offer classic cocktails.

Both menus consist of five snacks, and otherwise you can dive into the best fish and shellfish in either three and seven servings.

Aside from fish and shellfish, there’ll also be a big focus on the very best vegetables, which Emil will be buying from the organic farm Lille Østergaard.

“Are you a vegetarian or pescatarian then we can create menus that cater to your needs and with ingredients that are this good I can guarentee that you will still have a big taste experience.

Aside from this, you will also be able to choose a piece of meat for the main course. I won’t be serving beef but either game or pig,” Emil says.

A strong team to help lift the ambitions

Emil was trained here in town at the restaurant Applaus and his career has so far taken him to Frederikshavn and Copenhagen where he’s worked closely with the renowned chef Christoffer Sørensen at the Michelin-restaurant Studio.

Now he’s ready to set off on his own – but with a strong team behind him.

Frederik Østeraa and Dennis Juhl who are behind the successful restaurants Textur, Struktur, and Latur are a part of his adventure as mentors and works together with the team behind 2Takt and Restaurant STED1 in Frederikshavn.

“I have long had an ambition of opening my own place, and when I had the opportunity to work with such talented people and take over this amazing location, I just had to do it,” Emil explains.

If everything goes according to plan, Restaurant Emil will open in the middle of August. You can keep up with the restaurant on their Facebook-page.