A taste of Tuscany

The chef from Michelin-starred restaurant Era Ora, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2009, is now head chef of the owners' second Italian restaurant in Copenhagen, serving authentic and simple food from Tuscany, at prices which everyone can afford.

Imagine that you are in the midst of Copenhagen's Christianshavn area on the boisterous street Torvegade. You walk through a door, and suddenly you are in a typical Italian home in Tuscany.

Restaurant L'altro in Christianshavn is like a little piece of Italy. Here you can get rustic and simple Italian food that the chef, Alessandro Jacoponi, grew up on in Florence.

"It is in my blood. I have been in the kitchen since I was a little boy," says Alessandro Jacoponi, who together with Elvio Milleri also operates the Michelin-starred restaurant Era Ora in the same area of Copenhagen.

Reasonable prices

The food in L'altro is different than in Era Ora. In L'altro you get the simple and rustic food, mainly based on meat, which is typical of central Italy, including Tuscany and Umbria, where the two owners coming from.

The price is also a different story. A short menu costs DKK 340 and a long menu costs DKK 420. There is no menu card. Just a short and a long menu, served on large dishes. All to create the original Italian atmosphere.

The menus consist of many small dishes: various anti-pasti, soups, pasta dishes, a meat dish, cheese and dessert.

"I get my inspiration from my family and upbringing in Tuscany," says Alessandro about the food in L'altro, which preferably is organic.

Christianshavn has got soul

Alessandro trained as a chef in Italy and came to Denmark in 1987. Here he bought into the restaurant Era Ora, and was head chef, when the restaurant received its first Michelin star in 1996. At that time he lived directly above, where L'altro is today.

"The area of Christianshavn has got soul and charm," says Alessandro and highlights the old pubs in Wildersgade, including the Eiffel Bar and Fingerbøllet.

"And then there are the green areas, where there is peace and quiet, like in the country, although it is in the middle of Copenhagen," says Alessandro, who appreciates the diversity and the bustling life that unfolds just outside his restaurant.

25th anniversary menu at Era Ora

One of the world's best Italian wine list. A menu of 12 dishes. And a front door without a sign. Scandinavia's only Italian Michelin-starred restaurant, Era Ora, celebrates its 25th anniversary in October 2009.

Throughout October and November 2009, the restaurant's menu will thus be characterized by gastronomic flashbacks from Era Ora's most famous dishes.

Watch the film about Christianshavn

Era Ora

L'altro