Chef Mads Battefeld opens two focused dining destinations devoted to yakitori and tonkatsu, where precision, restraint, and ingredient quality set the tone.
On Øster Farimagsgade in Østerbro, a new Japanese dining destination has taken shape—discreet, focused, and rooted in craft rather than concept. The address is home to two closely related yet clearly distinct experiences: AOTORI, an eight-seat yakitori counter defined by precision and intimacy, and AKATON, a relaxed dining room devoted to the quietly perfect tonkatsu set.
The project marks a new chapter for chef and restaurateur Mads Battefeld, co-owner of Sushi Anaba, whose long-standing engagement with Japanese cuisine here finds a more distilled, personal form. Rather than scale or spectacle, the ambition lies in clarity: fewer dishes, sharper focus, and ingredients treated with care.
At the front of the restaurant sits AOTORI, an eight-seat counter where the distance between grill and guest is reduced to almost nothing. The kitchen is led by Japanese yakitori chef Daichi Suminoe, who works exclusively with chicken and vegetables grilled over binchotan charcoal.
Birds are sourced from carefully selected producers, allowing the menu to explore different cuts, textures, and expressions of flavor through timing and technique rather than embellishment. Each skewer is grilled and served one by one, creating a rhythm that feels both deliberate and unforced.
AOTORI serves a single set menu priced at DKK 650 per person, with optional add-ons. The counter is open Wednesday to Saturday, with limited seatings.
In the dining room at the back, AKATON offers a more casual counterpoint, centered on tonkatsu—breaded and deep-fried pork served as a traditional Japanese set with rice, miso soup, shredded cabbage, and house-made pickles.
The pork is sourced from producers such as Bertel Gris and Oxneholm Naturgris, chosen for flavor and fat quality. Instead of standard panko, the breading is made from dried organic sourdough bread, resulting in a lighter crust with greater depth. The tonkatsu set is priced at DKK 275, with optional sides and occasional daily specials.
AKATON welcomes both reservations and walk-in guests, reflecting its role as an everyday restaurant executed with uncommon care.
The restaurant occupies the former space of Kappo Andō, now carefully reworked into two rooms with distinct identities. Rather than erasing the past, the renovation refines the flow and atmosphere, allowing each concept to stand on its own while sharing a common philosophy.
While AOTORI and AKATON differ in formality and pace, they are guided by the same idea: simple Japanese dishes given the attention and respect they deserve.
“Yakitori and tonkatsu are dishes I return to again and again,” Battefeld says. “This was about letting each of them speak clearly, without distraction.”
The restaurant is overseen by Tobias Isaksen, formerly assistant head chef at IRIS in Norway, who leads both the kitchen and the overall guest experience.
AOTORI & AKATON
Øster Farimagsgade 93, 2100 Copenhagen
Instagram: @aotori.cph, @akaton.cph
