“Let’s exit for Danish meals” isn’t one thing you usually 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 historic elements and fuse cuisines throughout cultures whereas embracing sustainability. Copenhagen has probably the most Michelin Stars of any metropolis in Scandinavia however maintains a vibrant road meals scene. Even some prime restaurateurs have opened meals vans.
I’ve lived in Denmark since 2017 and though I’m not Danish, I’ve realized lots concerning the meals in Copenhagen. I’ve been to numerous eating places each previous and new, sampled road 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 keep 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. At present, 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 might not help grains and now planted potatoes, which thrived within the rocky soil.
Second, will increase in world 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 well-liked Meat Packing neighborhood.
The meals in Copenhagen brilliantly displays Denmark’s geography and its historical past with an eye fixed 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 elements with a easy, but lovely presentation.
Probably the most well-known instance of this motion is the restaurant Noma, 5 occasions named the “finest restaurant on the planet”. Many think about 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 unbelievable examples of this contemporary Danish delicacies.
10 Tasty Meals to Eat in Copenhagen
Whereas there are a lot of superb meals to attempt in your journey to Copenhagen, these are the ten finest! Learn on for my listing of scrumptious meals to attempt 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 Inexpensive 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 prematurely and the meal can value over $1,000 per couple. Fortunately, there are budget-friendly alternate options for a New Nordic dinner.
New Nordic eating places can have a set or set menu, and you can’t customise or alter the dishes.
Your solely actual alternative is if you want an appetizer, normally known as chef’s snacks, and what to drink. It’s widespread for every course to have an accompanying wine choice.
Most of the dishes will include unfamiliar herbs, greens, and seeds. You might 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 unhealthy.
These native elements create the flavours that outline New Nordic delicacies, even when they stretch your pallet.
To pattern New Nordic meals in Copenhagen, attempt Restaurant Meille. They’ve an outstanding operation headed by former Noma chef, Mads Magnusson.
Restaurant Meille serves inexpensive luxurious — you may have a 5-course meal at $60, and also you received’t overlook the expertise.
2. Julefrokost, the Danish Christmas Meal
Autumn in Europe means altering leaves but in addition adjustments within the menu gadgets. Beginning within the fall, Restaurant Puk serves Julefrokost, the normal 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 attempt smoked salmon with apple and horseradish, shrimp with egg, and deep-fried plaice with remoulade.
Then you definitely’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 set menu for lunch and dinner. Click on right here to search 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 fabric 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 elements.
This poses an issue in the event you put together delicacies utilizing elements that originate in different components of the world. Freshness is paramount, so recipes in Copenhagen are duplicated utilizing native Danish elements 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 regionally sourced cheese, tomatoes, herbs, and different elements. By utilizing the herb ramson as an alternative of garlic, you get a well-known 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 overseas delicacies with a Danish affect and New Nordic presentation. For those who hold an open thoughts, you’ll love the results of these meals cultures mixing.
4. Attempt Danish Picnic Meals in Copenhagen
It’s possible you’ll assume a picnic is identical 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 exterior and wish the additional house.
Public areas are typically the one choice for gathering a gaggle of pals bigger than 3 folks. Copenhagen residences don’t go away a lot room for entertaining so folks picnic a lot of the yr.
You possibly can anticipate folks to dine exterior 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 provide takeaway meals.
Even high-end eateries, like Backyard Restaurant, provide connoisseur picnic baskets for $50-60. They’re situated throughout from the King’s Backyard and so they pack tapas, charcuterie, and even wine to get pleasure from your individual picnic.
In summer time, sundown is effectively previous 9:00 pm, so a picnic dinner is the proper option to get pleasure from the additional daylight. Over my greater than 5 years in Copenhagen, I’ve had a few of my finest occasions with native folks throughout picnics.
5. Go to a Pølsevogn, the Danish Sizzling Canine Stand
It could shock you, however the humble scorching canine is among the most conventional Danish road 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 attempt.
They originated within the early 1900s as meat distributors found they may salvage previous sausages with crimson dye. At present the meat is contemporary (don’t fear!) and makes an ideal snack or late-night chew.
The very best place to do that excellent road 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.
You could find their wagon simply exterior of Copenhagen’s Spherical Tower day-after-day. Click on right here for instructions.
6. Flæskesteg: Denmark’s Nationwide Dish
Flæskesteg is the nationwide dish of Denmark, and one thing you have to attempt if 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 making ready the pork, cuts made within the pores and skin are crammed with a dry rub of salt, pepper, and typically 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 the most effective genuine Danish kitchens, Frk. Barnes Kælder, within the Vesterbro neighbourhood. Most fundamental dishes, like flæskesteg, will value $10-12 nevertheless it’s tough to get a desk with no 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 road kitchen tradition. It simply wouldn’t be proper to go to town and never attempt the road meals in Copenhagen.
The very best place to attempt road meals in Copenhagen varies based mostly on the seasons.
From April via October, one of the best place is Reffen. It’s a Copenhagen establishment of natural road meals distributors situated 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.
Top-of-the-line meals halls within the metropolis is Torvehallerne, two buildings of meals stands and retailers 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
For those who 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 on the lookout for a option to protect and eat each a part of the pork of their food regimen.
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 under), however you can even 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 gadgets, 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. Count on dense loaves of rye bread which can be typically baked with malt syrup, pumpkin seeds, or complete rye berries.
Sourdough breads are additionally well-liked and sourdough rolls with cheese are well-liked for breakfast. Sourdough loaves for dinner are normally ready with herbs like rosemary, dill, or thyme.
Danish candy breads and pastries are cherished world wide, 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 staff of Denmark. This brought about the bakery house owners to rent overseas 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 need to attempt the candy or the savoury facet of Danish baked items, attempt Skt. Peders Bageri. For a full sit-down expertise, you may attempt the truffles and pastries of La Glace.
Each institutions have been baking in Copenhagen for generations. I discover myself in a single or the opposite no 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. A superb smørrebrød restaurant can have a full menu of various varieties and educated workers that can assist you select.
Among the many finest locations to attempt smørrebrød is Restaurant Palægade within the Kongens Nytorv space of Copenhagen. They’ve a menu of over 40 sorts of smørrebrød that vary from conventional herring to tenderloin and mushroom. Even in any case my time in Copenhagen, I nonetheless find yourself discovering new varieties to attempt.
Finest Meals Excursions in Copenhagen
Top-of-the-line methods to be taught concerning the delicacies of Denmark is to affix a meals tour if you’re within the capital.
4-Hour Night Tour with Wine Tastings and Snacks
Copenhagen within the night is an excellent expertise. The previous 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 consists of a number of drinks and snacks. You’ll undergo the guts of town heart, 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 unbelievable 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 isn’t any higher option to see Copenhagen than by bike. First, it permits you to mingle with locals on the huge community of motorbike lanes across the metropolis. Moreover, it maximizes your time, letting you shortly transfer between neighborhoods.
The three-hour tour prices about $100 per particular person. It consists of a lot of totally different meals to pattern, together with smørrebrød, scorching canines, fish meatballs, and pattern beer from Mikkeller.
The tour travels from town heart, alongside the waterfront, and into the fashionable Meatpacking space in Vesterbro. It’s an effective way to see a lot of town and pattern a lot of our really helpful meals. Click on right here to be taught extra about this tour.
Vesterbro Strolling Meals Tour
For meals and enjoyable, probably the most attention-grabbing neighborhood in Copenhagen is Vesterbro.
This was the previous red-light district however has undergone a renaissance within the final 20 years. It nonetheless has some dodgy native dives, and can also be dwelling to modern eating places and cocktail bars.
This 3-hour tour prices $146 per particular person, and consists of stops in a number of bars across the neighborhood. Additionally, you will be taught 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 need a deeper expertise in an actual neighbourhood. It’s additionally an opportunity to study different nice bars and eating places to attempt in Copenhagen. Click on right here to affix this enjoyable tour.
Drinks in Copenhagen
You’ll want one thing to clean down all the tasty meals. Listed here are a few of the drinks to attempt in Copenhagen you received’t need to miss.
1. The Quintessential Danish Beer: Carlsberg
Generally, 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 Fort. In Copenhagen, you may tour the previous brewery with a tasting.
You’ll additionally find out how the founder developed brewers yeast and shared it with the world as an alternative of looking for a patent.
Wherever in Copenhagen you may 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 really has no brewery!
Mikkeller brews a variety of craft beers, from sours to stouts, usually partnering with current breweries everywhere in the world. In simply 15 years of operation, they developed over 1000 recipes.
You could find Mikkeller beers throughout city, together with devoted bars in Vesterbro and their Baghaven location on the harbour close to Reffen. They’re additionally out there in bottle retailers 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 areas across the metropolis serving scrumptious ramen.
3. Snaps, Snaps, Snaps!
Understanding that Denmark is a beer and shot tradition, you want some liquor as effectively!
Snaps is a powerful liquor distilled from grain or potatoes and flavored with native herbs like dill and anise.
Snaps is served ice-cold and all the time with meals. It’s sipped and is all the time current at main holidays like Easter and Christmas. You possibly can attempt 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. You could find 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 here are solutions to some often requested questions on Copenhagen meals.
There’s all kinds of meals to attempt in Copenhagen. Some well-known dishes embrace the nationwide dish flæskesteg (sliced pork) and open-faced sandwiches known as smørrebrød. One other well-liked 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. Widespread elements for all types of dishes within the nation embrace fish, pork, and potatoes.
Though it’ll shut in 2024, Noma is among the most well-known eating places in Copenhagen, and even the world. Two different eating places with good meals to attempt 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 road meals, and the whole lot in between. It’s not onerous for foodies to search out the place to eat in Copenhagen.
A typical Danish breakfast is normally a bread (usually rye) with cheese or jam, presumably a meat comparable to sausage, and low or tea.
For lunch, Danes usually 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 attempt in Copenhagen.
Now You Know What to Eat in Copenhagen
Danish tradition really resonates via its delicacies. The meals retell the story of a individuals who tailored to thrive in a tough 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 isn’t any higher manner to do this than via 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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