Scandic cool is on the menu
Copenhagen’s artisan centre is fast becoming a must- visit for foodies, finds Kate Wickers
Once famous for its abattoirs and brothels, Vesterbro is now the coolest of Copenhagen’s neighbourhoods. Its epicentre is the old meatpacking area of Kødbyen ( meaning “Meat City”), where I checked in to Scandic Kødbyen, the area’s first boutique hotel with an industrially chic interior that gives a tongue in cheek nod to its meatpacking history. You’ll find table tops that look like sliced salami, illuminated glass wall panels of blood red marbled meats, and steak patterned carpets. I couldn’t help but think that fabulous as it is, vegetarians might prefer to book elsewhere.
This neighbourhood is awash with new cafes, restaurants, bars and micro- breweries housed in former butcher’s shops, making it the perfect base for an indulgent foodie weekend. The streets of Halmtorvet, Slagterboderne ( Butcher’s Street) and Flaesketorvet are the liveliest. Warpigs’ barbecue style restaurant ( run by Europe’s largest meat smokers) was heaving; and there were queues for a table at BOB
( short for Biomio Organic Bistro), Denmark’s largest organic restaurant. I was luckier at atmospheric Pate Pate ( once a pate factory) and bagged the last table in their candlelit dining room. It serves up small plates designed to share such as pork braised with boskoop apples
and sherry; and roasted Jerusalem artichokes. Hygge ( pronounced hooguh) is a word that broadly means cosy and can be used to describe anything, including food, that provokes a feeling of contentment and you’ll certainly find it here.
After dinner, I poked my nose in to Mikkeller, Copenhagen’s famous micro- brewery, whose craft beer has reached cult- status. Although this area is fast becoming gentrified it remains interestingly rough around the edges, where old Danish guys in workmen’s overalls rub shoulders with skinny- jeaned hipsters, and winos sing tunelessly in the streets for a few Krone coins.
Day two and I was in search of an iconic Danish staple – the smørrebrød ( open sandwich). Aamanns 1921 is a sleek place known for creating new twists on Danish smørrebrød classics, so don’t play it safe. I opted for a taste- bending cured salmon with smoked beetroot and blackcurrant, which was a heavenly recipe and beautified with micro herbs, almost too pretty to eat.
A little off the beaten path, graffitisprayed Nørrebro is another area that no tourist ever bothered with until recently. Fast becoming more gourmet than ghetto thanks to Michelin starred restaurant Relae, which is all about New Nordic cuisine – simple food that’s in season, its ethos is flavour over fancy service so if you mind pouring your own wine