Popl | Copenhagen
NOMA-TTER WHAT, THESE WERE MEDIOCRE
It might help your PR campaign to push the narrative of being a NOMA-partner restaurant, but when you start yelling from the rooftops you're also sticking your neck out for some serious criticism. Any other burger shop would be judged on their merits, but someone associated with such a monster in the international food scene better deliver.
Do Popl? Absolutely not.
Lets ignore the glaring prices for a second and look at the menu. Ketchup. Ketchup. $1 for a tiny little plastic tub. Excessive. Surely ketchup is something you don't pay for at a burger restaurant when you're already parting with close to THIRTY EURO for a burger, fries and (in my case) a water. Thirty Euro can buy you a meal at a michelin star restaurant.
Now, back to what's most important, the food. If you are expecting tourists and locals alike to flock to your shores and pay double what a normal burger place charges, then you better have figured out some savant way to make this the most delicious experience on earth: sea cucumber tears, kelp resonance, cows raised by high-class escorts.
To begin with the positives, the french fries were great. Crispy, fluffy inside, well seasoned. The lady had also managed to serve both my friends and my food arrived a full 15 minutes later, but she did appologise and offer me a free cookie. It's the sign of a place that is paying attention to do these small pleasantries.
However, the most important thing here, the reason everyone comes, is the burger. In short it was catastrophic. Barely a sliver of pink left in the meat, completely grey and dry, not even seasoned correctly, an aggressive "mustard-forward" secret sauce, melty cheese and the worst culprit of all: The Bun.
Leaving aside the painfully poor judgement in Bun-Patty ratio, the bread was overly dry, far too thick and ate stodgy. One bite and the resounding taste was of barren bread, not helped along by the fact the meat too was dry. The only component adding some moisture was the sauce, but the mustard was overpowering.
I tried removing the top half of the bun but that only highlighted how over-cooked the meat was and I gave up and let a 15 Euro cheeseburger sit and cool while I ate the fries and drank sips of my water to rehydrate my mouth.
