“Let’s exit for Danish meals” isn’t one thing you typically hear, however Denmark is definitely a foodie vacation spot. The meals in Copenhagen is steeped in custom and historical past, however for the final decade, it’s been present process a revolution.
Revolutionary cooks create trendy dishes with historical substances and fuse cuisines throughout cultures whereas embracing sustainability. Copenhagen has essentially the most Michelin Stars of any metropolis in Scandinavia however maintains a vibrant avenue meals scene. Even some prime restaurateurs have opened meals vehicles.
I’ve lived in Denmark since 2017 and though I’m not Danish, I’ve discovered loads in regards to the meals in Copenhagen. I’ve been to numerous eating places each outdated and new, sampled avenue meals, and have even been invited to conventional picnics and Christmas dinners by my Danish pals.
Denmark Meals Tradition and Historical past
Geography is future, and the meals in Copenhagen really displays this.
Denmark is a small, flat nation in Northern Europe with no level greater than 50 km from the ocean. The Danish realm, now and traditionally, stretches north to the Arctic — additional shaping its meals.
Denmark is a rustic of fascinating contradictions. It’s a progressive nation with deep traditions.It’s a collectivist society, however folks preserve few, but deep relationships. It’s a homogeneous tradition comprised of people who find themselves pure explorers.
All of which is mirrored within the meals.
Conventional Danish Delicacies
Traditionally, Denmark was a rustic of small farms and fishing villages. Danes salted and cured meals to outlive the lengthy winters. Fish was the primary protein, particularly from the Baltic or North seas.
Dietary staples included root greens and hearty grains that may thrive in a brief rising season. Right now, conventional Danish meals like pickled herring, cured beetroot, and rye bread come from the local weather and geography of Denmark.
Within the nineteenth century, three main adjustments got here that had main impacts on the meals of Denmark.
First, inhabitants progress required extra meals and extra farms. Farmers reclaimed hilly land that would not assist grains and now planted potatoes, which thrived within the rocky soil.
Second, will increase in international grain manufacturing made small Danish farms unable to compete. Due to this, farmers shifted to elevating livestock like dairy cows and pigs.
Third, the industrialization of agriculture pressured small farms to develop cooperatives, resulting in the development of dairies and slaughterhouses.
The Danish nationwide dish of stegt flæsk, fried pork stomach, represents all three components of those adjustments.
Trendy manufacturers like Arla Meals, Lurpak butter, and Danish Crown bacon all have their origins on this interval. In Copenhagen, most of the former slaughterhouses at the moment are high-end eating places within the metropolis’s common Meat Packing neighborhood.
The meals in Copenhagen brilliantly displays Denmark’s geography and its historical past with a watch on innovation and the longer term.
Trendy Danish Meals in Copenhagen
In 2004, Danish cooks led a motion to fuse the historic and conventional meals with trendy culinary strategies. They developed the New Nordic Delicacies.
New Nordic focuses on native and seasonal meals from pure and sustainable agriculture. The defining expertise of a New Nordic meal is the flavour of core substances with a easy, but lovely presentation.
Essentially the most well-known instance of this motion is the restaurant Noma, 5 instances named the “finest restaurant on this planet”. Many take into account Noma because the vanguard of the New Nordic motion.
Noma is priced out of attain for many guests to Copenhagen, and sadly is slated to shut for good in 2024, however there are dozens of Michelin star and rated New Nordic eating places in Copenhagen.
Every one affords unimaginable examples of this contemporary Danish delicacies.
10 Tasty Meals to Eat in Copenhagen
Whereas there are lots of wonderful meals to strive in your journey to Copenhagen, these are the ten finest! Learn on for my record of scrumptious meals to strive in Copenhagen, based mostly on my expertise dwelling (and consuming, and ingesting) in Denmark since 2017.
In Denmark, you’ll see how custom and innovation come collectively to create an incredible culinary journey. Take pleasure in my suggestions on issues to eat in Copenhagen!
1. Expertise an Reasonably priced New Nordic Meal
Out of all of the issues to eat in Copenhagen, you completely want the expertise of a New Nordic meal.
The delicacies originated at Noma, however they’re booked months upfront and the meal can value over $1,000 per couple. Fortunately, there are budget-friendly options for a New Nordic dinner.
New Nordic eating places can have a hard and fast or set menu, and you can not customise or alter the dishes.
Your solely actual selection is if you want an appetizer, often known as chef’s snacks, and what to drink. It’s frequent for every course to have an accompanying wine choice.
Lots of the dishes will include unfamiliar herbs, greens, and seeds. You will have dishes with celeriac juice, dill, smoked cream cheese, ramsons, or lingonberry — simply go along with it. I’ve had many who had been considerably unusual, however nothing even approaching dangerous.
These native substances create the flavours that outline New Nordic delicacies, even when they stretch your pallet.
To pattern New Nordic meals in Copenhagen, strive Restaurant Meille. They’ve an outstanding operation headed by former Noma chef, Mads Magnusson.
Restaurant Meille serves reasonably priced luxurious — you’ll be able to have a 5-course meal at $60, and also you received’t neglect the expertise.
2. Julefrokost, the Danish Christmas Meal
Autumn in Europe means altering leaves but additionally adjustments within the menu objects. Beginning within the fall, Restaurant Puk serves Julefrokost, the standard Danish Christmas meal.
Come hungry!
The Julefrokost consists of a curried herring with egg, onion and capers, or pickled herring with dill bitter cream. Subsequent you strive smoked salmon with apple and horseradish, shrimp with egg, and deep-fried plaice with remoulade.
Then you definately’ll dine on a Danish pate, roasted duck with gravy, roasted pork with crimson cabbage and the Christmas sausage.
Dessert is a Danish rice pudding with cherry sauce and a shot of Akvavit, a standard Danish liqueur.
Restaurant Puk is housed in a historic constructing, the previous Royal Brewhouse, which dates again to 1539. A number of Danish kings have been regulars on the website, and you may be too. That is the place I prefer to carry pals from overseas who go to me in Copenhagen.
Restaurant Puk has an a la carte menu and a hard and fast menu for lunch and dinner. Click on right here to seek out it on the map.
Copenhagen has a wide array of eating places claiming to be conventional Danish delicacies, however many are vacationer traps. A crimson and white checkered desk material with an vintage candle holder doesn’t imply it’s genuine.
3. Danish-Fusion Meals in Copenhagen
The Danish meals scene is all about freshness and the standard of native substances.
This poses an issue in case you put together delicacies utilizing substances that originate in different elements of the world. Freshness is paramount, so recipes in Copenhagen are duplicated utilizing native Danish substances and New Nordic cooking strategies.
One instance of this hybrid or fusion idea is BÆST, an natural Italian impressed pizzeria.
They serve pizza with a Danish-style sourdough crust and domestically sourced cheese, tomatoes, herbs, and different substances. Through the use of the herb ramson as a substitute of garlic, you get a well-recognized dish with Scandinavian flavour.
One other place to check this idea is Kiin Kiin, a Michelin star Thai fusion restaurant. It’s certainly one of my favourite eating places in Copenhagen for non-traditional meals.
They serve a New Nordic tackle Thai delicacies, so Denmark meets Thailand within the kitchen. The result’s culinary fusion like a inexperienced curry dish with cod and a spicy Asian salad with flounder.
At each BÆST and Kiin Kiin, you’ll style international delicacies with a Danish affect and New Nordic presentation. In the event you maintain an open thoughts, you’ll love the results of these meals cultures mixing.
4. Attempt Danish Picnic Meals in Copenhagen
You could assume a picnic is similar in any metropolis, however Copenhagen takes them to the following stage.
Picnics are ingrained within the meals tradition of Denmark, as a result of folks love being outdoors and want the additional area.
Public areas are generally the one possibility for gathering a gaggle of pals bigger than 3 folks. Copenhagen flats don’t go away a lot room for entertaining so folks picnic many of the 12 months.
You possibly can anticipate folks to dine outdoors in parks, gardens, and alongside the waterfronts of the harbour and canal system.
Picnics are such an necessary a part of Danish tradition that some Copenhagen meals spots solely supply takeaway meals.
Even high-end eateries, like Backyard Restaurant, supply gourmand picnic baskets for $50-60. They’re positioned throughout from the King’s Backyard they usually pack tapas, charcuterie, and even wine to get pleasure from your personal picnic.
In summer time, sundown is nicely previous 9:00 pm, so a picnic dinner is the right approach to get pleasure from the additional daylight. Over my greater than 5 years in Copenhagen, I’ve had a few of my finest instances with native folks throughout picnics.
5. Go to a Pølsevogn, the Danish Sizzling Canine Stand
It might shock you, however the humble scorching canine is likely one of the most conventional Danish avenue meals in Copenhagen. Crowds across the pølsevogen, or scorching canine wagon, are a typical sight within the metropolis.
The basic Danish scorching canine known as røde pølser or crimson sausage, however there are a number of varieties to strive.
They originated within the early 1900s as meat distributors found they might salvage outdated sausages with crimson dye. Right now the meat is contemporary (don’t fear!) and makes an ideal snack or late-night chunk.
One of the best place to do that good avenue meals in Copenhagen is the DØP wagon. They promote natural røde pølser for $5-6 with all of the toppings: remoulade, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and fried onions.
Yow will discover their wagon simply outdoors of Copenhagen’s Spherical Tower each day. Click on right here for instructions.
6. Flæskesteg: Denmark’s Nationwide Dish
Flæskesteg is the nationwide dish of Denmark, and one thing you should strive while you go to Copenhagen. The meal is roasted pork, ready utilizing conventional Danish culinary strategies.
Flæskesteg is a reduce of pork broiled with the pores and skin. Whereas getting ready the pork, cuts made within the pores and skin are crammed with a dry rub of salt, pepper, and generally cloves.
The pores and skin cooks together with meat leading to a tasty crackling crust round every slice of pork. To finish the meal, it’s served with boiled or butter-sauteed potatoes and a white sauce.
As soon as once more, conventional meals in Copenhagen is straightforward and scrumptious.
Discover out for your self at probably the greatest genuine Danish kitchens, Frk. Barnes Kælder, within the Vesterbro neighbourhood. Most foremost dishes, like flæskesteg, will value $10-12 but it surely’s troublesome to get a desk and not using a reservation. Click on right here for instructions to Frk. Barnes Kælder.
7. Road Meals in Copenhagen
Like all meals metropolis, the Danish capital has developed a vibrant meals truck and avenue kitchen tradition. It simply wouldn’t be proper to go to town and never strive the road meals in Copenhagen.
One of the best place to strive avenue meals in Copenhagen varies based mostly on the seasons.
From April by October, the perfect place is Reffen. It’s a Copenhagen establishment of natural avenue meals distributors positioned on scenic Copenhagen Harbour. Reffen has seating for two,500 guests and hosts over 40 meals stalls and bars.
Within the winter months, the road meals strikes indoors to meals halls.
Probably the greatest meals halls within the metropolis is Torvehallerne, two buildings of meals stands and outlets with an natural farmers market in between. It’s certainly one of my common stops for a cup of espresso, a pint of Danish beer, or a full meal.
8. Flæskesvær, a Tasty Appetizer
In the event you see flæskesvær on a menu, order it! It’s served as an appetizer and is a scrumptious, distinctive, and really Danish meals.
Flæskesvær originated within the nineteenth century when Danes had been in search of a approach to protect and eat each a part of the pork of their food plan.
They devised a manner for the inedible pores and skin to be cooked down, fried, and consumed as a snack. The flæskesvær recipe hasn’t modified since.
Restaurant Kronborg could also be extra well-known for Smørrebrød (see #10 beneath), however it’s also possible to get an excellent flæskesvær there. I additionally like its relaxed and conventional environment.
9. Danish Pastries & Bakery Meals in Copenhagen
Nothing beats a Danish bakery.
Even easy objects, like bread and rolls, are re-imagined and served in a manner I’ve by no means skilled. Every merchandise has a time and event in Danish life and bakeries are a cornerstone of Danish meals tradition.
For Danes, rye bread or rugbrød is king. Anticipate dense loaves of rye bread which are generally baked with malt syrup, pumpkin seeds, or entire rye berries.
Sourdough breads are additionally common and sourdough rolls with cheese are common for breakfast. Sourdough loaves for dinner are often ready with herbs like rosemary, dill, or thyme.
Danish candy breads and pastries are liked around the globe, however do you know they really come from Austria?
Danes even name them wienerbrød, or Vienna bread.
In 1850, there was a labor strike among the many bakery employees of Denmark. This triggered the bakery homeowners to rent international labor, together with Austrian bakers who had new recipes and strategies.
The brand new pastries remained and are completely woven into Danish bakery tradition.
Whether or not you wish to strive the candy or the savoury facet of Danish baked items, strive Skt. Peders Bageri. For a full sit-down expertise, you’ll be able to strive the muffins and pastries of La Glace.
Each institutions have been baking in Copenhagen for generations. I discover myself in a single or the opposite not less than as soon as per week.
10. Get a Smørrebrød
Denmark has a standard open-faced sandwich known as smørrebrød.
It’s one slice of buttered rye bread topped with meats, fish, hard-boiled egg, or different toppings. Extra toppings, like lettuce, uncooked onions, and remoulade sauce are added to style.
Smørrebrød is served chilly and eaten with a knife and fork. An excellent smørrebrød restaurant can have a full menu of various varieties and educated employees that will help you select.
Among the many finest locations to strive smørrebrød is Restaurant Palægade within the Kongens Nytorv space of Copenhagen. They’ve a menu of over 40 kinds of smørrebrød that vary from conventional herring to tenderloin and mushroom. Even in spite of everything my time in Copenhagen, I nonetheless find yourself discovering new varieties to strive.
Finest Meals Excursions in Copenhagen
Probably the greatest methods to study in regards to the delicacies of Denmark is to hitch a meals tour while you’re within the capital.
4-Hour Night Tour with Wine Tastings and Snacks
Copenhagen within the night is an excellent expertise. The outdated buildings and winding streets appear to glow within the twilight, and the harbor is alive as folks race to catch the ultimate daylight of the day.
This 4-hour tour prices about $145 per particular person and contains a number of drinks and snacks. You’ll undergo the center of town middle, together with iconic Nyhavn and the waterfront alongside the harbor.
The spotlight is having fun with a drink from the tower above Copenhagen’s oldest harbour bridge. That is one thing even locals hardly ever get to do, and it’s an unimaginable vantage level to soak within the views and vibes of Copenhagen. Click on right here for extra details about this tour.
Copenhagen Culinary Bike Tour
There is no such thing as a higher approach to see Copenhagen than by bike. First, it means that you can mingle with locals on the huge community of motorcycle lanes across the metropolis. Moreover, it maximizes your time, letting you rapidly transfer between neighborhoods.
The three-hour tour prices about $100 per particular person. It contains numerous totally different meals to pattern, together with smørrebrød, scorching canines, fish meatballs, and pattern beer from Mikkeller.
The tour travels from town middle, alongside the waterfront, and into the stylish Meatpacking space in Vesterbro. It’s an effective way to see a lot of town and pattern lots of our really helpful meals. Click on right here to study extra about this tour.
Vesterbro Strolling Meals Tour
For meals and enjoyable, essentially the most attention-grabbing neighborhood in Copenhagen is Vesterbro.
This was the outdated red-light district however has undergone a renaissance within the final 20 years. It nonetheless has some dodgy native dives, and can be dwelling to fashionable eating places and cocktail bars.
This 3-hour tour prices $146 per particular person, and contains stops in a number of bars across the neighborhood. Additionally, you will study the historical past of the neighbourhood, because it moved from working-class to red-light to hip within the span of fifty years.
The tour is ideal for individuals who desire a deeper expertise in an actual neighbourhood. It’s additionally an opportunity to study different nice bars and eating places to strive in Copenhagen. Click on right here to hitch this enjoyable tour.
Drinks in Copenhagen
You’ll want one thing to clean down the entire tasty meals. Listed below are among the drinks to strive in Copenhagen you received’t wish to miss.
1. The Quintessential Danish Beer: Carlsberg
Usually, Denmark is a beer and shot ingesting tradition. The Danish beer model Carlsberg is on faucet at each bar and restaurant in Copenhagen. The historical past of Copenhagen is intertwined with the historical past of the Jacobsen household, the founders of Carlsberg.
The household had been patrons of the humanities, based the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum, and funded renovations of Frederiksberg Fortress. In Copenhagen, you’ll be able to tour the previous brewery with a tasting.
You’ll additionally learn the way the founder developed brewers yeast and shared it with the world as a substitute of searching for a patent.
Anyplace in Copenhagen you’ll be able to pay them homage by having fun with a chilly Carlsberg Pilsner or Jacobsen Lager.
2. World-Class Craft Beer: Mikkeller
Whereas Carlsberg was a patron of the humanities and sciences, Denmark’s (and perhaps the world’s) finest craft beer got here from a highschool physics instructor.
Mikkeller is a Danish brewer that truly has no brewery!
Mikkeller brews a variety of craft beers, from sours to stouts, typically partnering with present breweries all around the world. In simply 15 years of operation, they developed over 1000 recipes.
Yow will discover Mikkeller beers throughout city, together with devoted bars in Vesterbro and their Baghaven location on the harbour close to Reffen. They’re additionally obtainable in bottle outlets and grocery shops round city.
One of the best ways to get pleasure from Mikkeller is at two of their partnerships. Warpigs in Meatpacking affords American-style barbecue, whereas Ramen to Biiru has 4 places across the metropolis serving scrumptious ramen.
3. Snaps, Snaps, Snaps!
Realizing that Denmark is a beer and shot tradition, you want some liquor as nicely!
Snaps is a robust liquor distilled from grain or potatoes and flavored with native herbs like dill and anise.
Snaps is served ice-cold and at all times with meals. It’s sipped and is at all times current at main holidays like Easter and Christmas. You possibly can strive snaps as a part of a standard Danish lunch, because it pairs very properly with pickled herring smørrebrød.
My favourite model of snaps is from Snaps Bornholm. I’ve loved it throughout vacation celebrations as a lot as I’ve after a easy lunch.
It’s rather less conventional, as they combine flavors like chili and honey or fig to make scrumptious snaps with rather less edge for us foreigners. Yow will discover Snaps Bornholm in liquor shops or nicer eating places round Copenhagen.
FAQs About What to Eat in Copenhagen
Questioning the place to eat in Copenhagen? Listed below are solutions to some ceaselessly requested questions on Copenhagen meals.
There’s all kinds of meals to strive in Copenhagen. Some well-known dishes embody the nationwide dish flæskesteg (sliced pork) and open-faced sandwiches known as smørrebrød. One other common Copenhagen meals is New Nordic Delicacies.
The open-faced sandwiches smørrebrød are discovered on many restaurant menus in Denmark, and it might be the most typical meals. Frequent substances for all types of dishes within the nation embody fish, pork, and potatoes.
Though it’s going to shut in 2024, Noma is likely one of the most well-known eating places in Copenhagen, and even the world. Two different eating places with good meals to strive in Copenhagen are Restaurant Meille and Restaurant Puk.
Completely Copenhagen is a foodie metropolis. The Danish capital has prime bakeries, Michelin-rated eating places, world-class avenue meals, and all the pieces in between. It’s not laborious for foodies to seek out the place to eat in Copenhagen.
A typical Danish breakfast is often a bread (typically rye) with cheese or jam, presumably a meat akin to sausage, and low or tea.
For lunch, Danes typically eat a chilly meal of the open-faced sandwich smørrebrød, which can include pork, fish, or eggs. Many individuals declare that smørrebrød is the highest meals to strive in Copenhagen.
Now You Know What to Eat in Copenhagen
Danish tradition really resonates by its delicacies. The meals retell the story of a individuals who tailored to thrive in a troublesome local weather. It’s the results of a nation that is determined by innovation and creativity to face out within the trendy world.
Copenhagen is finest skilled by tapping into the native tradition, like its meals. There is no such thing as a higher manner to do this than by its eating places, bars, and grocers.
From a easy scorching canine wagon to an beautiful multi-course New Nordic menu, the meals in Copenhagen will fulfill your starvation for pleasure!
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