A Taste of Copenhagen

the restaurants I would fly 10 hours to eat at again, a life-changing mushroom cheesecake, and the value of good hotel breakfast

It has been a little over a month since we were in Copenhagen for a friend’s wedding attempting to sing in Danish and eating hot dogs at 2am, but I still find myself craving a warm cardamon bun and oddly enough… some pickled herring. We had such a wonderful time exploring this dreamy city and got to sneak in a few days in Amsterdam as well. Everyone has their own style of travel. For us, we tend to seek out great food, breweries, architecture, and the occasional flea market or antique store.

Unsurprisingly, I instantly fell in love with Copenhagen. It’s has the charm of a small city but all the amenities and endless things to do of a big one. The standard for good food is unbelievably high here. I think it’s the general societal value in the craft of cooking and fresh food and also the NOMA effect because many of the restaurants we loved were created by former NOMA chefs, like Jatak, BAEST, and Juno. Pretty much everyone speaks english here, which makes getting around and asking questions so easy. We walked and biked everywhere, with the occasional cab or train ride to more distant destinations like the Louisiana Museum.

We cannot wait until our next trip to Copenhagen and with friends moving there you might see us there sooner rather than later!

Here is a round up of all our favorite meals, sips, and moments in between.

Copenhagen

favorite restaurants |

Restaurant Carl Nielsen - Our first meal in Copenhagen! They specialize in traditional, yet elevated smørrebrød. Each plate was so beautiful and artfully plated. Our server was the co-owner and she share details about each dish, like how she foraged for the elderflower last summer for the elderflower mustard on the pickled herring.

Kødbyens Fiskebar - Next time I will reserve a table by the fish tanks! They specialize in fresh seafood but I catch myself thinking about their fresh made sourdough with seaweed butter often. We loved the langoustines and their dish of squid cut like rice noodles and served in a beef dashi.

John’s Hot Dog Deli - A friend highly recommended this particular hot got stand right outside the main train station. While waiting in line I was a little confused by the menu because there are many configurations, but I went with the classic hot dog with all the fixings - exceptional. The hot dog is so snappy. The bun is light but crispy with flecks of coriander. The fried shallots added such a good crunch!

Jatak - this was by far my favorite meal of the entire trip. And that’s not just because they had my book on their reference book shelf! Their tasting menu features dishes that blend Scandinavian and Chinese/Asian flavors and techniques. Courses like the roast pork belly and sunchoke with black bean sauce tasted like home. The Chanterelle Mushroom Japanese Souffle Cheesecake which came with a mushroom caramel and vanilla chanterelle ice cream was life changing. I got a juice pairing too, which was delightful and I felt like I appreciated how the flavors of the botanical juices worked with the food much more than I normally would with wine.

Everything we ate at Jatak!

Baest - It’s tricky to get a reservation for dinner but for lunch it seems like you can just walk in and grab a table. They mill their own flavor and make their own cheese, and you can taste the attention to detail in their amazing pizza.

Restaurant Barr - this is the original NOMA location, so it’s beautiful inside! This was our last meal in Copenhagen and we definitely ended on a high note. We got their house bread, the waffle with creme fraiche and roe, and the schnitzel!

Ramen to Birru - this is actually a ramen chain operated by Mikkeller. The day after my friend’s wedding we were not feeling 100% and a bowl of hot soup sounded like just thing that would cure us. The ramen was shockingly good, better than most ramen I’ve had in the Bay Area honestly.

Sonny - a great causal spot for classic danish breakfast offerings like porridge, toasts, eggs, green juices, and baked goods. I got their simple breakfast which had a little bit of everything.

Christianshavns Færgecafé - the equivalent of a Danish pub! Theres plenty of trendy and vibey restaurants in the city but we wanted at least one meal in what felt like traditional Danish neighborhood restaurant. We started our meal with some schnaps, followed by beer, and I order a braised pork cheek with gravy and mashed potatoes!

Tilda og Karl - we stumbled upon this cafe while exploring Nørrebro and it ended up being one of our favorite meals of the trip. I got a simple curried lentil and potato soup with sourdough bread and Reuben ordered a kale pesto pasta that came with handmade tagliatelle. Simple and comforting!

favorite bakeries + coffee |

Juno The Bakery - Pretty much everyone told us we had to try Juno. I don’t think there’s a bad bakery in Copenhagen because their baking standards are so high, but their cardamon bun was truly perfection. I bought one while they were still warm from the oven and the dough was so tender and pillowy soft. The cardamon was floral and strong and I think there was a pinch of salt on top which I loved.

Hart - There are many Hart locations around Copenhagen, so you’ll most likely encounter one eventually. They were made even more famous after a feature in The Bear. We went to this location twice! I loved the spiced orange morning bun and their black sesame cookie. Next time I need to plan an afternoon visit because their focaccia looks other worldly.

*Lille - Didn’t have enough time to go here but I wanted to so badly!

Prolog Coffee - I accidentally ordered the most expensive matcha latte on the planet here, which was still good, but their coffee was better! We bought some beans to take home and our at-home lattes were tasting superb.

Coffee Collective - many locations around the city if you’re looking for a convenient pick-me-up!

favorite breweries |

ÅBEN - such a fun space and their beer was so good and crispy! The brewery is located in the meatpacking district so you can explore the area and grab a beer before heading somewhere else for dinner. At the time we went there was an interesting restaurant pop-up going on so you could also have dinner there. I loved my sour beer made with sea buckthorns, which are these delicious tiny orange berries that are native to both Denmark and China!

BRUS - To Øl is technically the brewery, but they have a home at BRUS which combines a great brewery with great food service! We stopped in twice and the second time decided to stay for dinner. Along with our beers, we ordered fries, kimchi fried rice, spicy chicken wings, and a blood orange crudo. The fried rice was a little wet and not very fried, but otherwise the food was great and I was happy to eat spicy food again. I wish more breweries served crudo.

Mikkeller - Back in the day we used to go to the Mikkeller location in San Francisco. It’s one of our favorite beers, my personal favorite for their graphics, and it was nice to drink it from the source! Their Warpigs location also serves impressive looking BBQ if you’re craving meats. We also stopped into this location, which was very cozy and steamy.

danish hotel breakfast!

We bookended our two week trip with stays in Copenhagen so we got to try out two different hotels. The first few days we stayed at 71 Nyhavn and for the latter end of the trip we stayed at Villa Copenhagen. Both were excellent hotels that I highly recommend staying at. But what I surprisingly appreciated the most out of both hotels were their superb hotel breakfast. Both were complimentary with our stay and featured impressive spreads of breakfast offerings that helped us start our days feeling healthy-ish and full. We started our days pretty early, 7 to 8am most days, and many places in the city didn’t open until later. Our only appealing options would have been coffee and sweet pastry somewhere, which is fine but I wanted protein and something a little heartier to kick-off a day of walking and biking. And with the time difference in the beginning we were waking up ravenous and exhausted. So it was such a luxury to be able to simply walk downstairs and fill up our plate with eggs, snappy sausages, fruit, yogurt, fresh juices, and warm pastries. At Villa Copenhagen they kept bringing out trays of fresh cardamon buns and it smelled like heaven!

Just something to consider while traveling! Never used to be so keen on a good hotel breakfast before but I think I’m a changed woman!

Non-edible Activities |

Rent a bike | as someone who is very nervous riding a bike in San Francisco, biking through Copenhagen is very chill and not scary at all! You can see so much of the city on bike. We rented our bikes from Donkey Republic, where you can rent your bike for as long as you need and you can literally leave them anywhere (other apps make you return them to designated spots). One of my favorite bike rides was riding from our hotel in Nyhavn over the Inderhavnsbroen to Christiania, through trails along the water, and past Noma.

Visit Grundtvig’s Church and Wander the Flea Market | as an architect my husband was very keen on seeing this church. We ended up going on Sunday and when we arrived there was still church service so we decided to grab coffee until we were allowed in. The church is stunning! So grab and then you realize it is made from brick! There are small and large flea markets all across the city but on Sundays in the apartment complex next to the church there’s an adorable community flea market.

Assistens Cemetery | We were doing some window shopping down Jægersborggade and strolled right into the cemetery. During the day, the cemetery is so peaceful and beautiful. It makes for a lovely walk and you can be like the locals and set up a little picnic in a sunny spot.

The King’s Garden | All the parks in Copenhagen are just so good.

Louisiana Museum | only a quick train or expensive taxi ride away. It’s a beautiful art museum and sculpture park right on the water. If taking the train you still have to walk a little bit in order to get the museum. Either on your way to or from the museum, you can stop at this charming farm stand for lunch. We shared an unexpectedly good kimchi panini here!

***La Banchina | I’m disappointed I didn’t get a chance to cold plunge here. Our friends made a reservation to go here the day after our friend’s wedding and I was feeling a little under the weather so I opted out. But from what I can tell, it’s picturesque and a refreshing experience.

If you’re heading to Copenhagen soon or planning for a future trip, I hope you have an absolutely incredible time!