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Copenhagen has experienced a gastronomical revolution over the past decade. A rising interest in new Nordic cooking emphasizes using locally sourced raw materials and high-quality seasonal ingredients. Wild game, cured or smoked fish and meats, Limfjord oysters, Læsø langoustine, eel, and plaice are a few examples.
There's also been a revival of authentic Danish fare. Most such meals begin with sild, pickled herring of various flavors, served on rugbrød, a very dark and dense rye-based bread. This bread is also the basis for smørrebrød—open-face sandwiches piled high with various meats, vegetables, and condiments. For dinner, try flæskesteg, pork roast with a crispy rind, which is commonly served with rødkål, stewed red cabbage, and potatoes.
There are plenty of bistros serving moderately priced meals, and for inexpensive savory noshes in stylish surroundings, consider lingering in a café. Many restaurants offer fixed-priced meals with wine-pairing menus, and most restaurants require reservations. Many restaurants tack a surcharge of between 3.75% and 5.75% onto the bill for the use of foreign credit cards.
One of Copenhagen’s most charming cafés isn’t just located by the water but directly on it. This combined café, restaurant, and bar is floating on Christianshavn Kanal, giving it one of the best locations in the city. Stop by for coffee, light lunch, or dinner, or just a glass of wine. It’s closed in the fall and spring but usually open in December, when the enterprising owner adds a roof, walls, and a wood-burning stove to the platform.
It looks like an American diner, but the menu at this local favorite reads more like that of a French café. Stop by for coffee and croissants in the morning, a croque madame for lunch, or just to have a drink and people-watch.
This combined cafeteria, bar, and venue in an old carrier hall is one of the best places to go for a cheap but delicious breakfast, a glass of wine with a friend, an organic cup of coffee, or a light lunch or bigger dinner. The service is casual and friendly, and the dishes are creative and inexpensive despite their outstanding quality. After dinner the place becomes a popular bar.
This wine bar and restaurant is known for its tasty dinners and natural wines as well as for its sauna and bathing jetties, which are impossibly popular with Copenhageners on summer days. The restaurant looks a bit like a boat shed, and dinner is cooked in a small kitchen outdoors. From October to April the restaurant moves indoors and scales up the culinary ambitions with a tasting menu.
You could spend an entire day at this all-day café and restaurant, which seamlessly transforms from a cozy breakfast spot in the morning to a busy café at lunch and a bustling neo-brasserie at night.
When Noma opened a pop-up burger shack in its restaurant during the pandemic, people stood in line for hours, and guests and reviewers were quick to call it the world's best burger. Have a taste for yourself at this new, permanent burger restaurant, located on an iconic corner on a quay.
This excellent café, located on a busy street in the heart of the historic center, serves tasty sandwiches, strong coffee, green juices, and home-baked goods to an ever-growing crowd of Copenhageners. Everything's organic, and it's hard to find a better breakfast in Indre By.
Located on one of Christianshavn’s quiet backstreets, this café serves traditional Danish food, with plenty of aquavit to go with it. It’s been doing so for more than 150 years, and the beautiful setting perfectly matches the food.
Given its location in the middle of the Latin Quarter, surrounded by century-old university buildings, it makes sense that this combined café and bookstore is always packed with students and professors as well as other book lovers. The café serves good coffee and affordable, honest food. You can order everything from a roll with cheese to a blue-cheese burger; and the bookstore sells a good selection of old and new books.
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