Amass Restaurant: Matt Orlando's Approach to Zero Waste

At Amass Restaurant in Copenhagen, chef Matt Orlando is taking sustainability to the extreme with a zero-waste approach to fine dining.

Following his work at Noma as a sous chef and later chef de cuisine, Orlando opened Amass in 2013 in a former shipyard building.

The industrial space features tall ceilings, colorful murals, modern furniture, and an open kitchen.

Entering Amass Restaurant in Copenhagen — Inside Amass

The minimalist aesthetic of the Copenhagen restaurant complements his approach to cooking.

Sustainability practices at Amass include:

90 to 100 percent organic foods and drinks
95 percent of produce sourced from Danish providers
Meats acquired from providers practicing ethical butchery
Food waste is minimized by finding creative ways to use everything
Compositing what can't be cooked
Giving fats and oils to a local company for use in biofuel
Unused water is boiled for use washing floors and watering the on-site garden
Tracking and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

See also: World's Best Restaurants

Entering the restaurant requires walking up an exterior metal staircase and passing through a short hall before arriving at the main dining room below.

The passage allows for a more dramatic entry into Orlando's world. Seeing the space for the first time, I was reminded of my hometown of Austin, Texas.

View toward the open kitchen from my table — View toward the kitchen

It was exactly 6 p.m. when I arrived, as I wanted to dine early while natural light was still available.

I was seated facing the open kitchen, with my back toward one of the large windows looking out over the Amass Restaurant garden.

Amass offers two tasting menu options, and I opted for the larger one as it was the last night of my trip to Scandinavia.

My favorite dishes were the mackerel and hedgehog mushrooms. I'd put the overall dining experience on par with my dinner at Relae a few nights earlier.

Related: Birthday Lunch at Geranium

Yesterday's bread, potato skin emulsion, and cucumber

Buckwheat and fava tart, courgette, and watercress

Lemon cucumber, Indian gherkin, squid, and snack pepper — Lemon cucumber, Indian gherkin, squid, snack pepper

Fermented potato bread, aubergine, and kale — Fermented potato bread, aubergine, kale

Mackerel, haricot vert, parsley, and garden herbs at Amass Restaurant in Copenhagen. — Mackerel, haricot vert, parsley, garden herbs

Grilled corn, almond miso, salted plum corn broth, and grilled lemon — Grilled corn, almond miso, salted plum corn broth, grilled lemon

Hedgehog mushroom, sour cherry, hazelnut at Amass. — Hedgehog mushroom, sour cherry, hazelnut

Smoked chicken, walnut milk, chickpea miso, garden lettuce, wild mushroom

Fresh flower lower parfait, Amass honey, lemon pulp jam, yeasted crepe — Flower parfait, Amass honey, lemon pulp jam, yeasted crepe

Milk ice cream and raspberry, yogurt, and coffee at Amass Restaurant. — Milk ice cream and raspberry, yogurt, and coffee

Potato skin, dark chocolate, and toasted grain fudge

At the end of the meal, I asked if there was an Amass Restaurant menu I could take home, and they were kind enough to print one-off for me as a souvenir.

Plan Your Visit

Website: amassrestaurant.com
Address: Refshalevej 153, 1432 Copenhagen, Denmark
Dress code: None stated. I recommend smart casual.
Reservations: Recommended and accepted up to 60 days in advance — make a reservation
Cost: Lunch menu 695 DKK, Amass dinner menu 1295 DKK, The Full Package dinner menu 2345 DKK.

Plan Your Visit

About Dave Lee