{"id":673708,"date":"2026-11-03T13:28:17","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/673708\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T13:28:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:28:17","slug":"my-most-memorable-meal-13-courses-at-a-vegan-restaurant-in-copenhagen-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/673708\/","title":{"rendered":"My most memorable meal: 13 courses at a vegan restaurant in Copenhagen \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everybody has a cross to bear, and mine is being a vegetarian who doesn\u2019t like mushrooms.<\/p>\n

Before you ask, yes \u2013 it is hard to get up in the morning. Yet I persist. The human spirit is truly indomitable. <\/p>\n

More often than not, at whatever restaurant or wedding I\u2019m attending, the vegetarian option involves mushrooms in some capacity. This feels like a personal attack.<\/p>\n

In August, I made it all the way to Copenhagen in Denmark. On a previous visit, I contemplated going to a Michelin-hyped restaurant but decided not to \u2013 it seemed an overindulgence in an already expensive city. This time around I took the plunge.<\/p>\n

Ark came highly recommended \u2013 \u201cthe best meal I\u2019ve ever had\u201d, one friend said. The vegan restaurant has a Michelin Green Star (the accolade recognises innovation and sustainability but is being \u201cretired\u201d next month).<\/p>\n

I viewed the sample menu beforehand, so I knew what I was letting myself in for: two of the dishes revolved around mushrooms. Adapting the wise words of the philosopher Meat Loaf, I thought, \u201c11 out of 13 ain\u2019t bad\u201d. So I found myself at a corner table with an empty stomach and high expectations.<\/p>\n

Things started off promisingly with a tartlet combining kimchi, dill and pear. It was divine. A stream of beautifully presented dishes followed, featuring an array of vegetables \u2013 \u201cWhat do you mean that\u2019s a potato? It\u2019s a work of art!\u201d \u2013 and vegan caviar (it\u2019s seed-based, in case you were wondering). So far, so delicious. <\/p>\n

Around the midway point, I had to face my fear: lion\u2019s mane. A few bites validated my choice to live a fungi-free life. Mushrooms also featured in one of the \u201csweet\u201d dishes, but the less said about that the better. I would do anything for dessert, but I won\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n

Every other dish was genuinely gorgeous. Most of the wine pairings were light, but the waiter \u2013 who trained at Adare Manor in Co Limerick \u2013 warned me that an apple wine served with dessert was \u201cvery strong\u201d. Sceptical, I took a sip. I can only compare it to poit\u00edn \u2013 which, following that much food, was a bold move. <\/p>\n

After five hours, I left very full and very satisfied. My friend was right \u2013 it was the best meal I\u2019ve ever had, mushrooms aside.<\/p>\n

\"StarterStarter at Ark \"PotatoPotato dish at Ark <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Everybody has a cross to bear, and mine is being a vegetarian who doesn\u2019t like mushrooms. Before you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":673709,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[93,64500,61,60],"class_list":["post-673708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-food-month","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=673708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/673709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}