Over the past several years, Copenhagen’s culinary scene has exploded. There’s little doubt that Noma, regarded by many as the best restaurant in the world, is responsible for putting Copenhagen on the world’s culinary map. There was a time when the world-famous establishment was the primary attraction that drew foodies, locals, and tourists to the Nordic capital. Nearly two decades after Noma’s arrival in Copenhagen, the gastronomic powerhouse is no longer the only standout here, now sharing a venerated stage with an abundance of delicious and acclaimed company.
While Noma continues to shine and be a leading force in Copenhagen’s burgeoning food scene, the opening of a slew of superlative restaurants that have followed have contributed to Copenhagen being regarded as one of the best food cities in the world.
We traveled to Copenhagen over the holidays and were initially disappointed that Noma would be closed for the holiday season. But our disappointment didn’t last too long, as we quickly learned that a plethora of Noma alumni have left the lauded Noma nest to spread their talented culinary wings to kitchens throughout the city.
While researching restaurants, we didn’t select restaurants solely based on whether a restaurant’s chef and/or owner was tied to Noma, but I would be lying if I said that we weren’t heavily influenced. There are so many incredible restaurants in Copenhagen, making it hard to choose. But when you’re as obsessed with food and traveling as we are, you do your due diligence, and it typically pays off. And boy, did it pay off here.
Copenhagen has earned an esteemed spot alongside Japan and Mexico City as one of our top three culinary trips to date. A bold statement? Yes.
But true.
Below details our path in navigating Copenhagen’s phenomenal food and drink scene. While our waistlines were cursing us by the end of our five-day tour-de-gluttony, our satiated foodie hearts were bursting with sumptuous joy.
AMASS
Without question our favorite meal of the trip, Amass is simply amazing.
Housed in a modern and super chic industrial setting, Amass prides itself on serving local produce from nearby farms, as well as what’s grown in its on-site kitchen garden.
Similar to many Copenhagen dining powerhouses, Amass is led by a former Noma Head Chef and wife team and is currently ranked #85th in the world. We ate an extravagant multi-course lunch accompanied by wine pairings and every single course was better than the last. I would be remiss if I din’t mention that this luxurious lunch was the most expensive meal of our entire trip. Worth every penny [and there were a lot of pennies].
T and I have a very selective list featuring our all-time favorite restaurants, and while we loved every single establishment we dined at during our Copenhagen trip, Amass is the only restaurant we felt worthy of making our esteemed list. If you eat at one restaurant featured in the post, make it Amass.
Highlights of our meal were the potato bread, roasted squid, hot smoked cod, and the oyster.
BAEST
As much as I love to plan out a trip, I try to make sure I leave some open time to allow for flexibility and to ask locals for their recommendations. T and I researched Copenhagen’s restaurant scene more than any other aspect of our trip and as much as we wanted to book every restaurant humanly possible, we did make sure to leave a little bit of wiggle room. When we asked several locals to name some of their favorite dining spots, Baest was consistently recommended.
From the moment we devoured our first course, it was easy to see why. We were not at all surprised to find that Baest is led by former Noma sous chef, Christian Puglisi.
At Baest, organic and sustainable local fare is the shining star. Mozzarella is made in-house, while pizza is made from local flour and baked in a wood-fired oven that was custom-built for the establishment in Naples.
The theme of our meals in Copenhagen was pure gluttony, so of course we opted for the ridiculously indulgent tasting menu, comprised of an obscene amount of small dishes, generously-sized entrees, and decadent desserts.
Baest is a warm and cozy neighborhood gem. While the decor leans towards simplicity, we couldn’t help but love its enormous showpiece, displayed ever so prominently and proudly.
MARCHAL
One of the three Michelin Starred rated restaurants featured in this post, Marchal is definitely the most formal and refined on this list. It’s housed in the iconic Hotel D’Angleterre, arguably Copenhagen’s most distinguished hotel, offering an equally stunning dining room.
The lobster dish I had was seriously one of the best lobster dishes of my life and T was equally obsessed with his grilled steak of ribeye.
The food is fantastic here but the service wasn’t as attentive as one would expect from a dining establishment of this caliber. While we really liked Marchal, it’s probably the restaurant that I would recommend the least on this list [other than Noi; see below]–which is pretty surprising considering its extensive accolades and renowned reputation.
While the space is breathtaking, the restaurant is a bit pretentious, more so than any other restaurant on this list. It’s also, as you’ve probably imagined, quite expensive. Make no mistake, none of the other restaurants mentioned here are what many would consider inexpensive, but for the same price, or in some cases, a little less, most of the other restaurants listed here outshine Marchal. And just so I’m clear, we liked Marchal! In most other situations, Marchal would probably be one of our favorite meals of our trip…that’s how amazing all of the other dining spots on this list are!
RELAE
When a restaurant is ranked #56 in the world, one might expect an establishment characterized by ostentatious surroundings, haughty attitudes, and unfamiliar, hard-to-pronounce ingredients. What’s so remarkable about Relae is that it doesn’t possess any of these features. Relae is committed to focusing on sustainability while offering “no-nonsense” creative food in an intimate and no-frills setting.
Right behind Amass, Relae was our second favorite dining experience of our trip. There are so many things to love, but one of Relae’s most impressive attributes is that it is the first ever organic Michelin restaurant.
Daily 4 and 7-course menus are offered, and of course, staying consistent with our gourmandizing theme, we selected the 7-course “Relae Experience” route. Every single course was creative, fresh, and superb.
In classic Noma-esque style, we found our utensils, menu, and napkin conveniently tucked away in a hidden drawer right in front of us. God, I love the Danes.
Favorite dishes here include the squid, seaweed and oyster dish, and some sort of mushroom concoction that I can’t quite remember, but fell in love with at first bite. I can’t be expected to remember all of the things, now can I?
108
108 may be touted as Noma’s casual sister restaurant, but make no mistake, there’s nothing simple or casual about it, and it earned a Michelin Star almost immediately after it opened. Trailing right behind Amass as the 89th best restaurant in the world, 108 is a stunning restaurant situated along the banks of the Christianshavns Canal.
Similar to many Noma-inspired establishments, 108 focuses on local and seasonal ingredients cooked in traditional Nordic methods, such as fermenting and pickling. We ordered a la carte here and our favorite courses include the cauliflower with smoked osietra sturgeon, fried cod [so nice that we ordered it twice], and the steamed egg yolk potato.
Beyond the Michelin
Because not every restaurant outing can be at a Michelin Starred restaurant. I mean, it can. But that would be aggressive. Even for us. There are an abundance of food markets, breweries, and more casual eateries in around the city. Below are a few spots we loved beyond the luxurious Michelin scene.
TorvehallerneKBH
Anyone who knows me or reads my blog should know that I absolutely adore food markets. Similar to D.C.’s Union Market, San Francisco’s Ferry Building, and San Diego’s Liberty Public Market, TorvehallerneKBH is a lovely food hall brimming with local and international delicacies, beer whiskey, and wine vendors, cheesemongers, fish and meat purveyors, kitchenware, and so much more.
We braved the long line at Hallernes Smorrebrod, where we devoured an assortment of Smorrebrod, the classic Danish open-faced sandwich. These were our favorite Smorrebrod of the trip. If you don’t make it here, make sure you order it somewhere during your trip–they’re fantastic and make for a delicious lunch.
Mikkeller & Friends
Somewhat of a Copenhagen beer institution, this popular bar doesn’t have its own brewery and collaborates with other local breweries to create their beer. Mikkeller & Friends is a fantastic neighborhood haunt to enjoy locally crafted beer.
Warm Up With Glogg
This isn’t as much as a recommended place as it is a recommended Danish tradition. If you’re traveling to Copenhagen during the winter [and let’s be honest, it’s typically cold here], warm up with some traditional glogg, the Danish version of mulled red wine often enhanced by various spices, including cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, along with chopped almonds, and/or raisins. T didn’t really care for it but I loved it. Nearly every tavern/pub/inn will offer it.
Restaurant Noi
We celebrated New Year’s Eve at Restaurant Noi, primarily due to convenience and location. We went to an amazing performance at the spectacular Copenhagen Opera House [more about this in a future city guide post] and needed a restaurant that was still serving dinner leading up to midnight. It was surprisingly challenging to find a high-end establishment that was either open on New Year’s Eve or that was still serving dinner past 8:30pm. We got lucky and realized our hotel restaurant, at Nobis Hotel, was offering a late evening pre-fixe menu, making it the obvious choice.
In terms of food and wine, everything we had was good. Not exceptional like all of our other meals, but good. To be fair, it’s really hard to compete with the likes of Amass and Relae. The service, on the other hand, was pretty poor. They were obviously understaffed and weren’t prepared for the demands of the evening. Our server apologized profusely and compensated for the subpar service with extra wine and dessert…so clearly we reaped the benefits here. I still wouldn’t recommend eating here though, especially since there are a staggering amount of stellar establishments throughout the city. The hotel itself, however, is wonderful…stay tuned for more information in a future post.
Bottom Line
Copenhagen’s culinary scene will make you grateful for simply being alive. You don’t have to be a major foodie or connoisseur to appreciate its exceptional food and drink scene. Its wide array of dining establishments will surely satisfy the most simple of palates to the most adventurous.
Stay tuned for a comprehensive Copenhagen city guide coming soon!
Happy eating and traveling, all!
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