Old school that works in Åbogade

Reviewed by: Line Marie Slot and Josefine Mølbjerg Dueholm, both sixth semester political science students. As told to: Sara Rosenkilde Kristiansen 

Food: We arrive at the Åbogade cafeteria just as the staff are bringing the food in – and we like what we see! Everything looks fresh and appealing, so we quickly get to work. Josefine chooses the cafeteria's home-made open rye bread sandwiches and also turns her attention to the salad bar. Line Marie goes for the dish of the day, where the choice is between a veggie burger or a pulled pork burger. She chooses the slow-cooked pork with a sturdy side dish of coleslaw. You can make your own burger and there are different toppings and dips to choose from, which is all very well, but the problem is that there are no signs anywhere, meaning we have to ask the staff what the different things are. The burger ends up with pumpkin puree, semidried tomatoes and pickled cauliflower leaves. We also fill our trays with a coconut macaroon, a brownie, coffee, a smoothie and a buttermilk.

The cafeteria’s old school open sandwiches are a success. The staff explain that everything is homemade. The mayonnaise in the both the egg and the potato sandwiches, along with the chopped and deep-fried onions in the roast beef version, are all prepared in the cafeteria’s kitchen. In addition, the roast beef has been given a little twist of deep-fried cabbage and pickled pumpkin. The cafeteria has succeeded in updating the traditional Danish open sandwiches and creating a real luxury version – although Josefine would have liked to see some salt flakes as the icing on the cake, or at least on the cafeteria's rye bread sandwiches.

The salad bar also needs to be tested. The humus has added chili and tastes good without being too oily. Both the salad bar and the other dishes demonstrate that the cafeteria fully utilises their ingredients so they can avoid wasting food, and they do convincingly, for example by toasting yesterday’s bread and using it in the salad, and by using the stem of the broccoli. The salad bar looks inspiring and has some really good salads.

The burger has everything you could wish for and tastes really good. Being able to make your own burger is great, as it means there is something for everyone. However, Line Marie feels her burger is a little lukewarm.

Even though we’ve already eaten well, we’re still going to round off our meal with coffee and cake. The coffee is not very exciting, which is a minus overall. Added to which, you can only get long-life milk and we can’t even find any proper cups. The cake selection is not big and matches the cafeteria’s old school style. The brownie is wonderfully soggy and buttery, and it has walnuts in it, which we like to see. The cafeteria’s coconut macaroon is well made, and even though the chocolate is a bit meagre, it’s good and classically-made.

Price: We pay DKK 184 for everything. That’s not something you would do every day, but the prices for the different dishes are not unreasonable. There is free water and a salad costs DKK 28, which is a fair price for lunch.

Atmosphere: The cafeteria is very modern and bright, thought the acoustics are unfortunately poor. The cafeteria actually resembles a workplace, which makes it a little less cosy. On the other hand, there are plenty of people in the cafeteria, which gives a really good atmosphere.

Conclusion: The cafeteria deserves some praise for utilising the ingredients so deliciously and avoiding wasting food in such a sympathetic and well-functioning manner. The food in the cafeteria is presented really well in attractive bowls, so you can see the staff have made an effort. We’re also really enthusiastic about the old school style and even though the cafeteria doesn’t have the largest selection, having a slightly more limited choice can be a good thing. We love the open sandwiches, even though they could have done with that final sprinkling of salt to make them completely perfect.

Translated by Peter Lambourne