Restaurants in Denmark
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Café Under Uret
This bistro’s dim, candlelit interior is filled with wheat sheaves, comfy leather banquettes and easy-on-the-ear pop, while outside tables catch the evening sun. Well cooked, healthily huge brunches, sandwiches and burgers feature at lunch, while evening mains include chicken breast, beef and pasta.
reviewed
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Café Victor
This classic French bar and brasserie is the doyen of the Copenhagen cafe scene and is enjoyably snobbish with jet-set pretensions and, generally, a more middle-aged crowd (regulation uniform: loafers, jeans and blazers for the men, Chanel for the women). The food is excellent, but a touch overpriced.
reviewed
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Post & Tele Museum Café
This modern space does its best to bring the not overtly fascinating story of Post Danmark to life. The chief draw, however, is the excellent rooftop cafe, which serves a reasonable Danish-style lunch and has an outdoor terrace with fantastic views across the city centre to Christiansborg.
reviewed
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Lê Lê (7)
For dinner try the terrific refined Vietnamese street food at Lê Lê (7) in Vesterbro, where you should get a good feed for under 100kr.
reviewed
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Custom House
Sir Terence Conran’s recently opened gourmet complex is housed in the old ferry terminal, where boats used to embark for Sweden. As well as a small deli, there are three appealing upscale (or should that be ‘Yuppiescale’?) restaurants here. At Bacino the menu is contemporary but authentic Italian, with dishes including langoustine (shrimp) with pumpkin risotto or fillet of halibut with basil, courgette and almond cream. Ebisu serves what is for Copenhagen an unusually wide range of Japanese dishes, while the Grill Bar apes a more casual, upmarket New York steak joint. The food and service varies from excellent to so-so but, as you’d expect, the décor is smooth and s…
reviewed
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Damindra
Soothing interiors, a knowledgeable staff and unforgettable Japanese dishes define this little-known gem. The owner, Damindra, designed just about everything you see, including the cutlery, glasses and the chair you’re sitting on. Most importantly, his pride and passion are reflected in the food his Japanese chefs prepare: from the buttery sashimi to an unforgettable prawn tempura, it’s all obscenely fresh, flavoursome and beautifully presented. The ‘Chef’s Choice’ set sushi menu (368kr) provides the perfect culinary tour, while desserts such as chocolate brûlée with Earl Grey ice cream make for a wicked epilogue. Cap it all off with a complimentary soju and p…
reviewed
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Orangeriet
Enchantingly set in a vintage orangery in Kongens Have, Orangeriet is one of Copenhagen’s newest dining darlings. At the helm is award-winning chef Jasper Kure, whose mod-twist Scandi creations focus on simple flavours and top-notch seasonal produce. Savour the brilliance in dishes such as fried cockerel with thyme, grilled charlotte onions, creamy cauliflower, peas and smoked lard, or rhubarb trifle with macaroons, cherry liqueur, vanilla and yoghurt sorbet. Knowledgeable staff, an al fresco summertime terrace, and good-value set menus (three courses for 335kr) make this a must for midrange gourmands and true romantics.
reviewed
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Dag H
Formerly the coffee temple Amokka, Dag H now takes the name of the street on which it stands and remains the prime weekend brunch destination (when it is best to book in advance) for the locally resident young professionals with kids in tow. One of the city’s larger cafes, it boasts a beautiful, contemporary interior and plenty of outdoor seating in summer with a short but predictable menu of French brasserie classics, burgers, fancy sandwiches and salads (their three-course evening menu for 259kr is a good deal). Kontra Coffee next door is the city’s best coffee-making equipment store.
reviewed
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Pingvin Tapas & Vincafé
Definitely one of our favourites and it seems we’re not alone. This warm restaurant-bar offers a brilliant selection of 30 ‘tapas’ (it’s not so much a place to order dishes to share among a group, but more an individual tasting-plate approach). Make your selection and sit back to enjoy taste sensations such as figs wrapped in Parma ham, smoked duck breast on coleslaw or prawns cooked with sun-dried tomatoes and chilli. There’s a superb wine list, plus lunch-friendly one-stop dishes such as soup, sandwiches and burgers.
reviewed
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Mortens Kro
Hands down both the best and priciest place to eat in town, Mortens Kro is owned by celebrity chef Morten Nielsen, Denmark’s answer to Gordon Ramsay (minus the swearing, possibly). It’s a superstylish, well-hidden setting for the immaculately prepared food – you’re best to go with a menu of plentiful courses in order to experience the full ‘Morten magic’. This place is always hot, so advance booking is a good idea. Mølleå Arkaden is accessed from Danmarksgade or Peder Barkes Gade.
reviewed
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Cofoco
If Copenhagen Food Consulting merely offered a superb four-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 just 250kr – well, that alone would warrant it a high 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. The same owners run the excellent Les Trois Cochons and Auberge in Østerbro.
reviewed
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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. You reserve and pay the 1250kr bill (which includes wine) well in advance, then receive an invitation to a convivial, soirée-style evening with a multicourse dinner as the main attraction. Highly recommended, and the contemporary Danish-European food lives up to the high concept.
reviewed
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Nyhavns Færgekro
An atmospheric café right on the canal, this popular spot has an all-you-can-eat buffet with 10 different kinds of herring, including baked, marinated and rollmops, with condiments to sprinkle on top and boiled potatoes to round out the meal. If you’re not a herring lover, then there’s something very wrong with you. But there’s also a variety of smørrebrød for around 60kr. Dinner, served from 5pm to 11.30pm, betrays French influences, like many Danish restaurants in this area.
reviewed
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Dronning Louise
The Queen Louise commands a great position on Torvet and entertains her loyal subjects with something-for-everyone panache: she’s a café, restaurant, pub and even a nightclub (until the wee hours on Friday and Saturday). There’s also live music each Thursday. You can dine from the wonderfully broad all-day menu on the square, inside or in the rear courtyard. The brunch plate (95kr) offers serious bang for your buck, or try local boutique brews at the pub. You may not need to venture elsewhere.
reviewed
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Brygger Bauers Grotter
Follow the candlelit passageway for a fine-dining experience inside ‘cave rooms’ that date back more than 100 years. Service is polished and the menu is nicely upmarket, with traditional touches – we’re talking venison with redcurrant sauce and mushroom roulade, or maybe fried plaice. There’s an excellent beer and wine selection, including local boutique brews. Lunch is considerably more casual. You can also enter from Domkirkestræde, behind the cathedral.
reviewed
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Pakhuset
Best for seafood, atmosphere and for late-night summer drinks (often accompanied by live music). The discerning seafood-lover will feel at home upstairs at Pakhuset, where fresh fish dishes are meticulously prepared and served on white linen. Downstairs is the more relaxed café, with easier-on-the-wallet prices and appetising meals such as fish soup or steamed mussels. We give Pakhuset the nod over its downstairs café solely for the cheerful wooden ship mastheads it displays inside.
reviewed
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Rasmus Oubæk
Rasmus Oubæk is one of Denmark’s top chefs but he quit the high stress, low profit world of Michelin-starred dining a while back to open this elegant little traditional French place in the city’s royal quarter. We wouldn’t ordinarily recommend that you try out-and-out French bistro cooking in Copenhagen, but Oubæk’s food is just so good – he does dishes such as duck confit and steak tartar better than most French chefs could ever dream of.
reviewed
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Kræz Night & Day
A night-time venue for live music, comedy, karaoke and lectures, this is also one for a summer’s day – outdoor tables merge with those of several other restaurants around pedestrianised Gråbrødre Plads to form a convivial mass of diners. Food is bistro-style – soup, Greek salad, burgers, Mexican platters, baked salmon etc – but served in monster portions and with tasty twists. A decadent weekend brunch includes chocolate brownies. Service can be slow.
reviewed
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Gourmet
If you name a restaurant Gourmet, you better be pretty certain you can back it up. This new place at Rømø Golf & Wellness has certainly got the setting and the décor right, and is home to the island’s loveliest terrace. The lunch menu holds few surprises but plenty of smørrebrød and seafood. The kitchen really struts its stuff of an evening, with high-class Rømø produce aplenty (local lamb, organic chicken, Rømø shrimps). Top stuff.
reviewed
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Mielcke & Hurtigkarl
If you plan on seducing someone (or just your own taste buds), book a table at this culinary charmer. Set in a former royal summer house in Frederiksberg Have, its forest soundscapes, lighting installation and whimsical murals are utterly dreamy. While the set lunch menu offers simpler, cheaper fare, the highlight here is the set dinner menu, showcasing head chef Jakob Mielcke’s inspired approach to local and global ingredients (think Norwegian lobster jelly with salty plum ice cream).
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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Restaurant AOC
A sublime culinary experience is guaranteed in this vaulted cellar restaurant in a historic mansion. Chefs Ronny Emborg and Michael Munk take the sourcing of the finest Danish ingredients for their restaurant very seriously, applying classic French techniques, learned during stints at Michelin restaurants, with dedication and wit. Meanwhile, sommelier Christian Aarø Mortensen is a champion wine steward with an exceptional list (it’s particularly strong on French wines).
reviewed
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Trio
Malmö’s answer to Copenhagen’s Noma (restaurant manager and sommelier Erik Berne hails from Noma itself), Trio is a fine-dining mecca for serious foodies. Chefs Ola Rudin (formerly of New York’s WD-50 and Aquavit) and Sebastian Persson (also from Aquavit and Stockholm’s F12) transform seasonal, regional produce into ground-breaking dishes such as scallops with meadowsweet, apple and milk, or blackcurrant with goat’s cheese and wood sorrel. Book ahead or miss out.
reviewed
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Årstiderna i Kockska Huset
This enchanting 16th-century red-brick cellar restaurant with its vaulted ceilings and cosy corners has been considered the ultimate Malmö gourmet destination for years. And it lives up to its billing, serving seriously impeccable French-inspired food, such as fillet of veal with sweetbreads in a port wine sauce flavoured with duck’s liver. Exemplary service and luscious – mostly French and Italian – wines make this every bit as good as Copenhagen’s finest.
reviewed
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Kødbyens Fiskebar
Postindustrial cool (concrete floors, tiled walls and a 1000-litre aquarium) meets sterling seafood at this Michelin-listed must. In the trendy Meatpacking District, its seasonal menu keeps it simple and fresh with dishes such as Limfjorden blue mussels with steamed apple cider and herbs. There’s usually a meat and vegetarian option, and delectable desserts include English liquorice with sea buckthorn and white chocolate ice cream. Kitchen closes 11pm.
reviewed
