On every mention of the upcoming travel in the months leading up to my Denmark trip, my mom would remind me sternly but longingly to “eat all the Danish pastries for her!” Evidently her childhood family vacations to her mother’s hometown of Copenhagen conjured memories in which the sweet breads with assorted fillings were just as delicious decades later.

I may not be a big fan of black licorice, a favorite of Danes and my mom, but I was intent to seek out the multitude of regional delicacies in as many diverse corners of the city as possible. As the home of what is often considered to be the best restaurant in the world and with a culinary history that spans centuries, not one meal we had in Copenhagen disappointed the city’s well-earned reputation.

The Bakeries, Food Halls and Cuisine of Copenhagen

Tebirkes from a local bakery — *Tebirkes* from a local bakery

Typically when Joe and I travel we create a shared Google Doc which we sporadically update in the months preceding the trip. By the time we arrive in, say, Cartagena or Nicaragua we have a day-by-day itinerary from which to pull ideas. Leaving the necessary space for spontaneity while using this tool to ensure we see everything we want to see has been a winning formula for us.

This trip to Scandinavia, however, we had a Google Doc with some ideas leisurely added however significantly less organized than in the past. It may have been the intense individual travel we undertook for work and pleasure in the months before this trip (we were off to Milan, Arizona, Texas, and Vancouver) but we didn’t quite plan to the degree we had come to expect from ourselves. As it turns out, most of the unplanned spaces in our trip were filled with food.

The morning routine of our days in Copenhagen revealed itself quickly: wake up early and visit several bakeries to sample as many Danish pastries as possible, choosing one pastry from each shop. The must-try item for me was tebirkes, a croissant with poppy seeds and light creamy filling. The corner of Falkoner Alle and Hostrupsvej in the chic Frederiksberg neighborhood is morning pastry heaven.

One one side of the street, you have Grød (pictured above). The vibes in this cafe are nothing short of hygge, the term meaning a mood of coziness and being content. It was drizzling and grey outside during our visit so we cuddled into a corner table and ordered an açaí bowl and Icelandic skyr yogurt. They also make yogurt and oatmeal cups that are sold on a large scale across Denmark. If I lived permanently in Copenhagen, Grød is the kind of place I would bring a book on a Sunday afternoon, settle in and spend a quiet day.

Across the street, you have Brødflov, the old school version of Grød’s new age experience. Brødflov is a true bakery with the focus on pastry and bread.

Built only two years ago, the Inderhavnsbroen bridge connects the mainland part of Indre By, the center city, to Freetown Christiania and Refshaleøen, the now-developing shipyard district. Just on the far side of the bridge from Nyhavn, right against the river, sits Restaurant Barr. On a recommendation from a friend we made a reservation at Barr before we even left New York for Denmark, one of the few activities we pre-planned. We arrived at lunchtime and the restaurant was already busy and elegantly decorated in true Scandinavian style, all blonde wood and indoor plant life.

The restaurant calls its food “Northern Sea Cuisine” and boy, was this description deliciously appropriate. Our order included brown crab with yogurt spooned onto a Belgian waffle, caviar and glazed cod. Add a bit of Riesling and with this lunch we were really on vacation. I highly recommend a visit to Barr to enjoy their fresh seasonal menu, waterfront vistas and as a step into the ever-evolving world of Nordic cuisine.

The Danes speak impeccable English. Even on our drive through the rural parts of the country we did not encounter a language barrier at any point. In a way, this was a disappointment of mine as I travel partly to learn new languages and pick up what words and phrases I can while abroad. The one proper noun I continued to try to pronounce was Torvehallerne. It came out as tor-vah-hah-learn-ah until I asked an employee at the food hall who corrected me to the proper pronunciation, something close to tor-heh-lahn.

The Torvehallerne food hall is the center of Copenhagen street food both geographically, located near the København H central station, and in the minds of travelers. Within its two greenhouse-like food halls, visitors can sample all types of treats, The Coffee Collective beverages, Hija de Sanchez tacos and the famous smørrebrød, open-faced sandwiches on rye bread typically involving fish. We applied our breakfast strategy to the market; trying as many small bites as we could possibly share in order to sample the many enticing options. For a rainy Copenhagen day, of which we experienced several, Torvehallerne is the ideal hideout.

One great beauty of travel is the way relationships from home can cross international borders sometimes in an unexpected way. We were lucky to have a friend doing a solo trip throughout Scandinavia at the same time we were there and our paths crossed for a sunny afternoon (one of the few we received) in Copenhagen.

We met at Warpigs Brewpub in the Meatpacking District for outdoor libations then had a fantastic lunch at nearby Kødbyens Fiskebar. Sitting at the bar, chatting with the Italian bartender, we enjoyed a seafood-lovers meal. In case it hasn’t become clear already, Copenhagen is a city of fish in which a love for seafood will lead to many gratifying dining experiences.

If Torvehallerne represents traditional Danish dining with a modern flair, the Reffen outdoor street food market is the new wave. Past Restaurant Barr, past Freetown Christiania, the walk from the center city took over an hour. While Copenhagen is walk-able it is even more bike-able and this became evident as the many cyclists passed us on our walk out to the industrial corner of the city.

Situated at an edge of town, surrounded by water and straight across the river from The Little Mermaid statue, Reffen was well worth the long walk. Old shipping containers were converted into storefronts for the many small food shops offering all kinds of worldly cuisine. There is a “beach” with chairs and campfires where patrons can sit, enjoy their meals, and watch the sunset on the river which is one of my all-time favorite travel activities.

Reffen has a hip feel but also provides the opportunity to get outside of the city center and enjoy the spaciousness of being apart from the fray. My goal in travel is generally to avoid the touristy spots and this food hall almost felt like a secret in a quite touristic town. Reffen wasn’t too crowded but it had great combination of locals and travelers willing to step just outside of the norm.

A visit to Tivoli Gardens is a requisite for any trip to Copenhagen. While meandering in the gardens among the roller coasters and carnival games, one might stumble right into Gemyse. I recommend that you do.

This farm-to-table gem is an authentic oasis in the midst of the dreamed up world of Tivoli, the second-oldest amusement park in existence. In the summertime, small bonfires invite guests to sit and chat outside while a large greenhouse is the residence for the restaurant itself. If you are lucky enough to visit in the winter, those bonfires turn into s’mores stations.

Some of the items on the menu are actually Tivoli-to-table; they are grown in Gemyse’s own garden just outside the restaurant doors. They title their cuisine “Vegetable-based cooking” and present such treasures as carrot tartare which I found to be a successful substitute for beef or tuna. We did enjoy charcuterie and one of the more interesting dishes, grilled cobs of corn with an exciting mix of spices.

Even if the food hadn’t been great (and it really, really was), the experience of Gemyse would have been worth the trip. The greenhouse atmosphere made the meal airy and light, even as we heard a torrential downpour of rain outside. It was hygge and it was well-prepared; it was quintessentially Danish in the way that I had come to expect our meals of every variant of cuisine to be.

Read Third Generation Danish in Copenhagen for more.

How to Eat like a Danish-American in Copenhagen

The Bakeries, Food Halls and Cuisine of Copenhagen