The highlights of traditional Danish cuisine and where to get them
Despite the New Nordic hype in Copenhagen, one of the most common questions we get on our tours is where to go for proper Danish comfort food like our own grandma makes it in Copenhagen. It makes total sense: when you are in Copenhagen, you want to get an authentic peak inside what it is like to eat like a local. With Copenhagen being a foodie capital, you will have loads of options but be aware not all of them are great! Instead, let us guide you to our favorite places that have been compiled by our local guides, where you will be able to enjoy an authentic Danish food experience.
What to expect
As you may know, Denmark is located in the northern hemisphere that brings all kinds of cold weather and all sorts of seasons to our lovely country. Traditionally, our cuisine consisted of mainly oat-based and pot-like dishes, but that all changed with the stove, the meat cruncher and potato’s introduction in the 1800s. Suddenly, we were able to create multiple dishes that could compliment each other, it is in this era many of our traditional Danish dishes was created. As a result, the traditional Danish dinner dish is typically hearty and consists mostly of meats and carbs, which is highly satisfying nonetheless. The body of Danish meals typically only include one dish, since they are massive stomach fillers. It most often consists of pork – actually Denmark may be the only country in the world where we have more pigs living here than actual Danes, beef or fish, a thick creamy gravy and a few vegetables on the side. A visit to Denmark is of course not complete either without trying our world-famous open-faced sandwich (i.e. smørrebrød) and our unforgettable Danish pastry, as these options definitely will send your head spinning!
Sweet pastries & “Danishes”
Going to a bakery or a brunch here can actually be quite difficult, tasty yes, but difficult since you are faced with so many filling options. We take our breakfasts pretty seriously here and there are even articles about how to avoid pastries at work, as many Copenhageners, and Danes, take it with them for their colleagues. In our opinion, you should try these delicious pastries while you are here:
- Tebirkes – puff pastry with remonce of butter, sugar and marcipan topped with poppy seeds.
- Kanelsnegl – cinnamon roll with remonce of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Romkugle – delicious balls created from yesterdays left-over pastries and cakes that have been mixed together with rum essence.
- Spandauer – puff pastry with a stuffed hole in the middle with either cream of marcipan, butter and sugar or a jam.
Where to get it: You will find several places in Copenhagen that offer different versions of these pastries and you will even find them at your breakfast at your hotel, but the best versions of them are found at the small independent bakeries such as Andersen Bakery, Det Rene Brød, Andersen & Maillard or Juno The Bakery. If you don’t want to go on your own, we take you to one of the places as part of our Hygge & Happiness tour and our Total Day Tour: Highlights & Hygge.
The traditional open faced sandwich – or as we call it Smørrebrød
We locals always laugh a little bit when people praise our open-faced sandwiches – or smørrebrød as we call it here. Especially, when it wins an award as the 6thbest food experience in the world by Lonely Planet, since the smørrebrød that visitors to our lovely country experience is a luxury version of the one we usually eat at home and have with us in schools and at our work places. With that said, the luxury version of the smørrebrød, not to be confused with the Swedish smorgasbord, is delicious and according to many Copenhageners, and Danes, a unique experience.