Unique Things For A Foodie To Do In Copenhagen

Being home to Noma, the world’s best restaurant and the place where the new Nordic cuisine movement was born, Copenhagen is unquestionably one of the top destinations for foodies. Aside from a long list of Michelin-starred restaurants, the city offers many unique experiences for a more proper insight into Denmark’s culinary scene and this list has it all.

Meet some of the most renowned chefs and watch them do their magic

Foodies and Nordic cuisine lovers should definitely plan a trip to Copenhagen in the period the Cooking and Food Festival is taking place. That means sometime at the end of August. With 100 events taking place during 10 days, gastronomy lovers will have the chance to learn all they need to know about the new Nordic cuisine movement, meet renowned chefs, as well as taste the best of the Danish dishes. The most dedicated foodies should sign up to volunteer, as they will have the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into Denmark’s culinary scene.

Learn how to make smørrebrød

Dine with a local

There isn’t a better way to learn a country’s culture and food traditions than through a local’s kitchen. But unless you already have a Dane friend before visiting Copenhagen, making one and having them invite you to their place while you’re traveling in the country is rather unlikely. Luckily, there is Meet The Danes, the organization that brings locals and tourists together for a hyggelig dinner. Guests only have to sign up and the people behind Meet The Danes will find a host that will prepare a traditional homemade dinner for them.

1. Visit Copenhagen's most elegant food market

Bakery, Market, Restaurant, Bodega

Torvehallerne isn’t a huge market but each one of the food stalls you’ll find there are carefully selected and their owners make sure to always bring the best of quality and taste to their guests’ dishes. The famous market in Copenhagen’s city center has more than 60 stalls with fresh ingredients and cooked delicacies from the national and international cuisine. A French Bakery, a Bolivian restaurant, a Spanish Bodega, and a Chinese store are only some of the shops you’ll find in the indoor market. Wooden tables are set at the pedestrianized area around the market and as soon as the sun comes out locals make sure to grab a seat and indulge in one of the market’s delicacies, an ice-chilled cocktail or warm cup of coffee.

Torvehallerne, Frederiksborggade 21, Copenhagen, Denmark, +45 70 10 60 70

Torvehallerne market, Copenhagen | © Heather Sperling / Flickr

2. Taste an organic meal on the rooftop of a car auction house

There are plenty of organic farms that also prepare and serve dishes made of their fresh ingredients but GroSpiseri in Østerbro district offers a really unique experience. The reason is that its fruits and vegetables grow in an urban garden on the rooftop of Copenhagen’s oldest car auction house. On the same rooftop stands the cozy restaurant where experienced chefs prepare super tasty seasonal and organic meals, inviting locals and tourists for a relaxed dinner.

Gro Spiseri, Æbeløgade 4, Copenhagen, Denmark

GRO Spiseri | Courtesy of GRO Spiseri

3. Discover Danes' brewing secrets

Bar

Visiting Denmark and not tasting the local beers is like exploring Copenhagen and forgetting to see the Little Mermaid. It simply can not be done. Copenhagen has plenty of bars and all of them serve locals’ favorite drinks. But for beer geeks who want to gain a real insight in how Danes manage to make delicious beer, a bar crawl may not be enough. A brewery tour, on the other hand, is what they need. No, we don’t mean in Carlsberg’s factory. BrewPub København, a microbrewery housed in a 17th building in the city center, offers 45-minute brewery and beer tasting tours, offering guests the chance to see how the different styles of beer are made.

BrewPub Copenhagen, Vestergade 29, Copenhagen, Denmark, +45 33 32 00 60

Brewery Tour |© Robert Mathews / Unsplash | © Robert Mathews / Unsplash

4. Be among the first to visit Copenhagen's new Greenhouse restaurant

Restaurant, European

What makes Väkst so special to be included in a list with the most unique things for a foodie isn’t only its great dishes or the Scandinavian design but the fact that in the heart of the restaurant stands a greenhouse. Väkst is Cofoco’s newest restaurant and is located in the middle of the city center, close to the vivid Latin quarter. The restaurant’s guests have the chance to dine surrounded by plants right next to a greenhouse that stretches up two floors. Even though the surroundings may imply that all you going to find on the menu is fresh seasonal vegetables, meat and fish lovers, worry not. There are plenty of choices for your taste too.

Take a food tour

A food tour around Copenhagen is a great way to discover the New Nordic Cuisine and taste traditional Danish dishes without struggling to find the city’s best restaurants by yourself. Copenhagen Food Tours offers two kinds of tours (and a special one for Christmas) presenting the different gastronomy sides of Copenhagen. The four-hour Culinary Experience tour is for those who want to discover the city’s food markets, taste the popular Danish hotdogs from the street stalls and try the traditional smørrebrød. Lovers of the New Nordic Cuisine should take the West End Gourmet Tour, which takes place in Vesterbro, Copenhagen’s hip neighborhood, and the Meatpacking District, the cool district with the industrial style restaurants and bars.

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