MINI CHEF

LEGO® House: The MINI CHEF Restaurant

If you plan to spend the whole day at the LEGO® House, you’re going to need to eat at some point. Bringing a lunch is an option or you can go out to one of the local eateries. The other option is to eat at one of the 3 locations within the LEGO® House itself. First off is BRICKACCINO. This is a quick cafe for grab and go food. They have beverages, smoothies, panninis, and some pre-made items ranging from baked goods to sandwiches. As you can see, the menu is brick built and the prices are in DKK so it is roughly 6.6 DKK to $1. So around $4.25 for an espresso. Is that any worse than Starbucks?

Then there is LE GORMET which is the classier, reservations required restaurant. It’s upstairs from the MINI CHEF and tucked away. I did not go there and I have not seen any reviews of the place. They offer a three course menu for 398 DKK (~$60) or a 6 course menu for 598 DKK (~$90).

Here’s BRICKACCINO and the brick built selection. Take note of the LEGO Movie reference with the $37 overpriced coffee. I’m not sure if you can actually order it or not.

Here’s BRICKACCINO and the brick built selection. Take note of the LEGO Movie reference with the $37 overpriced coffee. I’m not sure if you can actually order it or not.

Our goal was to hit the MINI CHEF restaurant on one of the days we were at the LEGO® House. We pulled our kiddos away from the Experience Zones and while they weren’t happy to go, they quickly changed their minds when they saw the place. I had watched a few reviews from the early days by Beyond the Brick and others and it seems like the draw is the experience, but not the food. So we went into it with that attitude. We went to the MINI CHEF right around noon and there was no line. We were seated right away which was a bonus for us.

The entrance to the restaurant.

The entrance to the restaurant.

The menu cover

The menu cover

Like the rest of the LEGO® House, the decorations are brick based. The light fixtures are covered in DUPLO® and the walls have some sets and MOCs on display.

DUPLO® light fixture

DUPLO® light fixture

Sets on display

Sets on display

So here’s the rundown… we sat down and our server came over. She got down to my 5-year old’s level and gave this story about how the minifigures work in the kitchen to make the food and they only read brick so you have to translate the menu for them. She also made sure to say that kids get to use a special yellow piece while adults just got more food (although as an adult, there is nothing stopping you from using the yellow piece). She also brought my almost 2-year old some DUPLO® to play with which made his day because Mom and Dad never give him toys at the table before a meal.

Each table has a screen. You open your bag of bricks, build what you want, and then insert your brick tray into the screen for it to be scanned. There is some animation on the screen that shows you the minifigures figuring out what you want. You get to verify your order is right (it didn’t always scan right the first time) and then after you say it is good to go, you order drinks.

After you finalize your order, you watch a short animation where the minifigures get your order and they start to put it all together. Then you get to watch and wait.

The screen and system where you get to place your order. My kiddo’s order is on the screen.

The screen and system where you get to place your order. My kiddo’s order is on the screen.

A few of part of the restaurant.

A few of part of the restaurant.

Here is the menu. Adult meals are just over $25 and kids meals are just under $15. We had a good mix of just about everything and I can honestly say that it was all pretty good. It had a good taste and seemed well prepared. My kiddos ate it which was also a bonus.

The drinks weren’t bad. For those of you who are American who have never been to Europe, ordering water is not an option unless you want to pay for mineral water. In the States, we’re used to ordering a free glass of tap water. In Europe, if you want water, you pay for mineral water (sparkling or not). We’ve found it’s often cheaper to just order something else. I got hot chocolate!

We had 4 people, 2 adults, 2 kids. $25 + $25 + $15 +$15 + drinks… do you see where this is going? It was a pretty pricey meal…

Here’s a picture of the menu.

Here’s a picture of the menu.

When your food is ready, your screen starts to play some animation. It shows the minifigures scrambling to get the food together and out the door on the conveyor belt. There is a slight delay and then you see your food come out in containers. It’s a rather slow travel, but it gets there.

Your food is pushed to you by Robert and Roberta or is it Robot and Robota… whatever. Either way, we got 4 containers and the robots pushed us the containers down each of the 4 rollers to you. We stacked them up and walked back to our tables.

In the meantime, the Robots do dances, high-five, and look around while waiting to push food out. They are fun to watch.

Your robot friends

Your robot friends

The food was way better than I expected, the experience was pretty cool, the service was great, kids get an exclusive MINI CHEF minifigure (that’s what the special yellow piece is), and you’re going to spend a lot on lunch. My family went to the LEGO® House for two days. We only hit the restaurant on one of the days. The second day we brought lunch and ate in the Square to save some money. It was definitely something I’m glad we got to do once, but now that I’ve experienced it, I don’t think I’ll go back to spend the money on food. I’d rather save the money to buy bricks.

Any other thoughts on the MINI CHEF restaurant?