COPENHAGEN
Home to scores of worldclass restaurants, but also teeming with bakeries, street-food stalls and small craft breweries, Copenhagen should be high on the travel hit-list for any food lover
Abeautiful, relaxed waterside city packed with street-food stalls, cute coffee shops, bountiful bakeries, and some of the world’s best restaurants, Copenhagen is undoubtedly one of the great foodie capitals. It was put firmly on the global gastronomic map when a little restaurant called Noma (noma.dk) was first crowned Best Restaurant in the World in 2010.
Noma’s influence cannot be underestimated and traces of the New Nordic Cuisine it helped kickstart can be found all over the city, from the use of seasonal, foraged ingredients to the dominance of natural wine. Whilst Noma, now relaunched in a new purpose-built location on the city’s outskirts as Noma 2.0, remains the big draw, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Copenhagen boasts many Michelin-starred places to eat including Noma’s sister restaurant 108 (108. dk), plus two of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Relae (restaurant-relae.dk/en) and Geranium ( geranium.dk/ en). Inventive tasting menus aren’t for the everyday, however – traditional everyday highlights include hot dogs, a cherished Danish institution sold from mobile carts, and thef la eskestegs sandwich( roast pork sandwich) made from thick slices of roasted pork neck nestled in a soft bun with crispy crackling, pickled cucumbers, red cabbage and a spicy mayonnaise. The city has fully embraced modern street food over the past few years with a new market called Reffen (reffen.dk/en) that opened in May, featuring 54 traders housed in shipping containers, plus bars, events spaces and parks set along the water’s edge. There’s also the more upmarket food hall Torvehallerne (torvehallernekbh.dk) which has wine bars, fresh oysters and Hija de Sanchez
(hijadesanchez.dk), a taco stand from one of Noma’s former pastry chefs.
If pastries are your thing, Copenhagen is an absolute paradise, and at independent bakeries such as Mirabelle (mirabelle-bakery.dk/en) and Meyers (meyersmad.dk) you can find everything from cinnamon swirls to croissants filled with custard and rhubarb, plus a whole range of freshly-baked Nordicstyle loaves. It’s a good idea to arrive early, though, as the best bites get snapped up quickly by the locals.