Logen at Ästad Vingård – the relaxed evening after ÄNG, with seriously delicious main courses and a good Chablis

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Atmosphere and setting

Logen is Ästad Vingård's classic bistro – the informal alternative to the tasting menu at ÄNG, and it sits on the same site, so you simply stroll over in the evening. We ate from 7.30pm to 10pm, and it was just so relaxed and informal, with a lovely atmosphere in the room.

So this is not just a footnote to the hotel – Logen is an experience in its own right. And it is precisely the contrast with ÄNG that makes it interesting. You can stay in the same place and have two very different dinners on two evenings. One long and choreographed, the other calm and classic.

The menu and the format

The dinner was built around four courses. There was a set snack to begin with, and after that we chose our own starter, main and dessert. So it is a classic bistro format, where you still get a full menu, but without the long choreography of a tasting menu – and that suited us well after the night before.

It has to be said that the menu is a little limited. Two evenings at Logen would be fine, but not fantastic – and not because anything let it down, it is simply more straightforward than ÄNG.

What we ate

The evening began with a small snack of mushrooms in a green broth, with bread and butter on the table. Among the starters at our table was lumpfish roe with crème fraîche, red onion, lemon and crisp potato rösti.

And then the main courses – clearly the highlight of the evening. There was glazed meat with potato gratin, shallots and tomatoes, and a dish of pak choi, croquettes and onion rings. Both were seriously delicious – really good bistro food. Full of flavour, uncomplicated and just right for the relaxed setting. To finish, a strawberry sorbet with fresh strawberries and cream.

Our clear memory is of well-executed food with an obvious focus on good produce – nothing trying to be ÄNG, and that is exactly the point.

The wine

With the food we drank a bottle of Chablis Montée de Tonnerre Premier Cru 2022 from Louis Jadot. It cost around 700 DKK, and dinner was included in the price of our stay, so the wine was the only thing we paid for that evening.

Service

The service was really good – calm and very friendly. No stress, no long waits, just kind people who let the evening flow as it should after a long day at the vineyard.

Price and level

Dinner at Logen was part of our stay, so we do not have a separate bill for it. The wine came to around 700 DKK for the bottle. So if you want to know what an evening at Logen costs as a walk-in guest, that is not something we can answer – but as part of the stay it worked really well.