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Copenhagen’s best food & drink

  • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

Last updated: 28 April, 2024

Locally caught fish and seafood is one of Danish cuisine’s strongest suits: herring, in particular, is a local favourite and has been caught, salted, dried and smoked here for centuries.

Along the famous Danish pastries, try hot dogs and open rye bread sandwiches called smorrebrod, which often features herring.

For drinks, beer is king but look beyond Carlsberg: craft breweries like Mikkeller and Friends and Norrebro Bryghus are picking up deserved accolades. Or wash things down with a shot of ice-cold caraway snaps, or in the colder months try glog, Scandinavian mulled wine.

The culinary scene

Copenhagen has gone all gourmet now and boasts 14 Michelin-starred restaurants (23 stars between them), a movement initially inspired by the world-famous restaurant Noma.

Hygge cafes and restaurants are known for their candlelit interiors, cosy atmosphere and traditional Danish dishes.

Food tours are well worth it here for finding the foodie hotspots. A baking class – offered by several operators – is a good way to learn about the city’s iconic Danish pastries.

Recommendations

6

Noma

  • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

Aerial view looking down on a plate of food and side dish

Bucket List Experience

Noma

Crowned the best restaurant in the world four times in the last decade (by a panel of 800 chefs and critics) this tiny spot has become the icon of Danish cuisine.

Provocative head chef Rene Redzepi has made waves with his strict dogma of seemingly simple Nordic dishes made from seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients. Its El Bulli-like status draws VIPs, celebrities and consummate foodies from around the globe to dine in the converted 18th-century warehouse.

Expect anything from live shrimp with ants to ‘Hen and the Egg’ – a DIY dish where guests cook their own duck egg with spinach. A spectacular dining experience, not for the fainthearted.

Adult price: £80

Good for age: 18+

Reffen Street Market

  • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

Various beautiful street food cafes. Reffen is a city square and street food market.

Experience

A waterfront street food market and creative hub, this is a favourite after-work haunt for locals, who come to graze on everything from sushi to tacos and burgers, and laze in deckchairs by the sea. A magnet for foodie and street food lovers. Closed in winter.

Good for age: 18+

Illum

  • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

nterior of ILLUM - premium department store. A skillfully decorated shopping paradise, offering everything from fashion and beauty to home decor and design.

Experience

Copenhagen’s answer to Selfridge’s is this upscale, 5-storey department store and a good find for foodies. The basement has an excellent food market, and the rooftop restaurants are a pleasant, centrally-located spot to stop in for refreshments in between shopping and sightseeing. There’s also a Japanese teahouse on the 4th floor. Open daily.

Good for age: 13+

Torvehallerne

  • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

view of the new artistic market hall of Torvehallerne in Copenhagen

Experience

A foodie hotspot, in a global culinary capital, is not to be missed. This gourmet food market sees a plethora of seasonal foods for sale, alongside more staple Danish specialties like fresh pastries. Food stalls aplenty offer tempting treats to snaffle on the go or at the outdoor tables.

Good for age: 18+

Craft beer at Mikkeller

  • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

exterior of the very popular brewery Mikkeller with a restaurant inside

Experience

Started in 2007 by two friends, this pioneering craft beer success story has since spread to multiple cities, including Stockholm and San Francisco. A Copenhagen institution now recognised worldwide, it’s the place to go for consistently great tasting beer and some enticingly experimental brews.

Min age 18

Good for age: 18+

Grod

  • Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark

Grod

Experience

Grod translates as porridge in Danish, but this porridge specialist takes the humble oat staple to new levels of sophistication. Branches around the city serve up steaming bowlfuls infused with gourmet flavours and trimmings, including spelt porridge with caramelised apples and toasted almonds, or chestnut puree and apple. Wo knew porridge could taste this good?

Good for age: 4+

Logistics

Price: Free
Minimum age: 0
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Duration: -

Who to go with: organised tours

5

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

  • Copenhagen

Explore Copenhagen on a food tour and learn about the Nordic country’s burgeoning cuisine and restaurant scene! Discover produce as fresh as the Scandinavian air and scout out the locals’ favorite eateries and market halls with an expert guide at your side. Food samples change according to season, but the tour includes enough treats to comprise a full meal, with delicacies like artisan cheese, organic ice cream, home-brewed beer, open rye-bread sandwiches and more.

Price DKK 1,050

Min age 0

Rating 4.78 / 5 [691 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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  • Copenhagen

Discover the delights of Nordic cuisine on this Copenhagen Food & Drink Private Tour, accompanied by your local guide. Visit the most traditional food stands in Copenhagen. Enjoy the exquisite Ristepølse, a Danish gourmet hot dog, accompanied by elderflower juice. Try a delicious Scandinavian version of roast pork: Flæskesteg, one of Denmark's main national dishes. Admire the colorful Torvehallerne Market, and taste a Fiskefrikadeller, a fish dumpling served with the best Danish beer.  Sit on a terrace and taste the Smørrebrod, the most traditional dish, accompanied by a small shot that is a ritual in Denmark.  To end this incredible tour with a delicious taste in your mouth, you can't miss the Danish pastries. Enjoy a cinnamon roll and a coffee in one of the most charming pastry shops in Copenhagen. Book now and enjoy the best of Scandinavian cuisine in this Gastronomic Experience with a private guide, just for you.

Price €148

Min age 0

Rating 4.79 / 5 [184 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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  • Copenhagen

Discover Vesterbro, the epicenter of Copenhagen’s hipster culture, on this beer and culture walking tour. Spend an afternoon with a couple of brews exploring the former red-light district of Vesterbro, while you find out why Lonely Planet have called this neighborhood one of the coolest in the world with a local guide and a small group of like-minded travelers. - Tune into seedy Vesterbro tales of the past through a couple of brews with locals who have walked these streets most of their life. - Discover where the locals live and love to hang out with pit-stops in 3 beloved and markedly distinctive pubs, where you of course get to taste the golden and distinctive beers with the locals - Experience how gentrification is transforming a shady neighborhood into a hip urban area without compromising the neighborhoods past identity, while you support a range of good causes - Discover that beer makes Vesterbro better!

Price €60

Min age 18

Rating 4.77 / 5 [141 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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  • Copenhagen

Eat your way through Copenhagen's culinary scene on a private food tour. Go on a delicious journey as you try 6 or 10 of the best food items beloved by the locals: from savory to sweet and local drinks; this tour will leave every foodie satisfied! Enjoy tastings typical of the local cuisine and hand-picked by a local guide passionate about food like A traditional Danish hotdog and Danish pastry. But that's not it! This tour is more than just food; it's a cultural experience! In between food stops, you'll also find city highlights making this experience a well-rounded tour that will satisfy every foodie. Withlocals The 10 Tastings Private Food Tour™ is one of Withlocals' signature tours available in major cities worldwide. We work with passionate local guides who earn a fair fee. We support local economies by only offering local produce and prevent over-tourism with only small non-intrusive groups. Our tours are carbon-neutral and away from the standard tourist routes.

Price €169

Min age 1

Rating 4.68 / 5 [137 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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  • Copenhagen

Join this 3 hour gourmet evening walking tour in Copenhagen to taste some local food and sample some beer. Stroll through the market where you'll listen to your guide tell the story of the recent developments in Danish food and enjoy some food tastings. Later, sit down to savor a main course dinner at a gourmet restaurant with an included glass of wine or juice. Then, at the end of the tour, try some beer samples at a local microbrewery. This small group tour is limited to 12 people to ensure a more personalized experience.

Price DKK 1,050

Min age 0

Rating 4.36 / 5 [38 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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