Copenhagen Restaurant Recs

From our trip in the fall of 2023:

Lunch - for traditional open-faced sandwich Smørrebrød, we went to Cafe Sorgenfri. We ordered a platter with a massive number of items to put on slice after slice of rye bread. A metal stand on the table held the platter, making room for us to eat. The decor felt like an old-world ambiance. It was popular - I’m glad I made a reservation. The foursome at the table next to us were French, but it seemed that everyone else there were Danes. It’s recommended in the Rick Steves guidebook, and here’s the Website: https://cafesorgenfri.dk/home/

Dinner - for the best seafood restaurant in town, we went to the Michelin-recommended Kødbyens Fiskebar. The oysters were incredible. It’s located in the center of what used to be Copenhagen’s meat packing district, and took a little effort to locate, but was fantastic. Be sure to make a reservation! Website: https://fiskebaren.dk/en/

A Danish friend took me to "Madflubben" at Christmas time, we didn't have a reservation but were seated at a high common table with others. The food AND the service was excellent! Highly recommend it, not inexpensive. Looks like they run restaurants across Denmark. https://www.madklubben.dk/en

I had two great meals in Copenhagen in 2024:

• Det Lille Apotek for lunch (near Round Tower)
• Maple Casual - went for 3 course menu and it was delish. Near Central Train Station (EDITED: this is a non-pretentious and small place, a hole in the wall but there was a line and they were super popular. I thought food was delicious and I didn’t feel rushed. )

Both are recommended to make reservations.

Our Scandinavia tour guide recommended Maven, in a leafy square not far from Ostergade. We had a delicious lunch there of smorrebrod - shrimp and potato were excellent.

Cyn, Sandancisco, Joy -, cassienevins Thank you so much for these recommendations! This is exactly what I am looking for! Will look through these and make some reservations.

I just got an e-mail from Eating Europe, who do food and drink tours in many European cities. They’re just announcing a new one for Copenhagen. We took one of their Rome tours, and learned more about the city, not just fabulous places to eat. Right now, there’s even a 25% discount on the tour price, using code NEWSTUFF25

If you want a somewhat unusual, but fun and cheap, meal, you should check out Folkehuset Absalon: https://absaloncph.dk/en/food/

I found info on this place in the Rick Steves guidebook and had a delightful evening with delicious food. The communal meal is set up in a former church/current community center. You sit at long tables with other people and the food is served family- style (something like summer camp!) My tablemates included two other Americans, an Australian man with his adult daughter, a Chinese woman studying in Denmark, and a Danish man. So interesting. It was a really enjoyable evening, in a neighborhood away from the tourists.

For a truly memorable and unique dining experience, we loved our evening at The Alchemist. Expect to be there for about 5 hours - it is a total sensory dining event. Not sure when you are traveling but sign up for their email list and to get notices on when reservations are opening. They go quickly! Also, this is a $$$$ restaurant. Most expensive meal I have ever had but I still talk about it two years later.

For something more casual, we really enjoyed Warpigs (beer and BBQ). I had my birthday dinner at Restaurant Barr, which is by the water, charming, and we had excellent meals there. Lastly, we liked Baest - definitely will want reservations as we saw quite a few people turned away that tried to walk in.