“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.
Modern cooks create trendy dishes with historic components and fuse cuisines throughout cultures whereas embracing sustainability.
We’ve lived in Denmark since 2017 and though we aren’t Danish, we’ve discovered so much in regards to the meals in Copenhagen.
Danes solely dine out for particular events or to fulfill treasured associates, so the restaurant expertise is skilled and memorable.
Copenhagen has probably the most Michelin Stars of any metropolis in Scandinavia however maintains a vibrant avenue meals scene. Even some prime restaurateurs have opened meals vehicles.
In Denmark, you will notice how custom and innovation come collectively to create an incredible culinary journey. Take pleasure in our suggestions on issues to eat in Copenhagen!
Denmark Food Tradition and Historical past
Geography is future, and the meals in Copenhagen actually 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 is a collectivist society, however individuals preserve few, but deep relationships. It’s a homogeneous tradition comprised of people who find themselves pure explorers.
All of which is mirrored in 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. In the present day, conventional Danish meals like pickled herring, cured beetroot, and rye bread come from the local weather and geography of Denmark.
Within the 19th century, three main modifications got here that had main impacts on the meals of Denmark.
First, inhabitants development required extra meals and extra farms. Farmers reclaimed hilly land that would not assist grains and now planted potatoes, which thrived in 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 compelled 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 modifications.
Trendy manufacturers like Arla Meals, Lurpak butter, and Danish Crown bacon all have their origins in this era. In Copenhagen, lots of the former slaughterhouses at the moment are high-end eating places in the town’s fashionable Meat Packing neighborhood.
The meals in Copenhagen brilliantly displays Denmark’s geography and its historical past with a watch on innovation and the long run.
Trendy Danish Food in Copenhagen
In 2004, Danish cooks led a motion to fuse the historic and conventional meals with trendy culinary methods. 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 components with a easy, but lovely presentation.
Essentially the most well-known instance of this motion is the restaurant Noma, 4 occasions named the “greatest restaurant in the world”. Many contemplate Noma because the vanguard of the New Nordic motion.
Noma is priced out of attain for many guests to Copenhagen, however there are dozens of Michelin star and rated New Nordic eating places in Copenhagen.
Every one provides unimaginable examples of this contemporary Danish delicacies.
10 Tasty Meals to Eat in Copenhagen
Whereas there are a lot of superb meals to strive in your journey to Copenhagen, these are the 10 greatest!
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 in advance 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 set or set menu, and you can not customise or alter the dishes.
Your solely actual selection is if you need an appetizer, normally referred to as chef’s snacks, and what to drink. It’s frequent for every course to have an accompanying wine choice.
Most of the dishes will comprise unfamiliar herbs, greens, and seeds. You will have dishes with celeriac juice, dill, smoked cream cheese, ramsons, or lingonberry — simply go together with it.
These native components 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 exceptional 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 gained’t neglect the expertise.
2. Julefrokost, The Danish Christmas Meal
Autumn in Europe means altering leaves but in addition modifications in the menu objects. Beginning in the autumn, 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 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.
An amazing midrange place to do this meal is Restaurant Puk.
It’s housed in a historic constructing, the previous Royal Brewhouse, which dates again to 1539. A number of Danish kings have been regulars on the web site and you may be too.
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 big selection 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 Food in Copenhagen
The Danish meals scene is all about freshness and the standard of native components.
This poses an issue in the event you put together delicacies utilizing components that originate in different components of the world. Freshness is paramount, so recipes in Copenhagen are duplicated utilizing native Danish components and New Nordic cooking methods.
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 components. Through the use of the herb ramson as an alternative 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.
They serve a New Nordic tackle Thai delicacies, so Denmark meets Thailand in 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. Should you hold an open thoughts, you’ll love the results of these meals cultures mixing.
4. Strive Danish Picnic Food in Copenhagen
Chances are you’ll suppose a picnic is similar in any metropolis, however Copenhagen takes them to the following stage.
Picnics are ingrained in the meals tradition of Denmark, as a result of individuals love being outdoors and wish the additional house.
Public areas are typically the one possibility for gathering a bunch of associates bigger than Three individuals. Copenhagen flats don’t depart a lot room for entertaining so individuals picnic many of the yr.
You possibly can anticipate individuals 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 situated throughout from The King’s Backyard and so they pack tapas, charcuterie, and even wine to get pleasure from your personal picnic.
In summer season, sundown is properly previous 9:00pm, so a picnic dinner is the proper strategy to get pleasure from the additional daylight.
5. Go to a Pølsevogn, The Danish Scorching Canine Stand
It might shock you, however the humble sizzling canine is likely one of the most conventional Danish avenue meals in Copenhagen. Crowds across the pølsevogen, or sizzling canine wagon, are a standard sight in the town.
The traditional Danish sizzling canine known as røde pølser or crimson sausage, however there are a number of varieties to strive.
They originated in the early 1900s as meat distributors found they might salvage outdated sausages with crimson dye. In the present day the meat is recent (don’t fear!) and makes an ideal snack or late-night chew.
The perfect place to do this 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.
You’ll find their wagon simply outdoors 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 should strive once you go to Copenhagen. The meal is roasted pork, ready utilizing conventional Danish culinary strategies.
Flæskesteg is a minimize of pork broiled with the pores and skin. Whereas getting ready the pork, cuts made in the pores and skin are full of a dry rub of salt, pepper, and typically cloves.
The pores and skin cooks together with meat ensuing in 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, in the Vesterbro neighbourhood. Most major dishes, like flæskesteg, will value $10-12 but it surely’s troublesome to get a desk with no reservation. Click on right here for instructions to Frk. Barnes Kælder.
7. Avenue Food in Copenhagen
Like every meals metropolis, the Danish capital has developed a vibrant meals truck and avenue kitchen tradition. It simply wouldn’t be proper to go to the town and never strive the road meals in Copenhagen.
The perfect place to strive avenue meals in Copenhagen varies primarily based on the seasons.
From April by October, one of the best place is Reffen. It’s a Copenhagen establishment of natural avenue 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.
Among the finest in the town is Torvehallerne, two buildings of meals stands and outlets with an natural farmers market in between. It’s a superb cease for a cup of espresso, a pint of Danish beer, or a full meal.
8. Flæskesvær, a Tasty Appetizer
Should you see flæskesvær on a menu, order it! It’s served as an appetizer and is a scrumptious, distinctive, and actually Danish meals.
Flæskesvær originated in the 19th century when Danes have been searching for a strategy to protect and eat each a part of the pork in 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.
The perfect place to strive flæskesvær is at Nose2Tail, a Danish steakhouse situated in the hip and historic Meat Packing District, Kødbyen.
The restaurant derives its title from the strategy of utilizing each a part of the animals it serves. That is simply the philosophy that gave the Danes flæskesvær years in the past.
At Nose2Tail you’ll be able to strive scrumptious flæskesvær on each their a la carte and set menus which begin round $50. Click on right here to search out the restaurant on the map.
9. Danish Pastries & Bakery Food in Copenhagen
Nothing beats a Danish bakery.
Even easy objects, like bread and rolls, are re-imagined and served in a manner you may have 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 are typically baked with malt syrup, pumpkin seeds, or entire rye berries.
Sourdough breads are additionally fashionable and sourdough rolls with cheese are fashionable for breakfast. Sourdough loaves for dinner are normally ready with herbs like rosemary, dill, or thyme.
Danish candy breads and pastries are beloved all over the world, 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 precipitated the bakery house owners to rent international labor, together with Austrian bakers who had new recipes and methods.
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 truffles and pastries of La Glace.
Each institutions have been baking in Copenhagen for generations.
10. Get a Smørrebrød
Denmark has a standard open-faced sandwich and it’s referred to 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 very good smørrebrød restaurant can have a full menu of various varieties and educated workers that can assist you select.
Among the many greatest locations to strive smørrebrød is Restaurant Palægade in 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.
Finest Food Excursions in Copenhagen
Among the finest methods to be taught in regards to the delicacies of Denmark is to hitch a meals tour once you’re in the capital.
4-Hour Night Tour With Wine Tastings and Snacks
Copenhagen in the night is an excellent expertise. The outdated buildings and winding streets appear to glow in the twilight, and the harbor is alive as individuals race to catch the ultimate daylight of the day.
This 4-hour tour prices about $130 per individual and contains a number of drinks and snacks. You’ll undergo the center of the 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 in the views and vibes of Copenhagen.
Click on Right here to Be taught Extra Concerning the Night Tour
Copenhagen Culinary Bike Tour
There isn’t any higher strategy 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 $92 per individual. It contains a variety of totally different meals to pattern, together with smørrebrød, sizzling canines, fish meatballs, and pattern beer from Mikkeller.
The tour travels from the town middle, alongside the waterfront, and into the stylish Meatpacking space in Vesterbro. It’s a good way to see a lot of the town and pattern lots of our beneficial meals.
Click on Right here to Be taught Extra Concerning the Food and Bike Tour
Vesterbro Strolling Food Tour
For meals and enjoyable, probably the most fascinating neighborhood in Copenhagen is Vesterbro.
This was the outdated red-light district however has undergone a renaissance in 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 $78 per individual, and contains 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 in the span of 50 years.
The tour is ideal for individuals who desire a deeper expertise in an actual neighbourhood. It’s additionally an opportunity to find out about different nice bars and eating places to strive in Copenhagen.
Click on right here to be taught extra about this Strolling meals tour
Drinks in Copenhagen
You’ll want one thing to scrub down the entire tasty meals. Listed below are among the drinks to strive in Copenhagen you gained’t wish to miss.
1. The Quintessential Danish Beer: Carlsberg
Basically, Denmark is a beer and shot consuming 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 have been patrons of the humanities, based the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum, and funded renovations of Frederiksberg Citadel. 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 an alternative 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) greatest craft beer got here from a highschool physics trainer.
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 all around the world. In simply 15 years of operation, they developed over 1000 recipes.
You’ll find 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.
The easiest way to get pleasure from Mikkeller is at two of their partnerships. Warpigs in Meatpacking provides American-style barbecue, whereas Ramen to Biiru has 4 areas across the metropolis serving scrumptious ramen.
Snaps, Snaps, Snaps!
Realizing that Denmark is a beer and shot tradition, you want some liquor as properly!
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.
Our favourite model of snaps is from Snaps Bornholm.
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’ll find Snaps Bornholm in liquor shops or nicer eating places round Copenhagen.
Now You Know What To Eat in Copenhagen
Danish tradition actually 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 depends upon innovation and creativity to face out in the trendy world.
Copenhagen is greatest skilled by tapping into the native tradition, like its meals. There isn’t any higher manner to do this than by its eating places, bars, and grocers.
From a easy sizzling canine wagon to an beautiful multi-course New Nordic menu, the meals in Copenhagen will fulfill your starvation for pleasure!
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