Copenhagen & Malmo

Karriere is basically a house of gimmicks.

What’s unusual about Karriere?

We’re very focused on art and crazy gimmicks. Karriere is basically a house of gimmicks. For example, our bar moves from one side of the room to the other, in 40 cm. It takes 15 minutes to get there. We have to close it at night though because we can’t make cocktails with it shifting. We have 30 works of art throughout the building, for instance, there is a beer tap which we call the ‘heroin water fountain’. It just spouts water. All the lamps are made by an Icelandic designer, they only exist here. There’s a labyrinth in the bathroom. There’s no other place like us in Denmark.

What does the word Karriere mean?

The name is ironic - it means career. This is basically us laughing at ourselves; we’re not career or money focused at all.

What are the cocktails like?

All the drinks are specially designed by me. I might begin by making a sugar syrup and when I taste it I can feel what’s going on and what to add. I dream about cocktails. I've just started a blog, dedicated to the cocktails I make at Karriere.

What’s the crowd like here?

A real mix. People who are interested in art come and check us out. Other people come here for the thrill because we do all kinds of weird things, like dressing up half-naked. A few months ago we made all the waiters walk backwards when they were carrying the food and drink. A girl who worked behind the bar once brought in weird clothes and we all dressed up for a Halloween party. People come in here wearing crazy things, we see people here dressed up as pirates at the bar.

What’s the music like?

The music is very mixed, we play danceable music, pop, mash up, hard house. We basically play everything.

Do you serve food?

Yes, between 6 and 11pm during the weekend we serve up food. The two chefs were trained at Noma, so it is very serious food. We have a plantation and every Monday the chefs go and pick all their vegetables, everything is organic, very well prepared.

There’s no other place like us in Denmark.

Do people stay here or go on somewhere else?

Most of the people who come here stay the whole night here. It’s a nice transition, going from restaurant to a nightclub. We never wanted to just be a nightclub.

Fave thing about Copenhagen?

The people and the life here, we have everything. It’s not too big, not too dirty, you maintain a good balance of life. It’s a very mixed scene, there are a lot of really fun places.

Where else do you like to hang out?

Vega used to be a really great, in the old days upcoming artists would play there. It’s still good but it has become more mainstream. Jolene is good for a younger crowd.