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Oscar
Oscar is a stylish, easy-going spot where you'll find gay men and their female friends having a bite to eat. It's an airy space, with room to breathe and substantial meals during the day (generally pasta and soup dishes). Oscar can seem so low-key in daylight hours that you may not realise it's a 'gay' place till you spy portraits of Oscar Wilde on the wall.
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Palæ Bar
This cosy, old-school drinking den is popular with an older crowd of journalists, writers and politicians.
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Pan Disco
On the southern side of Strøget, this is the city's main mixed gay and lesbian danceteria, with multiple bars and two (frequently packed) dance floors. Typically one disco spins current house tunes and the other focuses on camp/romantic pop classics that bring out the inner karaoke queen in all of us.
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Park Café
This is Østerbro's most happening night venue. Its cafe serves both vegetarian and meat items and often has live entertainment. There are a couple of large dance floors - the upper level with live music and the basement floor with a DJ. The music is varied but progressive and the crowd tends to be young and stylish.
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Pussy Galore's Flying Circus
Jacobsen chairs, outdoor seating, an excellent cocktail list and some serious queues mean this place has still got some sort of 'it' factor for many locals. The classic French brasserie Sebastapols next door is equally popular on weekends, creating a buzzing scene on this bustling square.
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Ricco's Coffee Bar
Vesterbro's groovy locals love this tiny but dedicated coffee bar, which also sells 20 different types of beans and syrups to take home. Considered by many to be the best coffee bar in Copenhagen. Owner Ricco Harder Sørensen also has a branch in Pisserenden (Studiestræde 24), off Strøget.
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Rust
A thriving, smashing place that attracts one of the largest and coolest club crowds in Copenhagen. There's a choice of spaces here from nightclub to concert hall, and a wide variety of edgy modern music. Weekends see some earnest queuing. You'll need to be over 21 to enter the nightclub.
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Sporvejen
This tram-in-the-wall bar is rather tight on space (it is, literally, one of the old trams that used to run in the city), but has plenty of outdoor seating when weather permits. Great for a beer, not a bite.
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Stengade 30
In the Nørrebro area, Stengade 30 has a frequently lively alternative scene with everything from electronica and hip-hop to Berlin-style techno and edgy international DJs such as Miss Kittin and Ned Flanders. Big nights last until about or thereabouts. The Rub-a-Dub Sundays are very popular.
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Studenterhuset
This grungy student hang-out near the Rundetårn features some good light meals to soak up all the cheap beer that's on offer. Not a bad spot to catch some live music either, or the eye of feverish types with Che posters on their bedroom walls.
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Tea Time
An improbable but welcome addition to Nørrebro's underground scene is this quaint English tearoom. Expect home-made cupcakes, pink lemonade, fine teas and finger sandwiches, served with just a hint of postmodern irony. This is the kind of place that just makes your day better.
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Zeze
Right in the heart of the city centre nightlife scene, this popular café-restaurant-bar lures the young and the beautiful to an evening of simple, modern Mediterranean cooking and a relaxed vibe.
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Zirup
This is one of our favourites among many excellent café-restaurants on Strædet, the pedestrian street that runs parallel to Strøget to the south, with a fresh and funky menu (burgers, Mexican, wraps, sandwiches and salads) to match its colourful, cosmopolitan interior design. There is plenty of outdoor seating during summer - perfect to see and be seen.
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Zoo Bar
It doesn't look like much by day, but this small bar on the so-called 'fashion street' heaves with a young crowd when the DJs hit the decks at weekends.
