Restaurant Møf – Tatar, presence and an evening that will leave an impression on you

There's something special about walking into a place where your shoulders automatically drop. Where you quickly get the feeling that you're not just a guest, but invited in. That was exactly the feeling I had when I visited Restaurant Møf on the corner of Jægergårdsgade to experience their Tatar event.

Møf moved from Vesterbro Torv about a year ago, and the new place is built on three floors. You have a view of all the guests, but at the same time it feels very intimate. Michell himself calls it “Møf 2.0”. He explained that it was important that it wasn’t just the same restaurant in new premises, but a new chapter with room to geek out even more.

The staff makes the experience personal

Even though it is a Michelin restaurant, there is nothing solemn about the experience, quite the opposite. Michell and Kristine Wacher Rødbro have created a place where “consciousness” is the keyword. Everything has been thought of, from the chair you sit in, to the art on the walls, to the music in the speakers.
“We have taken everything we think has been great in the places we have worked and eaten, and boiled it down to Møf,” Michell said. And you can clearly feel it.

The staff is down to earth, welcoming and genuinely interested.

One of the waiters, who originally comes from Tønder, stopped by our table, and suddenly we were talking about life, the path into the industry, and finding your place in Aarhus.

We also quickly got into conversation with Emil, who is a sommelier, and who talked about the wines with enormous passion. The sous chef, who presented the food, did so with a calm and naturalness that made it easy to understand the dishes. You could tell that it wasn't just us he was like this with; it was the same warm approach to all guests. In fact, it felt more like visiting some really good friends than as a guest at a restaurant. And that connection was clear all the way around.

Tatar with a story

The menu this evening was all about Tatar. For me, it was also a journey into a new food experience. I haven't eaten much Tatar in my life, and that's exactly why it's one of the best things about going out to eat. That you challenge your own taste buds and experience something you wouldn't just make at home.

It makes sense that tartare is so prominent at Møf. Michell said that the dish was almost chosen for the menu by the guests themselves. When they opened 11 years ago, they had tartare on one of the first menus. When it disappeared again the following month, people started coming back and asking for it. Eventually, they let it stay. For Michell, tartare is a dish that reveals everything about the cuisine and the quality of the ingredients; it is simple, raw and honest.

A start with bubbles and flavor

We started with snacks and bubbles. And already here I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not usually into bubbles because they can often be very dry, but here they were real bubbles with fullness and depth. They played perfectly with the three small servings.

The oysters were strong and intense in flavor. They set the tone from the first bite. The small dishes of beetroot and tenderloin provided both crispness and depth, and together with the wine it was a really nice start.

Lobster and wine that changes

We had a white wine with the lobster that surprised me. It had a weight and power that you usually associate with red wine. And the most fascinating thing was how it changed the taste when you drank it with the food.

And it's not every day that you sit in a Michelin restaurant and eat with your fingers. But it makes sense here, especially with this dish. Grab five, small bites, and feel how the flavor unfolds.

The dish you won't forget

I was excited about the deer, and now hold on to an experience. It started out mild, but then the taste of gochujang mayonnaise and crispy chicken skin exploded on my tongue. The photographer, who was with me that night, was completely sold and it was the absolute favorite of the evening.

Michell said that one of the most important things for them is to give guests new perspectives on raw materials. Not to challenge for the sake of challenge, but to create little aha experiences. When you go home and think that you have tasted something you had not tried before, then they know that they have hit on the right spot.

A dessert that rounds it all off

The dessert put an end to an evening that had lasted almost four hours without it feeling like it. A heavy, intense chocolate cake on top of a creamy chocolate mousse. A chocolate bomb in just the right way.

For me, who loves dessert, it was the perfect ending.

More than just the food

Some of the things that made the biggest impression weren't just what was on the plate. It was the whole thing.

We talked to Emil about wine and how some dishes are actually created from a wine they fall in love with. Not the other way around. Michell also said that the menu sometimes comes about the other way around. A wine can inspire a dish. Or a producer can come up with a special ingredient, and then the kitchen starts to develop something from that.

It's a close collaboration between the kitchen and the wine cellar. And you can feel it.

Our photographer also shared how Tatar brought back memories from his childhood. His father always ordered it when they went out to eat. The classic version with raw meat, eggs and onions. So for him it was suddenly a connection back to something familiar.

And perhaps that's what food can do. It can open up old memories and create new memories for the future.

When we left, we stood for a moment on the corner of Jægergårdsgade. Not because we were missing anything. More because the evening just needed to settle in.

It was the first time that I really felt that I had not just tasted the food and wine, but actually understood them. What they could do and what they did to each other.

The plates had been removed almost without us noticing. The glasses were filled in peace and presence. The conversations had been allowed to grow. Both between us and with those behind the experience.

And maybe that's exactly what you take away from there. Not just the taste of a dish or a wine. But the feeling of having been somewhere where someone has really made an effort. Where you as a guest were seen and where you are allowed to be present.

An evening where not only was food eaten but also experiences were experienced.

Menu – Tatar event

Snacks
Oysters, tiger's milk, lemon drop
Beetroot, horseradish, crispy buckwheat
Tenderloin, crispbread, dried egg yolk

Norwegian Lobster
Potato bread, baked garlic, lardo, olive oil

North Sea fish
Grilled bell pepper, dried tomato, unripe peppers

Red deer
Gochujang mayonnaise, crispy chicken skin, sesame

Ox
Fresh truffle, Karl Johan mayonnaise, pickled beech nuts

Möf chocolate cake with extra chocolate

Snacks & bubbles, 5 servings, bread & butter, wine menu (5 glasses according to the menu), filtered water
1299

Wine menu

Crémant d'Alsace – Christophe Lindenlaub (2022)
40% Pinot Blanc, 40% Auxerrois, 20% Chardonnay

Peter Lauer – Mosel, Germany
100% Riesling, Fass 8, Kabinett Feinherb

Coteaux du Layon – Château de Passavant
100% Chenin Blanc

Maxime-François Laurent – ​​“Il Fait Soif” (2022)
100% Garnacha

Nilda Metodo Corino Case Corini (2019)
100% Barber

Quinta do Tedo Tawny Port – Reserva