Review: Gorilla, Copenhagen – Nettavisen Mat.
We have been to this funky restaurant in Kødbyen in Copenhagen. Hers is our experience.
Restaurants come in all shapes and sizes. Some formal, with guests in dresses and relaxed jazz over the speakers. Some everyday people, with families and hungry children. Some more informal, with pub food and the roar of football between the games. But the fact that people almost stand on top of the tables and dance after a meal, I have never experienced that. Before now. See how we scored Gorilla at the bottom of the case.
Written by Oskar Bjørkum.
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The food at Gorilla
Let’s start with what was least exciting, the food. This may seem a little promising, but I can say that all in all the food was quite good. Here you can choose between a tasting menu of either 7 or 10 dishes. We went for 10 dishes.
The menu is varied and comes in the form of tapas. The dishes consisted of, among other things, scallops, beetroot, burrata, cod, roe deer, pasta, and much more. It was a good selection of vegetarian dishes and the 2 vegetarians in the company were more than happy with the quantity.
However, it is this variation that detracts from the dining experience the most. It doesn’t feel like there is any connection between the dish. The flavors didn’t feel complementary either, for example it was a small salt cod dish which was followed by an umami pasta dish with bits of sausage. This variation is perhaps also the reason why some of the dishes do not feel particularly defined, it seems like it is a bit much for the kitchen and to keep track of at times.
Having said that, I am again left with a positive impression of the food, and we got a lot of money for the money. We lost count of how many dishes we had gone through after the second round of food. When we were sure that we had all the dishes, we made a serious mistake, and the waiters came in a whole 4 more rounds. At least some of us can’t count to 10 (and I have a picture of more than 10 dishes).
Drink at Gorilla
We started the meal with some cocktails and she must be happy. Here you get good self-composed cocktails. In addition, you can order whole jugs of cocktails, and these come with fireworks on top – which is great. These light up the entire dark room and ensure that everyone follows where you are.
The wine pairing with the food was ok, but it seems that Copenhagen is undergoing an epidemic called organic natural wine (so it wasn’t the only place we experienced this). I myself say this is not a big problem, but it is nice to have the choice. So we didn’t have that here.
The atmosphere at Gorilla
The atmosphere of this place is something in itself. At the door was greeted by neon lights, blinds, a disco ball and of course a gorilla.
We had heard this about the restaurant in advance, and were prepared for: it’s a lot of noise here. There was something about walking through the room that reminded me a little of walking through a beer tent.
We were placed at the table and felt a high noise level in the form of chatter and music, but it was still possible to hold a conversation.
As the evening progressed, more and more people came, especially at the bar area. The first cocktail mugs with fireworks were put on, and gradually these mugs came on a conveyor belt to the tables around us. A kind of snowball effect. And the noise level increased in line with this.
Before we got the desserts, the restaurant had undergone a transformation from a small noisy restaurant to a nightclub that still served food. Loud, thundering music from the speakers (this was turned up during the course), dancing and loud chatter from all the tables.
I think the atmosphere, combined with the tapas and sharing menu concept, made for a very interesting restaurant experience. The meal started calmly, and as the evening grew older, the meals also became more complex. At the same time, the atmosphere in the room became social and lively. The focus was on the atmosphere, more than the food, and this allowed us to forgive some of the slightly lacking dishes.
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assessment 🦍
Mat: 7/10
God had to. Some things that worked, some things that didn’t work. We were full, and then we got 4 more dishes.
Environment: 10/10
Top atmosphere. Loud sound. Very unique place.
Price: 7/10
This is in Copenhagen, so of course it’s not a cheap place. Nevertheless, we got a lot of food, good drinks and a few wine recommendations for 4 people for around 4000 Norwegian kroner. Relatively good value for money.
Grade: 8/10
Conclusion
This is a place that I would recommend anyone to go, and from others to go. If you don’t like sound and want to go out to eat just for the sake of the food: steer clear – I mean it! Gorilla is not for you. It is also clear from the customer review that this restaurant is not for everyone. And that’s okay.
If, on the other hand, you are looking for an interesting evening where you can mingle, eat good food, have fun in nice company, and gradually extend the evening into the late hours of the night, then this is the right place to go. And for exactly that reason, it’s a good place that you probably won’t find in many other places in Copenhagen.
Watch our video from Gorilla here: