Copenhagen Restaurants

  1. 1.th

    This unique, private dining 'restaurant' is housed in a classic Copenhagen apartment. 1.th translates as 'first floor, to the right' - the location of this sumptuously decorated living and dining room, open to guests of chef Mette Martinussen.

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  2. Alberto K

    The modern Italian cuisine is a match for the panoramic view at this 20th floor restaurant in the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, which is saying something. The menu blends locally sourced game and seafood with Italian ingredients - scallops with wild mushrooms and fennel being a good example. The restaurant has a well established, international wine cellar.

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  3. Apropos

    One of the leading lights of this lovely rejuvenated café square, Apropos serves a free-roaming menu that includes lobster rolls, tandoori salmon and New York cheesecake, with plenty of outdoor seating during summer. If it's full, try Carlton next door.

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  4. Aristo

    At the heart of pulsating Islands Brygge is this airy, contemporary café-restaurant serving pretty, modern Danish/Italian cuisine such as quail pot au feu (gently simmered quail), or pork tenderloin saltimbocca (filled pork rolls).

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  5. Atame

    Stretch your kroner further at this excellent-value Spanish tapas bar and takeaway based in a small cellar. This place is enduringly popular with the locals.

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  7. Auberge

    This sexy basement restaurant, with its trendy raw brick/glass-walled décor is run by the Cofoco group. The food is slightly more refined Franco-Danish, multicourse dishes in which the two-course starter and three-course 'main course' are each variations on one ingredient (raw and grilled scallops for the starter, for instance, and duck confit, pan-fried and breaded, for the main).

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  8. Aura

    This stylish, modern restaurant-DJ bar serves tapas-sized servings of sparklingly creative Modern Mediterranean cuisine. Good value for money and a cool place to boot.

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  9. Bastionen & Løven

    The elegant bare wood interior of this charming, old-style Scandinavian establishment is reason enough to come, but on a sunny day you'll find yourself yearning to sit outside in the tranquil windmill-by-the-water setting. The whole place feels like a wonderful secret - although the weekend brunch sessions can get mighty packed with local regulars.

    Read more about Bastionen & Løven

  10. Bistroen KBH

    The area immediately surrounding Rådhuspladsen is something of a culinary desert, which makes the arrival of experienced local chef Søren Thyboe in this delightful Franco-Danish café-restaurant all the more welcome. With its light, airy dining room, charming rear courtyard and excellent Modern European/Danish menu, this is a real oasis in a busy part of town.

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  11. Café A Porta

    Overlooking stately Kongens Nytorv beside the entrance to the metro is this classic Viennese-style café serving hearty portions of standard brasserie food, with a special seasonal line in asparagus and shellfish. This used to be a favourite of Hans Christian Andersen - the Royal Theatre, his favourite haunt, is just across the street and he lived for a while in an attic room in what is now Magasin du Nord.

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  13. Café Ketchup

    In the heart of Copenhagen's pre-club/café nightlife quarter, Ketchup reigns supreme with its split-level bar/dining room, global menu and glitzy-groovy crowd on weekends. Its veal tournedos with pan-fried foie gras on sweet potato roesti with sautéed haricot verts, Serrano ham and Béarnaise butter sounds pretty heavyweight and it is, but it surely won't do you any harm once in a while. On Friday and Saturday night there's a DJ.

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  14. Café Klimt

    This lively, one room, candle-lit 'art café' has been popular for several years now and is invariably packed to the rafters with young-ish locals delving into chef Bjørn Vestergaard's (formerly of restaurant Hotel d'Angleterre) eclectic global fusion menu of Cajun-Vietnamese-Italian-wok food.

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  15. Café Victor

    One of the original French-style zinc bars that caused a stir back in the '80s - largely due to its rather nouveau riche clientele - still serves a fantastic, if overpriced menu of updated French brasserie classics, including caramelised sweetbreads with peas, watercress and tomato fondue.

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  16. Café Wilder

    This friendly, laid-back corner café in the heart of pretty Christianshavn serves pasta salads and sandwiches by day and more substantial Franco-Danish food by night. It is one of the most popular cafés in the area, especially with the well-chilled arty community.

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  17. Cap Horn

    A deservedly popular spot, this canal favourite specialises in Danish fare and uses mainly organic ingredients. Grab a lunch plate of three open-faced sandwiches, a two-course meal of herring, steak and potatoes and wash it all down with a river of beer. It's open until the crowds die down (it's popular with cruise passengers), which is usually late.

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  19. Christianshavns Bådudlejning

    A pleasant spot on sunny summer days, Christianshavns Bådudlejning og Café is an informal open-air eatery right on Christianshavn canal. You can sit at the water's edge, watch some birds float by and snack on inexpensive cakes, croissants, sandwiches or salads. Service varies but, with views like this, who cares?

    Read more about Christianshavns Bådudlejning

  20. Cofoco

    If Copenhagen Food Consulting merely offered a superb three-course menu, featuring such delights as pork tenderloin with pork cheeks, parsnip and apricots or veal braised in red wine with celery and wild mushrooms, for around kr250 - well, that alone would warrant it ranking on the list of the city's best restaurants. But this is a stylish and convivial place too, with diners eating on a giant, communal wooden table beneath sparkling chandeliers.

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  21. Dag H

    A prime weekend brunch destination (when it is best to book in advance) for local young professionals with kids in tow, this is one of the city's larger cafés. It boasts a beautiful interior and plenty of outdoor seating in summer with a short, predictable menu of French brasserie classics, burgers, fancy sandwiches and salads. Kontra Coffee next door is the city's best coffee-making equipment store.

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  22. Divan 2

    Divan 2 is widely considered to be one of Tivoli's finest restaurants. Its location next to the Glass Hall by the Tivoli Lake guarantees an equally prestigious view. In operation since Tivoli opened in 1843, this restaurant serves gourmet French food and has a vintage wine collection.

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  23. Els

    If you're into formal dining, Els dishes out formal food (mind your manners) in a classic upmarket Danish-meets-French setting. Although the decor is solidly (and in some ways, stolidly) 19th century, the menu blends contemporary Danish and French influences to good effect where it counts - the food.

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  25. Emmerys

    This sophisticated, trendy bakery, coffee shop and delicatessen chain has branches throughout Copenhagen (in Nørrebro, Vesterbro and Østerbro) selling own brand coffee, as well as cakes, muffins, bread, wine and chocolate. Irresistible and high up on the list of locals' favourites for a weekend treat.

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  26. Ensemble

    Chefs Morten Schou and Nikolaj Egebøl-Jeppesen had a tough act to follow when they took over what was a successful Michelin-starred restaurant a couple of years ago, but their artful and inventive Modern Danish-French cooking has succeeded in maintaining the reputation of this intimate restaurant (and its star).

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  27. Famo

    This authentic Italian is usually crowded to the gunwales with enthusiastic foodie locals enjoying a fixed menu that might include wild mushroom risotto, squash puree and long-cooked tomato sauces with fresh, homemade pastas.

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  28. Fru Heiberg

    What used to be an old fashioned Greek restaurant is now one of the most popular restaurants in Østerbro, serving contemporary Franco-Danish food and run by the people behind Gefärlich. It is a lovely, cosy place invariably packed to the rafters with young diners and drinkers at the weekends, when booking is advised.

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  29. Geranium

    Full marks in literally every Danish newspaper review heralded the opening of the best new - if not the best, full stop - restaurant in Copenhagen in 2007.

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