Where to eat in Copenhagen

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Wondering where to eat in Copenhagen? Denmark’s capital is home to the ‘best chef in the world’ and 15 Michelin-starred restaurants. Bakeries are everywhere, cakes are a local religion and these perennially stylish people have even redesigned the hotdog. Expat food and travel writer Laura Hall recommends the best microbreweries, restaurants and bakeries to visit, from high-end to humble.

Home of the New Nordic Manifesto, the food philosophy that kick-started the trend for hyper-local sustainable cooking in 2004, the cobbled streets of Copenhagen offer rich pickings for food lovers. Now closed, legendary restaurant Noma is nevertheless one of the reasons for the city’s superlative culinary reputation: its former chefs have set up multiple food enterprises, blending Danish traditions with fine-dining food mastery. You’ll find buttery pastries filled with yuzu jam, yellow corn tacos piled high with Danish pork and refried beans, and high-end Japanese restaurants where super fresh local fish sit on beds of pure white sushi rice. It’s not all green foams and tweezered herbs, though: traditional Danish food is often just as wonderful. This contrast of high and low food culture makes the city a riot for food (and drink) lovers. Here’s my guide to the best of Denmark’s flavours.

The best bakeries

There’s a reason why Marcus Brooks, pastry chef in hit TV drama The Bear, came to train in Copenhagen: this city knows its pastries. Plot twist: delicate, flaky danish pastries are actually called viennese pastries here – thanks to a Danish chef who went to train in Vienna – and there are lots of different types. Try a frøsnapper, a crunchy twist sprinkled with poppy seeds, or a tebirkes, which features remonce (a kind of baked buttery marzipan) wrapped in a pastry coat decorated with more poppy seeds. A traditional danish with a custard centre is called a spandauer. For fans of sweet bakes, I’d suggest Københavns Bageri near the Carlsberg Museum; Juno the bakery near the sea in Arhusgade; and Andersen & Maillard, which has three branches in town.

For some time Copenhagen’s hottest bakery trend has been the bolle med ost or BMO – an upmarket version of a cheese roll. Bakeries compete to make the absolute best bread rolls with whipped butter and slices of cheese. There’s nowhere to hide with such a simple snack and quality shines through. For those without a sweet tooth, they’re a must. Atelier September does a seriously good one using comté. Sourdough lovers should head to Hart to pick up an excellent loaf to take home.

Danish cakes are a serious business involving mousses, mirror glazes, choux pastry and intricate piping. Try a traditional treat such as the othello, which combines a macaron base and chocolate icing with sponge layers, whipped cream and marzipan. At classic city-centre tearoom La Glace, which dates to 1870, try the sports cake, a lavish explosion of whipped cream, caramelised choux pastry and nuggets of nougat, with a coffee poured from a silver pot.

Sweet treats at La Glace. Photo: Daniel Rasmussen

Where (and what) to drink

Modern Danish beers are strong and packed with flavour, and there’s also a busy microbrewery scene led by legendary brewer Mikkeller. Try a rustic saison ale at Baghaven, a cool venue on the waterfront, or visit the more traditional Færgekroen beer hall in Tivoli Gardens, the city’s charming old-school amusement park.

Brus is a hotspot microbrewery with brushed pine tables and a changing menu of over 30 brews on tap. Keep yourself on an even keel by ordering off the snack menu – the pulled pork bao buns make use of Denmark’s fine food traditions, and there are lots of shareable mini bites for the table.

Kick back at Mikkeller. Photo: Daniel Rasmussen

Discover Danish open sandwiches

Smørrebrød, the Danish open sandwich, literally means ‘buttered bread’. That’s seriously underselling it, though… The reality is a tower of toppings combining salty and sweet flavours with crunchy and smooth textures, delicately balanced on a base of nutty brown rye bread. There’s an art to putting one together: silvery marinated herrings are classically paired with capers and onions; pink prawns join creamy mayo, micro herbs and bead-like caviar; and slabs of fried breaded fish are topped with remoulade and herbs.

For a traditional smørrebrød experience, head to Told & Snaps, a venerable canalside restaurant in colourful Nyhavn with historical pics and maritime memorabilia on the walls. Meanwhile the modern Aamanns Deli & Takeaway in Osterbro prides itself on its herring. If posting on Instagram is your thing, book a table at Selma – the creations there look fit for Copenhagen Fashion Week.

Special occasion restaurant

He’s regarded by many as the world’s best chef, and Rasmus Munk’s theatrical restaurant, two-Michelin-starred Alchemist, is a mind-blowing place to eat. During the course of a five-hour, 52-course dinner (you read that right), you might expect to encounter a cocktail made using bioluminescent jellyfish, freeze-dried butterflies and lamb’s brain in a dish that looks like a head. It will change your mind about what food can be. Book at least three months in advance and expect to pay over £500 per person for this life-changing meal.

“During a five-hour, 52-course dinner (you read that right), you might expect to encounter a cocktail made using bioluminescent jellyfish, freeze-dried butterflies and lamb’s brain in a dish that looks like a head”

The best quick bites

Danish street food is simple: a frankfurter-style sausage cooked on a grill in a tiny hut called a pølsevogn. There’s one on many a street corner. The traditional ‘roasted’ version comes in a white hotdog bun topped with crispy fried onions, gherkin slices, ketchup, remoulade and yellow mustard. The ‘french’ is the city’s great hotdog innovation, though, with the sausage encased in the middle of a piece of French bread so the ketchup can’t squirt out over your fingers. Try DØP, an organic sausage stand by the Round Tower where options include chicken, goat, vegetarian and spicy beef sausages.

Even though world-renowned restaurant Noma has closed for the time being, you can always find a taste of it at POPL Burger. This fast food joint was set up during the pandemic and is just across the water from central Nyhavn. Expect to chow down on a burger with unique fermented flavours, developed in Noma’s fermentation lab (with vegan options, too).

Where to stay

Andersen Hotel. Family-run budget boutique hotel in trendy Vesterbro. Doubles with organic buffet breakfast from £190.
Villa Copenhagen. Rooftop pool (below) and lively lobby bar in bold industrial conversion by station. Doubles from £235 room only.