White kimchi in Ming-fragment porcelain, gamtae seaweed with truffle-like notes, Kkwabaegi donuts beside Nordic greens - at Koan, Kristian Baumann makes Korea and Denmark share a plate.
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#Copenhagen #CopenhagenRestaurants #NordicCuisine #KoreanCuisine
We are profoundly honored to be included in the 2025 edition of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, alongside so many distinguished establishments and individuals whom we hold in the highest regard.⠀
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This recognition stands as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our entire team, and to the remarkable artisans, producers, and collaborators from Denmark and South Korea who contribute to our journey each day.⠀
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We extend our sincere thanks to our guests, families, and the global culinary community for your continued trust, encouragement, and belief in our vision.⠀
Big love to our house photographer @neveq ❤️
We are completely overwhelmed with the love and support we have received in being awarded with
🌟🌟 in the @michelinguide 2023 selection for the Nordic countries⠀
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Our team have been on a long journey for close to three years and we would like to send a special thank you to some of the people who made @koancph possible by opening their home to us. ⠀
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A very special THANK YOU to Lars Williams, Mark Emil Hermansen and the entire team @empiricalcph for welcoming us and allowing us to built the first pop-up. We will forever be grateful for your support. ⠀
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To Christian Puglisi we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for giving us the opportunity for our second pop-up at Restaurant Relæ and supporting our vision. You are a one of the most important pillars of Danish gastronomy. ⠀
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To our team - we are so proud of how resilient you have been and can’t wait to continue our journey together. ⠀
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To all our guests, friends and family who have supported us through the everything goes a loving thank you for believing in us.⠀
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And to all of our fantastic colleagues in the Nordic region, a very big congratulations on your incredible work. We are proud to be here with you all.
𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄: 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐇 – 𝐊𝐎𝐀𝐍.
It's unexpected. A few hundred meters on from Copenhagen's iconic Little Mermaid, two MICHELIN star Koan resides in a former storage space right on the sea.
Born in South Korea, softly-spoken chef and founder Kristian Bauman is, somehow, working his way back home. His cuisine is a quest: "Searching and finding my way back to my mother country and my birth country, South Korea."
The connections are deep. He takes the team for an annual trip to taste the flavors and experience the culture. And the result is a delicate dinner with diners sat close to the open kitchen.
"We want you to feel warmed. And, as a chef, the moment the food is finished, it's delivered to the guest – the time is as short as possible. I like that way of running service. It's a way that adds lots for the guest also. We can see the guests too – say someone drops a napkin or the guest on table one is thirsty," he says of his attention to every detail of the experience.
At times, the choreography of the team, the menu divided into three sections, with dishes like the pine-nut tofu caviar — an idealised sphere of caviar that opens satisfyingly to reveal a tofu centre — glimpse perfection. "But I don't strive for perfection," he shakes his head. "I strive for the team, for all of us, to be able to execute what we want to deliver." And they do it, unexpectedly, in a former storage space along the way of Kristian's long journey home.
We asked him to explain it all — in one dish.
At one counter, a chef is obsessively shaping caviar into perfect spheres – a signature dish at Kristian Baumann’s Koan. Copenhagen.
Outside, it’s still light. The blazingly sunny spring day feels perfect, too. Earlier, a hundred or so people were sunbathing along the deck at Paper Island, looking across to the street food market at Broens Gadekøkken where another hundred were contentedly eating mussels and open sandwiches at picnic tables in the sunshine.
Another dish arrives in a ‘reborn’ bowl by Korean artisan Lee Ki-jo. He takes broken pieces of Ming and Qing dynasty pots found in China and turns the fragments into perfectly imperfect, reborn white porcelain. Their patterns peek through the shards of white kimchi granita.
The next day – another hot spring day in Copenhagen with the sun flickering off the sea outside Koan like the glass shards of granita – Kristian assures us he’s not searching for perfection. “Anything in the 91–97% perfect range is acceptable to me,” he muses.
These beautiful days in Copenhagen must be in that range too.
@koancph@kristianbaumann PT1
On my fourth day in Copenhagen, I found myself returning to Koan once again. By my count, this was already my fifth visit.
You might wonder why I keep going back to the same restaurant. The answer has never been just about the food. Of course, Koan’s cooking speaks for itself; even a glance at the overall MEP and spatial layout is enough to understand the level at which they operate.
I’ve always believed that building a
relationship is actually quite simple. When you treat someone with genuine sincerity, they naturally respond in kind.
This is something I’ve felt particularly strongly in my interactions with Koan’s executive chef, Kristian. What began as a guest–chef relationship has, over time, become something I can now comfortably call a friendship. It wasn’t something consciously cultivated, but rather something that developed organically through repeated encounters.
In this day and age, I find myself increasingly convinced that the real competition between restaurants is no longer just about the food, but about relationships. Technology allows information to travel at incredible speed; a single reel or a tagged photo can be enough to bring people through the door. But just as easily, they might come once, take their photos, post them, and never return.
Human connection is different.
When a restaurant truly builds a relationship with its guests. When you’re not merely “served” but remembered and understood, that feeling stays with you. You carry it with you for a long time. It draws you back, again and again, and naturally leads you to share the place with others. What truly keeps me coming back is their sense of hospitality. It goes beyond service; it feels more like the bond you share with friends, something sincere, natural, and human.
More on the comment
#nom_koan
#nom_copenhagen
On day 3 of photographer @signebirck ’s Copenhagen round-up with FOUR Magazine, come with us to Koan, located at Langelinjekaj 5 in Copenhagen (Nearby The Iconic Little Mermaid Statue).
Koan by Chef-owner Kristian Baumann started as a series of pop-ups while searching for a permanent location across Copenhagen. “When we walked into this space, I turned to my wife Thitaya
and said, “This is it.” I could already see the interiors, how guests would move through the room. I even envisioned how it might grow in the future; a garden, a place that could evolve with us. Close to the city, yet just removed enough to feel like a destination”, says Kristian. Koan officially opened on April 4th, 2023 and within 10 weeks only it was awarded 2 Michelin stars.
Kristian’s culinary philosophy is deeply personal. Adopted from South Korea by Danish parents as a baby, he grew up in Denmark. After years in French and Nordic kitchens, he realized that the concept he was looking for, should be found within himself. He began paying closer attention to how differently he thought about food at home compared to in professional kitchens. That curiosity became Koan: a meeting between South Korea and Denmark, memory, feelings and seasonality. South Korean flavors interpreted through Danish ingredients. Not replication, but reflection. Designed to evoke emotion, whether you know South Korea intimately or are discovering it for the first time. Because flavor, at its core, is a universal language.
The space itself was essentially created by Kristian and Thitaya along with their partners, in collaboration with close friends, designer and craftsmen. A space of intention, honoring South Korean elements while blending them seamlessly with Danish and Nordic design. Lighting, natural materials, and details that feel quiet, yet emotionally present.
The focus is simple: to improve every single day. To build something they are proud of, while still leaving room for family and life beyond the restaurant.
@koancph@kristianbaumann@taya.thitaya@lotuslandagency
As the weather turns warmer we are excited to announce that reservations are now open through September 30th, with occasional Saturdays for now being April 11th, May 16th, June 13th and July 4th.⠀
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If your preferred date isn’t available, we encourage you to join our waitlist. You can make a reservation using the link below. ⠀
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We look forward to welcoming you soon. ⠀
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📸 @michaelrygaard
Three years ago today, we opened our doors at Langeliniekaj and what a journey it has been. It is hard to put into words how quickly time passes when you are surrounded by people who make every day worth showing up for.⠀
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To every guest who has walked through our doors, you are the reason we do what we do. We are endlessly grateful for your trust and loyalty.⠀
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To our team, past and present: your dedication, your craft and your spirit is woven into everything we have built. We salute each and every one of you.⠀
📸 @rasdan85
Thank you @falstaff.nordics for awarding our team with 99 points out of a total score of 100 in the Falstaff Restaurant Guide Nordics 2026. ⠀
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50/50 Food⠀
20/20 Service⠀
19/20 Wine⠀
10/10 Style⠀
+1 point since 2025⠀
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A special congratulations again to our sommelier Jeff whom have been voted RISING STAR OF THE YEAR (SERVICE) IN DENMARK⠀
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Falstaff Restaurant & Bistro Guide Nordics 2026⠀
