COPENHAGEN RECS

In the spring, some friends and I did a quick 3-day trip to Copenhagen where we were determined to fit in as much food, pastries, coffee, wine, shopping, and sights that we could in the limited, jet-lagged time we had. Here are some of my recommendations.

MEALS

Favorite meal: Kødbyens Fiskebar
Everything we had here was delicious, which made it our favorite meal. This restaurant is seafood focused, and everything was light, well-seasoned, with particularly exceptional sauces. Our favorite dishes were the mussels in apple cider vinegar cream and the fish in brown butter chestnut sauce. Raw tuna with egg yolk and caviar and the razorback clams were also fantastic apps. While maybe basic, the fish & chips were also delicious and perfectly, lightly fried. I would say skip the bread and seaweed butter, since the butter isn’t all that special and some of the other dishes will come with bread where necessary.

Honorable mention: Restaurant Barr
This restaurant is beautiful, with its cozy, wooden, candle-lit interiors and its locations right by the water where the docks are filled with people soaking in the sun. The food is equally lovely, all fresh, visually delightful, and decadant. Our favorite dishes were the grilled waffle with garlic butter and gratinated mussels and clams, the beets with rose, yogurt and blackcurrants, the pork schnitzel with horseradish butter, and the hasselback-style roasted potato. Our one miss was the steak, which looked amazing, but was weirdly tasteless.

Others worth noting: Bæst (pizza), Restaurant Schønnemann (for traditional Danish open sandwiches, if unacquainted)

Bakeries

Favorite bakery: Juno the Bakery
While a bit outside of the usual visitor areas, Juno is worth the trek. You’re probably in Copenhagen on the hunt for the best cardamom bun, and you don’t have to look anywhere else but here. They also had an incredible croissant and this was our favorite seeded bread and cheese spot as well. If there’s a wait, grab a cup of coffee from Prolog Coffee around the corner and settle in line. Side note: I brought back a couple cardamom buns and stuck them in my freezer, and they revived in the air fryer beautifully so that I could have a taste of Copenhagen at home.

Honorable mention: Anderson & Maillard
In some ways, I think this should be the favorite bakery pick because of how much more accessible it is, which allowed us to try so many more pastries. We loved them all. The lamination is amazing, everything is balanced in sweetness, and there were no misses of everything we ordered. Some standouts were the tebirkes (Danish lemon poppy seed pastry), cinnamon roll, seeded bun with cheese (sharper cheese than Juno), and any type of croissant. It’s worth nothing that their coffee is also excellent, and we all bought beans to bring home.

Coffee

Favorite coffee: Coffee Collective
No matter which location (of which there are many, thankfully!), you’ll get an excellent cup of coffee here. Their reputation is well-known and for good reason. We visited multiple times and every time I took my first sip, I was overwhelmed by how good and flavorful it was. I have no notes, besides that I came back with the most bags of beans from here.

Others worth noting: April Coffee, Anderson & Maillard, Prolog Coffee

Drinks

Favorite wine bar: Lille Blå Vinbar
This was one of my favorite experiences during the entire trip, mostly driven by the personnel and the vibe. There was only one person staffing the wine bar, who listened to our prefernces and provided a perfect wine recommendation, and checked in on us a couple times throughout the night to see how we were doing and also to chat with us, providing his own local recommendations and teaching us how to pronounce some Danish words. We stayed beyond closing without even realizing it, and when we did, he encouraged us to linger despite the time, hanging out with his own friends down the table. It felt so neighborly, friendly, and communal, and the bar is adorable and cozy with the bold pops of blue on the walls, the big paper lanterns, and boxes of wine stacked everywhere. I would come back again and again if I lived there.

Favorite cocktail bar: Ruby
This was one of the recommendations from the bartender at Lille Blå Vinbar and coincidentally on our own list already. The cocktails here were delicious, our favorite being the frozen beet cocktail, and the space was warm and stylish with its old-school charm from the crown molding ceilings and stunning bar. Despite its popularity, the noise level was still fitting for conversation and everyone seemed to be there to chill and have a nice night in conversation with friends.

Favorite brewery: Mikkeller & Friends
We had to visit Mikkeller while in its birthplace. While there are multiple locations around the city, we did the extra trek to Mikkeller & Friends, where they have a large selection of their own beers along with others from neighboring or their favorite breweries to try as well. The variety was great, with something for everyone, and there was ample seating (even with hosting a large biking group after their ride).

Others worth noting: Pompette (cozy, intimate wine bar; can get a fried chicken sandwich snack next door at Poulette)

MUSEUMS

Favorite museum: Designmuseum
What I loved about this museum beyond the exhibits themselves was how much thought and design (of course) they put into how they arranged the exhibits. I’m already someone invested in design as a subject matter of interest, but the way they presented the exhibits, like the hanging descriptions (forget white boxes with text on the wall) or the hallway of chairs or the dining table that spans eras, really showcased how much intention they put behind how they engage the visitor with the information they’re learning.

Honorable mention: Louisiana Art Museum
This museum is a little higher effort to get to given the 40 minute to 1 hour train ride from Copenhagen and the walk from the station to the museum, but you’re met with a charming, art-filled estate by the coast. You’ll feel the wind rippling through your hair as you watch the ocean waves and wander among sculptures, and enjoy art inside the beautiful modern building nestled among trees with floor-to-ceiling windows lighting the space. It’s a relaxing space with pretty large exhibit areas, so you’ll be able to spend a good amount of time here to make the travels worthwhile. You can ideally bring food to picnic here in the grass, or grab a light lunch from the cafe inside the museum to contribute to the day trip vibes.