Everything We Ate In Copenhagen

I cant wait to go back

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A quick heads up before we get to today's newsletter: I currently have the flu or some other nasty bug, so just a quick note to say that there is a recipe coming this week, inspired by my recent trip to Copenhagen, but it’ll be in your inboxes on Sunday, as I don’t have the energy to write up the post today.

Okay, back to my recent trip to Copenhagen. This is everywhere and everything we ate in my new favourite city.

Stay

Grand Joanne Hotel

When we were looking at hotels in the city, we had plenty of beautiful properties to choose from. The Grand Joanne reminded me a little of a Hoxton hotel but smaller with a more feminine edge with its design. A beautiful lobby and restaurant; the room was simple but stylish with an excellent bed. It was weirdly missing some basics like a fridge or a safe, but these are minor points.

The hotel is handily located right next to Kobenhaven H station, and it sits alongside the Meatpacking and Vesterbro districts, both excellent neighbourhoods for restaurants. Breakfast was included in our rate, so whilst I was desperate to get out and visit all of the bakeries on my list, we did take advantage of the breakfast a couple mornings, and it was excellent.

Coffee + Drinks

Orsa

Just down the road from our hotel, in Vesterbro, this may just be my favourite coffee shop in the city. Cool design, great coffee and a small selection of really good baking. The banana bread with espresso cream, delicious!

Jojo

Copenhagen has a reputation for being expensive, and whilst I don’t think this is entirely warranted (many things were pretty comparable to London, and I definitely found it cheaper than major US cities), drinks were noticeably more expensive. Enter Jojo, a brilliant little cocktail bar that specialises in batched cocktails. The drinks are made daily and cost just 50 DKK, close to £5. A bargain anywhere in the world. The drinks are fun and the place is clearly popular; it was absolutely heaving on the night we visited.

Coffee Collective

This local chain manages to make consistently excellent coffee, despite the six locations they now operate. worth bookmarking.

April

In every city I visit I like to bring my coffee-obsessed brother back a bag of beans. This coffee shop looked like a shrine to the caffeinated gods, so it seemed like the perfect place. I can confirm he highly rated the coffee I bought for him. Whilst we weren't hungry when we visited, they did also appear to make very good canelé.

La Cabra

This coffee company, which started in Aarhus, Denmark, now has locations across the country as well as locations in NYC, Oman and Bangkok. I'm a big fan because, yes, the coffee is great, but also because they have excellent baking in each location. In Copenhagen they currently only operate a small concession in the Another Aspect menswear shop, but the coffee is still excellent, and it was a favourite pitstop in the city. Whilst we didn't get anything to eat this time, on previous visits in other cities, the baking has been to an incredibly high standard.

Bakeries

Lille

This beautiful bakery is about a 45-minute walk out of downtown Copenhagen, but on a nice day, it's a lovely walk, and you are rewarded with the beautiful food selection on offer once you arrive. This bakery specialises in wholewheat breads and ancient grains, the baking much heartier than some of the city's other delicious treats. We arrived for a late breakfast, and their take on the Danish breakfast plate, was a brilliant introduction to the different breads they have on offer.

My favourite dish we ordered was simply the fried eggs on toast. Served atop homemade bread, the egg was fried in butter and sage leaves and was just delicious, served with a housemade hot sauce. The rhubarb pastry we also tried (hey, we walked for almost 90 minutes to get there from our hotel) was also delicious with a particularly nutty pastry and a sharp rhubarb topping. If you really don’t want to walk, we did see a bus stop close by with a steady stream of customers getting off the bus heading straight to the bakery. For me this is the perfect bakery to visit on a nice day when you can enjoy the plentiful outdoor seating.

Hart

This is the renowned spot founded by Richard Hart, the former Tartine and Noma baker who has created an empire of bakeries. In Copenhagen alone, Hart operates a whopping eleven locations! We visited one of the larger spots in the Meatpacking District, and we thoroughly enjoyed the cardamom croissant, a monkey bread muffin made with croissant scraps and a sticky cardamom glaze, and the yuzu pastry, which slightly resembled a Paris Brest but was made with croissant dough and filled with a yuzu cream. A definite must-visit when in the city.

Rondo

This bakery is a little out of the tourist centre, in the beautiful Nørrebro neighbourhood. It is also seemingly more of a neighbourhood spot with a smaller and more traditional menu. The quality is excellent, and if you’re in the area, it is well worth a visit.

To be honest, some of our favourite days were spent just wandering around the city exploring different neighbourhoods, hunting down something delicious to eat and drink. The city has so many distinct neighbourhoods; it would be a shame to stick to the more well-trodden areas.

Rug Bageri

This would take home the award for most beautiful bakery in the city, I’m sure. Housed in the Villa Copenhagen hotel, it is swimming in grand decoration. Big comfy booths with marble countertops – it is a place you’ll want to hang out in for a while! It really made me wish we'd booked this hotel instead! On our visit we had a fantastic pain au chocolat and a particularly good chocolate chip cookie.

Juno

When I was talking to people about my upcoming trip, there were two places that almost every person seemed to recommend. Baest for pizza (we didn’t go) and Juno. Many people told me their favourite cardamom bun could be found at Juno, and frankly, that was all the encouragement I needed. Yes, the bun is incredible. But please, do not overlook everything else they make. We tried the vanilla bun and the rhubarb cream bun, and I would say the vanilla was Mike's favourite bite of the trip, and the rhubarb was a contender for mine. Yes, it's not in a super-central location, but we loved getting out of the centre and seeing more of the city, so I would definitely encourage you to visit.

Prolog Coffee

This is more of a handy tip than a full-blown recommendation. Prolog Coffee is a very popular coffee roaster, and their beans appear on menus all over the city. They also happen to have a couple of coffee shops, with one location being around the corner from Juno. If you accidentally find yourself at the bakery on a Monday, not realising that they're closed, you can simply wander over to Prolog, as they also happen to serve pastries from the famed bakery.

Restaurants

Delphine

Looking at the menu and the decoration, this restaurant gave me strong River Cafe vibes, although it leans more Greek than it does Italian. The food here was incredibly special, and it was one of my favourite meals in the city. The poussin with potatoes, oregano, parsley and grilled lemon was a highlight, but truly everything was excellent.

Goldfinch

Despite this incredibly central location, right by the tourist magnet that is Nyhavn, this felt like a slightly hidden treasure, tucked down a nondescript alleyway. The food is Cantonese, and despite everything being a little too salty (and this is coming from someone who loves salt) the food was amazing. Seemingly a bit of a signature dish, the scallop sesame toast was absolutely worth ordering. Other favourite dishes were the Dan Dan Noodles and the Black Bean Chicken and the Pork Dumplings with Black Vinegar.

Slurp Ramen

The night we ended up here was actually the night we were supposed to get engaged. But the weather changed, and I decided to change our plans, not knowing Mike had a big surprise in store. He cancelled his secret restaurant reservation, and we headed out for ramen. Mike has actually said he was happy the engagement ended up happening another day because the ramen here was some of the best we’ve ever had. Mike had a chicken and mushroom broth, and I did the ‘nduja ramen, both absolutely stellar. The restaurant is walk-ins only, so expect a queue, but don't worry; it moves quickly.

Diamond Slice

After we actually did get engaged, did we end up at a fancy restaurant to celebrate? No, we got pizza and margaritas from Diamond Slice instead. We went in the afternoon, so the place was quiet, but I’m sure it's a pretty popular spot come the evening. Serving up old-school NY-style slices, it's simple and delicious, plus it is easy on the wallet too.

Palazzo Dinner

We couldn’t not have some sort of celebratory dinner after the engagement, so we ended up going to Palazzo Diner, which was a few minutes' walk from our hotel. On Sundays-Wednesdays they run their Pasta Club menu, an absolute bargain by Copenhagen standards. For 199 DKK, about £20, you can enjoy a three-course meal. The menu is very limited, but the dishes were all very good. For a cheap but delicious meal, you really can't go wrong. They also served a new favourite cocktail, made with Cynar, Martini Rosso, Cherry Heering and Tonic, like an alcoholic cherry cola, delicious. Reservations are a must; even at the early-ish hour we dined, walk-ins were already being turned away.

Hotdog Stands

You can’t come to Copenhagen without trying a Danish hotdog! To be honest I did no research on these dogs and can’t even tell you which stands we visited but the hot dogs, replete with all the toppings that make the Danish style unique, were the perfect snack after walking 13 miles in a day. These stands used to number in the hundreds but I believe there are around 60 left in the city today. You’ll find them in every city square and at many transport hubs too. Do yourself a favour and get one with all of the toppings.