This post is the first in a new semi-regular feature on CBT: 5 on Friday. (Also considered: Friveday). The idea is simple: quick but informative posts on a certain aspect of a destination – whether that’s food, drink, museums, art galleries or architecture. Hope you like it – let me know what you think!
I am definitely not a foodie. As I’ve said before, I don’t see anything wrong with eating McDonald’s or KFC when on the road (or anytime really), but I do like to eat local dishes and try new things – something I did plenty of in Copenhagen.
Here are a few places I would recommend:
Nordic Noodle
Nørrebrogade 29
A blurry shot of my dish at Nordic Noodle
Nordic Noodle was a brilliant little find in the ultra-cool Norrebro neighbourhood. Styled a bit like Subway, Asian wok dishes of your choice are made freshly in front of you. The servings are generous and the atmosphere is cosy. We were the only people in there when we went and the two chefs chatted to us for ages. One of my favourite things was how well branded the place was – we were shocked it wasn’t a chain.
If memory serves, we paid around £6-8 for a filling portion.
(You can read a much better review here.)
Paludan Bogcafe
Fiolestræde 10-12
Paludan Bogcafe
Definitely one of the highlights of our trip, Paludan Bogcafe is a lovely – and very popular – cafe-cum-bookshop, which is perfect for spending a few hours chatting and people watching. The interior is beautiful, with books everywhere. We waited quite a while to be served and find a table, but it was definitely worth it. Paludan is centrally located, so it’s close to Copenhagen’s main sights. Cider was decent, too.
You can get a decent sandwich and a drink for around a tenner.
Sankt Peders Bageri
Sankt Peters Stræde 29
Croissant heaven at Sankt Peders Bageri
You can’t go to Denmark without visiting a bakery and this one was our favourite (trust me – we put in some dedicated croissant-based research). A tiny little place hidden on Copenhagen’s prettiest street (Sankt Peters Stræde), it is actually Copenhagen’s oldest bakery. It is opposite a church with a pretty courtyard – the perfect place to sit and eat your first croissant of the day.
A croissant and a hot chocolate came to around £4.
Torvehallerne Food Market
Frederiksborggade 21
My Smørrebrød – FAR better than it looks
Now, I am the last person to go to a food market – trust me – but our brilliant bike tour of Copenhagen ended here, where we had half an hour to peruse the different little shops and pop-up stands. In the end, we settled for a Smørrebrød – a traditional Danish sandwich (and much nicer than they look), as well as some tasty fishcakes followed by a fruit smoothie. The food was great and the atmosphere was lovely – a great way to sample some traditional Danish food. We also met a lovely Kiwi girl, which was nice.
I can’t remember the exact prices (helpful, I know) but it was a little bit pricier than elsewhere we went, I think.
Noma
Strandgade 93
Just kidding – we definitely didn’t go there. Meant to be half-decent though, I’ve heard…
Sankt Peders Straede – my favourite street in CPH
There you have it: 5 great places to eat in Copenhagen – and as you can see, reasonable prices. Copenhagen really isn’t somewhere you need to throw money away – you can easily find affordable, decent places to eat.
One general piece of advice would be that Danes eat early. We found a lot of restaurants were closing or had shut entirely after 8pm, so be sure to get in early!