Brdr. Price - Food lovers with the heart in the right place

It's all about homeliness, atmosphere, and personality. The best ingredients and unique settings make up the framework for the joy of a good meal. 

It doesn't have to be pretentious or complicated, as long as the craft and the quality is top-notch. From the beginning the Brdr. Price restaurants have been about creating a space where the joy of food becomes the center for closeness and good experiences. Our shared passions and our tireless playfulness have long formed the basis for a close collaboration between our two companies that still continues today. We went to visit Brdr. Price to hear more about what drives their work and how our aquavits and gin help to complete the good meal. In a way, it was always in the cards for brothers Adam and James to open a restaurant. Their father, the actor John Price, was very passionate about gastronomy and worked alongside his acting as a food columnist as well as being a popular TV chef – a trade his two sons continued when they revived their father's old TV program 'Spise med Price' in 2008.

‍However, it was not the restaurant industry that initially became the career path for the two brothers. James Price trained as a composer and conductor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. Adam Price pursued a career as a food critic and screenwriter, most famously screenwriting the Danish TV series Borgen. All the time, however, they carried the love of cooking and the good meal in their hearts, just as the dream of one day sharing this passion with the rest of Denmark was always nesting somewhere in their minds.

‍In 2009, the dream was finally realized when Adam and James, together with a business partner, opened the doors to a Danish bistro with a French touch in the beautiful old YMCA premises in Rosenborggade, with the now well-known name Brdr. Price flying on the large banner on the building's facade.

MORE THAN A MEAL

But now that the dream was being realized, what kind of restaurant did the two brothers want to create? It was to be a restaurant where good craftsmanship, good ingredients, and the joy of good eating were in focus. The philosophy was and still is today that good food does not have to be complicated or pretentious. As long as the ingredients and craftsmanship are of the highest quality, the simple can be just as good as the sophisticated. In addition, Brdr. Price is also about creating a holistic experience that reflects the underlying value

To visit a Brdr. Price restaurant must be an experience of being invited into the brothers' home. It's about homeliness, atmosphere, and personality. Therefore, the premises, and not least the decor, play a big role in the overall restaurant experience.”

- Brian Morell. Operations Manager at Brdr. Price

Price describes it when we visit him in Rosenborggade. The large dining hall, which is set up in the YMCA's old gymnasium, is adorned with art from Adam and James' own collection, which hangs side by side with impressive hunting trophies that the two brothers have shot themselves. On the ground floor, paintings are flanked by posters for the 'after-work talks', which the restaurant also hosts.

We want to be more than just a restaurant. That is why we invite exciting cultural personalities to speak here so that the restaurant also becomes a forum for the exchange of culture and ideas. Again, Brdr. Price must be more than just what is on the plate. It must be a space for experiences with a good meal at the centre.”

- Brian Morell. Operations Manager at Brdr. Price

BROTHERS FOR THE WHOLE OF DENMARK

The same high requirements for both premises and interior design have been applied as Brdr. Price expanded the business with more restaurants. Today there are five Brdr. Price restaurants across Denmark, all of which, in their own way, both show the brothers' personalities as well as the locations' own history.

‍In Aalborg, a beautiful restaurant space has been set up in Brix's Gård at C.W. Obel's Square, which for many years functioned as a tobacco outlet for the largest tobacco factory in the Nordics founded by Carl Winter Obel, after whom the square is also named.

‍In Herning, the decor is inspired by a genuine French brasserie atmosphere with theatre posters from the Price family on the walls and velour on the bar. A deer trophy from the local forest adorns the wall, just as artisan Povl Kjer's iconic 'Rokkefår' has been integrated into the interior.

‍In Lyngby, a more modern and sharp line has been laid, where simplistic classic Danish design creates the framework for the well-known Price dining experience.

‍Finally, Brdr. Price also runs a restaurant in the heart of Tivoli. Being the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, the Price family's association with Tivoli stretches back through the generations. Ever since the first Price came to Denmark from England back in 1802, the family has been involved in theatre, music, and circus - both in Denmark and as a travelling theatre troupe in the rest of Europe. From the very beginning, When Tivoli first opened in 1834, it was also with some Prices' on board who helped to establish the Pantomime Theatre, which still to this day puts on performances.

‍Therefore, it was obvious for the brothers to seize the opportunity to return to the family's old pastures when it presented itself. The interior also reflects the history of the theatre family with countless old theatre posters from all over Europe - most prominently a copy of the French painter Renoir's painting of great-grandfather Price dressed in his white clown costume.

But even though decor and personality are important at Brdr. Price, it is still a good meal that is at the centre. The menu offers rustic and tasty Danish food with French inspiration, where it is not the number of complicated servings, but the quality of the individual ingredients that are paramount.

‍You could call it good relatable food. For us, it's not about how extravagant and edgy you can make it, but instead about showing how simple good food can be if the quality is right.

- Brian Morell. Operations Manager at Brdr. Price

‍At Brdr. Price quality also means locality and sustainability. The ingredients must be organic as far as possible, the fish must be caught in local waters, the animals must have lived good lives, and the produce must be locally grown and in season. It is that simple, and this is also where we at Copenhagen Distillery come into the picture.

‍"Since it is a virtue of ours to serve sustainable, local produce, it also made sense for us that the spirits we use in the bar are local and organic. Here the choice of Copenhagen Distillery was completely obvious, especially because your products also cultivate the classic Danish flavours – both in your gin and your aquavit.”

- Brian Morell. Operations Manager at Brdr. Price

Together with Brdr. Price we have created a special cocktail menu for their restaurants, which, like the dining menu, cultivates high quality in simple and easily accessible cocktails. You can for instance enjoy our Orange Gin in a Copenhagen Negroni, a Price GT with Angelica Gin and cucumber or you can treat yourself to a refreshing Nordic Paloma with Dill Anise Aquavit and grapefruit.

We think it's super exciting to present our guests with aquavit cocktails. After all, it is not a spirit you usually associate with cocktails, and some may have a slightly strained relationship with it. But just as we want to show that traditional Danish food can also be gourmet, we also want to show that aquavit can be a luxury spirit – for example by using it in cocktails.

- Brian Morell. Operations Manager at Brdr. Price

‍Another way in which the aquavit is profiled is in the dedicated aquavit card, which is added to the menu at Christmas time. Here you find a wide range of Danish aquavits, and Copenhagen Distillery has got its very own full page in the menu. You can dabble in everything from our classic Dill Anise to the modern Long Pepper as well as our special Christmas snaps, which are available in both a clear version and a version that has matured in both sherry and port casks.

‍If you find it difficult to choose, you can order an aquavit tasting along with the sumptuous Christmas menu, where our different aquavits are paired with each individual serving.

KINSHIP AND COOPERATION

Brdr. Price was among our very first partners when we opened back in 2014. This was partly because our products fit into their menus, but it is more than just the spirits that bind us together.

‍Adam and James are not trained chefs, just as it was probably not written in the stars for our founders to become distillers either. In both cases, it has been the love of the profession, and the desire to share the passion and vision with the world, that ultimately made the outcome.

‍As is the case with Copenhagen Distillery, Brdr. Price is about showing people how simplicity and creativity together with good ingredients and craftsmanship can become experiences of the very highest quality. It is also about sharing the enthusiasm and love for a good meal and a good glass and turning our guests into more curious and critical consumers. Adam and James have become a kind of ‘ambassadors’ for the joy of cooking through their TV programs, where they inspire and qualify the population to cook better meals.

‍In the same way, through our tastings and our articles, we try to teach people about the craft of spirits and hopefully make them more aware of what they like and why.

‍The desire to contribute to a wider culture than just our own profession is also something our two companies have in common. Like Brdr. Price, we also open our doors and invite the people in - whether for talks, tastings, or concerts. Like the brothers, we also have creativity in our blood and want to express it in as many ways as possible.

‍Finally, the focus on sustainability is also a core value for both parties. It is not enough just to do well – you must also do something good.

‍We have the ambition to be as sustainable as possible in our choice of ingredients, but we also see an opportunity to contribute to positive development by continuously entering into various collaborations with Danish charities. And then there is the direct way in which we can contribute by simply conveying the joy of life that Brdr. Price builds on. If we can send 100 happy, smiling guests out into the world after having dinner with us, then perhaps there is a chance that they will take that joy with them and share it with even more people. I usually say to our staff that the good world might as well start here with us.

- Brian Morell. Operations Manager at Brdr. Price

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We concur and recommend visiting one of Brdr. Price’s fantastic restaurants and enjoy a good glass with a good meal.