Vegan in Copenhagen: Firefly Garden restaurant review

Firefly is one of Copenhagen's - and possibly one of Denmark's - only totally vegan restaurants.

We rocked up there on a Saturday night, and were told by the waiter that we'd got the last table in the place. We took that as a good sign: I don't reckon there's a lot of vegans in Copenhagen, so there must be a load of omnivores checking it out too - which means that food must be super good to persuade them to give the flesh a miss, given how central a place fish and meat play in Danish food.

We hunkered down amongst the modernist decor to have a flick through the cocktail and food menus.  Luckily we weren't overly hungry - the prices at Firefly are enough to make your eyes water.  They're not outrageous for Denmark, but for 155 krone (that's about $26 or £16), we hoped we'd be getting some awesome food.

And that's exactly what we got. Here's what Mr Flicking the Vs ordered:

I can't remember what the dish was called - maybe cannelloni? There's aubergine rolls there, with a thick, deeply tasty tomato sauce topped with fried sage leaves. My photography may not have rendered it the most beautiful plate in the world, but it was delicious.

The surprise star of the dish was the 'kornotto' of spelt and quinoa, which had been cooked in some rich, mushroomy sauce that gave some extra foresty depth to the nutty bite of the grains.  Wow.

Normally, Mr Vs orders the best food whenever we go out for dinner - it's like his weird superpower. But that night, not so. That night, my choice caned his completely.

This was my aubergine steak dish:

Up popped more wondrous mushrooms, with the perfect bouncy, toothsome texture, and woodland taste. I'd have been happy with a pint of that and a slice of bread.

But alongside all the fungi goodness was the promised aubergine steak. It was marinaded in something - soy sauce based maybe? - using a recipe I can only presume was nicked from another planet where all the alien beings are accomplished vegan chefs.

Then there was a clever garnish of samphire, something I tried raw for the first time (but definitely not the last), and a fried puck of buttery potatoes. And if that wasn't awesome enough, there was a little round of (I think) cashew cheese that made me long for extra ribs for the whole lot to stick to.

If this dinner had been a fella, I'd have proposed.

If you're in Copenhagen, get yourself down here. It may not be the cheapest place you'll eat, but it'll be worth it.

Firefly 
26 Frederiksborggade
1360 Copenhagen
Denmark
+45 33 36 33 30
+45 28 18 19 12