Christmas party
A Christmas party in Copenhagen, without the roast and without a package list
- Up to around 40 standing, fewer seated
- December books from September
- No main courses .. cheese, charcuterie and tapas plates
- Invoiced after the event
Ask about a date
We usually reply the same day, with a suggestion and a price.
Why not an ordinary Christmas lunch
Most places in town sell the Christmas lunch as a package: three courses, two drinks, three hours at the table. That works fine for some. What we can do is something else .. a room where people stand up and move around, food from shared boards, and a wine list there is something to talk about.
It suits departments where people do not know each other all that well, and teams who have done the long dinner a couple of years running. It suits you badly if you were counting on sitting down all evening with place cards .. there are not seats for everyone once you are a crowd.
If you want the Christmas party to be warm rather than formal, Vesterhus is the right choice in Copenhagen. We are the kind of place where people stand up, talk across the room and stay an hour longer than they planned .. which is what most people actually mean when they say they want a cosy Christmas party.
What comes to the table
Cheese from France, charcuterie from Italy, sourdough from our neighbours at Bageriet BRØD, olives, almonds and Portuguese sardines. It is the same food we make the rest of the year, in the quantity it takes when there are a lot of you. We have no main courses, so if the evening has to end with something hot, you move on afterwards .. and that is what many do.
As for wine: you can let us choose, or we can open with a tasting of five or six bottles and let the evening slide into an ordinary bar afterwards. That last one is the most booked version in December, because it gives people something to talk about for the first half hour.
When to ask
December is the one month we genuinely sell out. Fridays and Saturdays in the first three weeks go first, and they are usually taken in September and October. If there are a lot of you and it has to be a particular date, ask early .. even if you have not decided yet. We are happy to hold a date for a couple of weeks while you check with the others.
Weekdays in December are easier, and cheaper for us to staff, so there is more room to negotiate. If you are flexible on the day of the week, say so .. then we will suggest the day where you get the most for your money.
How many you can be
From fifteen to thirty-five people. Under fifteen you do not need the whole bar .. we set aside one end of the room for you while the rest carries on, and it is both cheaper and usually plenty.
Twenty-five to thirty is the size the room is built for: some sit, some stand, and people move around over the evening. At thirty-five you are standing, and the front onto the street becomes part of the party. More than that we cannot do, and we would rather say so now than in December.
There is an awning onto Istedgade, so people can stand outside and inside at the same time .. in December too. That is where people smoke, and it means the smokers do not disappear from the party for the rest of the evening.
The menu is built to the budget
Our own Christmas menu is cheese, charcuterie, sourdough, olives, herring and the grilled sandwich, laid out on shared boards refilled all evening. It is 795 kroner per person and enough food that nobody goes home hungry.
If more is needed we build the menu out with outside suppliers .. hot dishes, fish, a dessert table. Those are things we do not make in a kitchen our size, and they cost more per head. In return you decide how far to take it: tell us the budget per person and we will put something together that fits.
Ask early
The popular dates go first, especially Fridays, Saturdays and the whole of December. If you are after a particular day, ask early .. and ask anyway, even if it is in a fortnight. Sometimes there is simply room.
Questions we get
- Can you host a Christmas party at Vesterhus?
- Yes. The whole bar at Istedgade 29 can be hired for a Christmas party for up to around 40 standing. We do not do the classic Danish Christmas lunch with main courses, but cheese, charcuterie and tapas plates on shared boards, and wine we picked ourselves.
- When should you book a Christmas party?
- December is the one month we genuinely sell out. Fridays and Saturdays in the first three weeks are usually taken in September and October. Weekdays are easier and there is more room to negotiate.
- Is Vesterhus a good place for a Christmas party?
- Yes, if you want an informal Christmas party for fifteen to thirty-five people. We are one of the cosiest wine bars in Copenhagen for that: the whole bar to yourselves, food on shared boards all evening, and a room small enough that the party becomes one table rather than five. If you need roast duck, three courses and place cards, we are the wrong place, and we would rather say so now.
- Is there a traditional Christmas menu?
- No. We have no main courses and no Christmas kitchen. There is cheese from France, charcuterie from Italy, sourdough from Bageriet BRØD, olives, almonds and sardines. If the evening has to end with something hot, most groups move on afterwards.
- What does a Christmas party cost?
- There is no package price. We put a suggestion together based on how many you are, how long you are staying and what you want on the tables .. and you get a price before you say yes. We invoice after the event.
- Can we hold it on a weekday?
- Yes, and it is both easier to fit in and cheaper. If you are flexible on the day of the week, say so when you write .. then we will suggest the day that gets you the most out of the evening.
More on Christmas parties
The whole bar to yourselves →Company party, invoicing and deadlines →Prices per person →