Scan Magazine  |  Conference of the Month  |  Norway

Restaurant of the Month, Denmark

A Nordic-Italian dream A commitment to quality and love of the Nordic and Italian kitchens make the backbone of the young Copenhagen restaurant that has wowed audiences and critics alike since its opening earlier this year. But this is not your typical fine-dining experience. Restaurant Brace is a place where you can dine like a king – while still feeling at home.

of the restaurant wanted it to be: an expression of everything they liked, their accumulated knowledge and work experience – a foundation from which they could express their shared passion.

By Linnea Dunne  |  Photos: Restaurant Brace

Waltemath met Nicola Fanetti at Era Ora, a Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant where she was working as a logistics manager and he was the head chef. She had come to Denmark from Brazil to study biochemistry – “my parallel passion”, she laughs – while he, an Italian native, had come specifically to work at the renowned restaurant. The pair quickly hit it off, and a shared vision took shape.

“We did everything ourselves – cleaning the restaurant, picking weeds from the garden, contacting suppliers, carrying chairs, going to Italy for wine tastings and so on. Many fine-dining restaurants would have a group of investors behind them, but we don’t even have an accountant, no secretary – it’s just me and Nicola. It was a big dream and it would 116  |  Issue 101  |  June 2017

take a lot of work, but we went for it,” says Ursula Waltemath, co-founder of Restaurant Brace. The name, Brace, is a literal interpretation of the word as used in a construction context; it is what holds something together, the very foundation of a build. That was exactly what the co-founders