Copenhagen City Break
After selling the shop and enjoying a bit of travelling it’s back to work next week after 5 months off. Our mini work gap has been such a great experience and we would certainly recommend it! With just over a week to go before our return we started to get itchy feet again and wondered if we could manage just one more cheap flight to somewhere new! We have always fancied Copenhagen and with flights at just over £50 per person both ways we jumped at the chance.
When we were investigating where to stay, what to eat and things to do, we were absolutely amazed by the amount of love for Copenhagen. With 1655 restaurants it’s a foodies paradise and we couldn’t wait to pay the city a visit!
To help you make the most of your visit here’s a few foodie highlights and tips from our 5 day break in Copenhagen.
We stayed at Hotel Andersen which turned out to be perfectly located just 5 minutes from the train station in the Versterbro and Meat Packing District. As the name suggests the area used to be home to Copenhagen’s butchers, but whilst some butcher shops remain it is now evolving into a cultural and foodie hot spot. The area was previously classed as Copenhagen’s red light district and a few ladies of the night still frequent the streets. We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Andersen – especially the wine hour which took place between 5pm and 6pm every evening in the reception hall. Complementary red, white and rose were on offer and always provided an incentive to get back to the hotel to relax before heading out again for dinner. We are proud to say we managed a 100% attendance for Wine Hour!
Breakfast was also included and we found the continental breakfast style choice to be excellent. Delicious breads, cereals, lots of nuts and seeds, pancakes, eggs, sausages, cheeses, charcuterie, pastries and nordic teas. If you’re staying at the hotel and are looking for ideas about where to eat, Karen the general manager and staff are always on hand to make restaurant recommendations.
Initially, we weren’t sure whether or not to buy a Copenhagen Card which provides access to canal tours and all bus, train and metro travel in Copenhagen and surrounding area. The card also gives free access to lots of the main tourist attractions and discounted cost to lots of others. After investigating we decided to go for a 120 hour card to cover our whole trip although lots of other time options are available. We definitely saved money as we managed to fit in lots of attractions and frequently used the train and bus service during our stay. We took a train trip out of the city to Roskilde to see the Viking Museum and to Louisiana to see the Eye Attack exhibition, both turned out to be higher priced fairs, so great value for money from the card . Although we decided on a 5 day pass we would probably recommend trying to fit all the higher prices ticket attractions into a 48 hour period and just opting for a 48 hour card. The attraction for us of a 5 day card was to include our travel to and from the airport but this turned out to only cost £1.60 each way. When you purchase the Copenhagen Card, you don’t have to activate it immediately instead you can start the clock ticking when you visit your first attraction to maximise the time available on your card.
On our first full day we decided to go on a three hour guided walk around Copenhagen. Although the tour is called “free” it’s not really as the guides are paid in tips at the end. The walking tour was a great way to get our bearings and we found it an enjoyable experience. We think it would be useful for them to either set an expected tip amount as at the end of the walk some folks avoided tipping, others handed over a few coins – we ended up handing over a few notes – who said Scots are mean! I suppose the free tours are good as they allow everyone access to the tour regardless of their ability to pay.
If I come back in a second life I’m coming back as a candle sales man in Copenhagen. The Danish have a word Hygee which relates to a cosyness, and a desire to enjoy the best things in life with good people. If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right . All around the city in shops, restaurants and windows you will see fairy lights and candles creating a warm and welcoming glow. Pull up a chair to the fire, add a few comfy cushions, or sheepskin rug, light the candles, pull your loved one close and relax – Copenhagen hygee is quite addictive.
Firstly if you decide to dine at Baest in Copenhagen don’t rely on Google maps to get you there. It turns out that there’s a cocktail bar of the same name on the other side of town – we found out the hard way by walking miles in the wrong direction! After hailing a taxi (yes you can hail a taxi with a light on in Copenhagen) and a last minute dash across town we made it just in time. The taxi driver was lovely and Runrig were playing on Danish Radio so it all added to the evening’s adventure.
Baest’s menu combines charcuterie, wonderful homemade pizza, a little bit of greenery and some delicious other dishes into a fixed menu called little baest or big baest. We opted for little baest and our full bellies told us that we had made the correct menu choice. We had a lovely meal here and would recommend trying the restaurant if you visit Copenhagen.
Prices for little baest came in at 325DKR and big baest 495DKR. There is also an a’la carte menu if you fancy choosing your own dishes. The restaurant’s speciality is Mozzarella which it makes fresh everyday and you can visit the onsite dairy if you fancy.
Mother is right in the heart of the Meat Packing District and was absolutely packed on the weeknight we visited. It’s one of the original great pizza restaurants in the district and has been operating since 2010 specialising in Sourdough pizza. If you are looking for a cheaper place to eat out and you’re in a hurry this is a good choice. Pizzas cost around 140DK and are made with the very best of ingredients direct from Italy. The owner uses a small group of Italian suppliers to ensure his pizzas are authentic, tasty and high quality.
New Nordic food seems to be the order of the day at the moment in Copenhagen. Noma, supposedly the world’s best restaurant champions this style of cooking and many other excellent restaurants have sprung up in Noma’s wake. We decided to try something a bit different as (a) we didn’t particularly fancy eating ants and dirt (b) we couldn’t afford £300 per person for food and wine and (c) tables are pretty hard to come by anyway!
Instead of visiting Noma we decided to sample Eldorado which is more a North meets East than New Nordic style of cuisine. Eldorado also offer a Mini or a Maxi set menu – so based on our experience at Baest we decided to go for the mini version once again. It’s a very sociable way to dine with a mix of sharing and individual courses. We started with papadums and lime pickle and onion bhaji and this was the only part of the meal that we found a bit strange. It felt a bit out of step with the rest of the menu but perhaps Danes aren’t used to India food like we are in Scotland. Pollock and Kimchi followed and it was the absolute star of the show with different tastes and textures.. Next on the menu came aged pork and celeriac which was also delicious. To finish we had an almond and blueberry dessert with vanilla ice cream. The sharp sour notes worked so well with the soft sponge like texture and sweet ice cream. Throughout the meal we had the most delicious buttermilk and beer bread which was so hard on the outside but soft inside and very moreish. The cost of the Mini menu was 450DK and the large one 650DK.
Torvehallerne was on our list of foodie stops in Copenhagen as it’s regarded as one of the cities finest food markets. The market has lots of stalls selling high quality foods to take home and also tasty bites for lunch or a snack. The market is split into two different glass covered halls – one savoury and the other sweeter treats so the perfect opportunity for two courses. We stopped for a delicious lunch at Hallernes Smorrebro perfectly washed down with Mikkeller beer. If you are planning a visit to Rosenborg Caste then this market is very close by.
Our visit to Copenhagen Street Food was a highlight of our visit and we really do recommend visiting for a different dining experience. Our belief has always been that you shouldn’t have to pay a fortune for good food, service or hygge and Copenhagen Street Food confirms this . We read online that the street food warehouse is being redeveloped in 2017 so you might need to visit sooner rather than later. We really hope that an alternative venue is found to ensure the experience continues.
Music, Food, Fires….perfectHopefully this gives a few ideas for your visit to Copenhagen. Maybe we were just very lucky but everything we had to eat was excellent, the folks we met so happy, friendly and welcoming, the sky was blue and the sun shining (unusual they said!) We have fallen in love with Copenhagen and can’t wait to go back.
The easiest way to convert the prices to pounds is to divide by 10. We visited in February 2016.
Have you been to Copenhagen? If you have please leave us a wee message below to let us know your favourite places to visit, so that we can search them out on our next visit!