Where to eat in Copenhagen, Denmark
August 2015
By Kat Silverfield
It’s no secret that Copenhagen’s food scene is booming. This year, 15 of the city’s restaurants earned a combined 18 Michelin stars. Two stars each went to Noma, Geranium and AOC. It’s one of Europe’s best foodie havens and I couldn’t wait to taste all it had to offer.
I had originally planned to visit only establishments with authentic Nordic cuisine – preferably foraged by older, rugged, Nordic-looking locals –but things don’t always go to plan.
War Pigs
Located in the trendy Meatpacking District, War Pigs is everything I didn’t expect to experience in Copenhagen. It’s an American-style barbecue restaurant serving up pulled pork, brisket and the like. The restaurant also doubles as a brewery. Outside were 20 or so picnic tables lined up like soldiers in what appeared to be a very large and very empty car park. We stopped there to have a pre-dinner drink but the atmosphere was infectious, and the weather was beautiful, so we stayed for dinner.
War Pigs does great BBQ. The best BBQ I’ve had this side of the Atlantic. If not for the smoked meats and local beer, head to the Meatpacking District to experience one of Copenhagen’s coolest neighbourhoods.
Copenhagen Street Food
A food market similar to some of London’s street food havens. We sampled a bit of everything including amazing double-fried duck fat fries from Copper and Wheat. They were so amazingly crispy and flavourful they were all gone before I even thought about taking a picture to share with you.
Next up was some Moroccan-style street food – chicken skewers, couscous and a fresh tomato salad.
While I was at it I thought, what else could I have that’s definitely not Nordic? Ah yes – the fresh pasta stand should tick that box.
Noma
It’s currently placed third in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Guide, and my experience there was everything I had hoped it would be. The restaurant design is a perfect blend of rustic exposed wood and modern Danish décor. It’s serene and stylish but doesn’t have that stuffy feeling you can get from white tablecloth restaurants.
The service was second to none. Each dish’s entrance was perfectly timed and a thorough explanation of what the first bite would bring arrived moments later. It was a truly inventive gastronomic experience. Here are some of the highlights…
Turnip and unripe strawberry marinated in aquavit
Flower tart
New Danish potato and lovage
Sweet shrimps wrapped in ramson leaves
Mahogany clam and grains
Roasted bone marrow
Forest flavours, chocolate and egg liqueur
Look! I even got to have my photo taken with the chefs.
Have any other foodie favourites in Copenhagen? Leave them in the comments below.