Discover the Best of Copenhagen’s Delightful Food Scene

Last updated on November 10th, 2022 at 12:23 pm

Did you know that Copenhagen has one of the most happening food scenes in all of Europe? I’m not kidding. Noma has recently been ranked as the number one restaurant in the world for 2021. This is an exceptional honor which Noma also received in the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. The number two restaurant in the world for 2021 is Geranium, another popular Copenhagen restaurant. These two restaurants certainly set the bar very high for other establishments throughout the city. In this post, I would like to introduce you to some of our favorite restaurants and bakeries that we ate at during our recent stay in Copenhagen.

***Please note that I have divided this post into two sections. The first features restaurants and the second features bakeries.

***Disclaimer: Be sure to check all entry restrictions for Copenhagen as well as any establishment you wish to visit before booking any part of your trip.

Restaurants in Copenhagen

The Olive Kitchen and Bar/Maple Casual Dining Restaurants in Copenhagen

The Olive Kitchen & Bar is an incredibly delightful place to eat. It is small, cozy, and well decorated. The staff was very friendly and helpful from the moment I entered up until the very end of the meal. Even better, everything at The Olive Kitchen & Bar is homemade from scratch, using fresh ingrediants.

I personally chose the three course meal and ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. The first course was Norwegian Salmon Tartar made with avocado cream, capers, and fresh herbs. It was light, flavorful, and the perfect way to begin the meal. The second course, peppercorn steak, was absolutely delicious. The meat was tender and juicy and came with a side of fresh veggies. The peppercorn sauce that accompanied the meal was bold and flavorful. The crème brûlée for dessert was topped with fresh fruits and a delicate layer of sugar that shattered beautifully when broken into. It was a creamy and oh so satisfying end to a delectable meal.

You can make a reservation on The Olive Kitchen & Bar’s website. But, if the date/time you are looking for is not available, you can also check out their sister restaurant, Maple Casual Dining.

Amanns 1921 Restaurant in Copenhagen

This is one of the fancier/pricier restaurants we went to during our time in Copenhagen. And, it was worth every penny! The restaurant is well known for the lunch-time Smørrebrød, but we also really enjoyed their modern dinner inspired by Danish cuisine. One thing I particularly love about this restaurant is the focus on sustainability. They guarantee that 60-90% of their ingredients in individual dishes are organic. They also try to keep it local by using Danish products as much as possible.

Dinner Menu

I can’t recommend their 10 course dinner tasting menu enough! The food is served in 4 courses and some of the items are shared family style.
My favorite dish of the evening was the shrimp with kaffir lime leaves. I still can’t get over how they managed to bring out such a strong lime flavor that married so well with the shrimp.
We were also incredibly amazed by the squid because it was served just like a little plate of noodles. I asked the waitress how they managed to achieve that affect, and she explained that they froze the squid before cutting it to achieve the result.
Another personal favorite was the grilled leek which was lovely and perfectly seasoned to highlight the leek’s delicate, earthy flavor.
For dessert, my husband got the quince cake and I got the citrus mousse. Both were fantastic. The quince cake reminded me a bit of apple cider and the citrus dessert was bright and summery.

***Please note that in order to have the 10 course meal, everyone at the table must order it.

You can easily book a table at Aamanns 1921 on their website. But, if you can’t get in there, they have more sister restaurants throughout Copenhagen. These include Aamanns Etablissement, Aamanns Replik, and Aamanns Deli & Take Away.

Zahida Indian Restaurant in Copenhagen

My husband and I are obsessed with Indian food. In fact, we go out of our way to eat Indian food at least one time in every country we visit. This tradition developed for two reasons: 1) sometimes we just need a change of pace/flavor, and 2) it has now become something of a competition to find out which European country serves the best tasting Indian food.

Compared to the dozens of places we have dined at throughout Europe, Zahida Indian restaurant is high up there on our scale. The butter chicken was thick and creamy and bursting with perfectly balanced spices. We also got the garlic naan, which was the perfect side to accompany our meal.

If you are looking for Indian restaurants in Copenhagen, you won’t want to miss out on this little gem. So, be sure to make a reservation on their website!

The Midwestern Diner Restaurant in Copenhagen

Typically, when we travel, we avoid American restaurants. Our reasoning: we are in a new country and we want to try the food from this new place. However, we have now been living in Europe for almost 4 years and American food seems almost as foreign to us as anything else we’ve been eating.

So, when we found a well-rated American-style restaurant that listed fried mozzarella sticks, fried pickles, and milkshakes on the menu, we decided it sounded too good to pass up. Overall, we were very satisfied. My personal favorites were the mozzarella sticks (because they had the best crunchy exterior and a stringy, ooey-gooey interior) and the freakshake because who doesn’t love a good milkshake? As for my husband, he said that the burger was one of the top burgers he’s had in Europe (and he has eaten a lot of burgers throughout Europe. lol).

I can’t say that it is exactly the same as American food in America. But, as far as American restaurants in Europe, The Midwestern Diner in Copenhagen is definitely worth a stop in!

Bakeries in Copenhagen

I need to apologize because for some reason, I didn’t manage to capture a single shot of any of the bakeries or baked goods that we tried throughout our time in Copenhagen. (I think they were just so good that we ate them too quickly! 😛 ) Of course, if you click on any of the links below, you can view photos of the baked goods offered at each of the three locations I mentioned.

Hart Bakery

Hart Bakery is one of the top bakeries in Copenhagen. And, as my husband and I discovered, it is for incredibly good reason.

The Danish Spandauer was much more wonderful than we could have dreamed or predicted. (Spandauer what we typically think of as a “Danish” with filled with custard or jam) The pastry was flaky and buttery and the custard was creamy and not too sweet. And, although it didn’t look like much, they were actually a bit filling. Our only regret was that we each only got one!

Additionally, I decided that I wanted to try something a little less common. So, I got a black sesame seed cookie. I was floored by its deliciousness. I’d never had a black sesame dessert before this moment and I couldn’t believe what I had been missing out on. It wasn’t overly sweet and had deep, earthy tones mixed with chocolate flavors. The texture was a bit drier and denser, but it fell gently apart in my mouth as I chewed it. If you like unique desserts, don’t miss out on this one.

Skt. Peders Bageri

I am absolutely obsessed with Swedish cardamom buns (Kardemommeboller). They are the typical choice for Swedish fika, but I think they can be enjoyed any time of the day, with or without coffee.

My kardemommeboller from Skt. Peders Bageri was delicious and still warm as if it had just come out of the oven. It was soft and the full of cardamom flavor and the perfect amount of sugar on top. My husband got the Kanelstang and he said it was equally wonderful. Soft, moist, and full of flavor.

If you are in Copenhagen, you will not want to miss out on this gem of a place. 😉

Bagt Bakery

I went to this Bagt as part of one of my Hygge walking tour in Copenhagen. It was a nice, friendly atmosphere and just a short walk away from The King’s Garden and Rosenborg Slot. Since it was such a beautiful day, we got our pastries to go and enjoyed them out in the sun. You can go here on your own, or if you’d like to learn more about the walking tour, check out my post: The Best Walking Tours of Copenhagen (Free and Paid).

In Conclusion

I hope that this post has inspired you to consider a variety of interesting and exciting restaurants and bakeries in Copenhagen! I would love to hear about your favorite spots in the comments below!

Happy Travels,
<3 Christine

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