World City Guide

Restaurants

The days when Copenhagen’s restaurants were considered dull and uninteresting are long gone, as a various international cuisine have made their mark on the city, most notably French and Oriental. Allied to this growth has been a recent resurgence in Modern Danish, which uses the freshest local ingredients and infuses them with new flavours.

The selected restaurants have been divided into five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The restaurants are listed alphabetically within these different categories, which serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.

VAT (MOMS) of 25% is automatically included in the prices given by Copenhagen restaurants. Service charge is not usually automatically added to the restaurant bill so a tip of around 5% will be appreciated, perhaps more the cheaper the restaurant is.
The prices quoted below are for an average three-course meal for one person and for a bottle of house wine or cheapest equivalent; they include VAT but do not include service charge or tip.

Gastronomic

Gastronomique
Gastronomique offers a totally unique restaurant experience, set amid a leafy park, away from the bustle of the city, in a homely yet stylish venue. The cuisine is modern Danish and the views of the park are part of the relaxing gourmet experience. Specialities include foie gras, grilled turbot and glazed Norway lobster.

Fredericksbergs Runddel 1
Tel: 3834 8436. Fax: 3834 8436.
E-mail: lasse@powerpage.dk
Website: www.gastronomique.dk
Price: Dkk550. Wine: Dkk200.

Kong Hans Kaelder
This one-star Michelin restaurant claims to be housed in the oldest building in Copenhagen. Starters include foie gras and sauted scallops with wild mushrooms, while mains are of the likes of grilled turbot and other fresh seafood, with the signature dessert being chocolate souffl. The food is served up on metal plates in the charming surrounds of the historical building, where 500-year old Gothic arches and wooden floorboards lend a medieval atmosphere to the restaurant.

Vingaardsstraede 6
Tel: 3311 6868. Fax: 3332 6768.
E-mail: konghans@mail.tele.dk
Website: www.konghans.dk
Price: Dkk700. Wine: Dkk250.

Le Sommelier
Another fine dining temple, complete with white linen tablecloths and immaculately attired waiting staff, which proves how much the Danes love top-class French food. Specialities include foie gras as a starter and a number of seafood and shellfish mains, depending on availability and season. The food is accompanied by a gargantuan wine list that caters for even the most demanding palate; there are rumoured to be almost 1000 different wines, with over 30 sold by the glass. No lunch weekends.

Bredgade 63-65
Tel: 3311 4515. Fax: 3311 5979.
E-mail: mail@lesommelier.dk
Website: www.lesommelier.dk
Price: Dkk350. Wine: Dkk250.

Pierr Andre
This minimalist restaurant has been offering French cuisine of the highest quality since 1996. It gained its single Michelin star one year later and has held onto it ever since. The roast foie gras is a particular highlight on an innovative and beguiling menu. Other specialities are oysters or lobster as starters and braised sole, pigeon or veal as mains. There are three set menus to choose from, including one mammoth nine-course extravaganza (Dkk695). Another plus is that they bake all their own bread and desserts. No lunch Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Ny stergade 21
Tel: 3316 1719. Fax: 3316 1772.
Price: Dkk500. Wine: Dkk250.

Restaurationen
This French restaurant has one Michelin star under its belt and this is well deserved. Restaurationen boasts high ceilings and walls adorned with black and white photos of the cooking team. Head chef Bo Jacobsen conjures up an impressive array of dishes with the freshest local produce. The menu follows the changing seasons but whatever the time of year booking is essential. The restaurant also bakes its own bread and makes its own sausages and hams, which are made with organic ingredients where possible.

Montergade 19
Tel: 3314 9495.
Price: Dkk450. Wine: Dkk250.

Business

Alberto K at the Royal
Alberto K is the centrepiece of the newly refurbished Radisson SAS Royal Hotel. To run a restaurant in the name of Alberto Kappenberger (the first manager of this hotel and an enormous fan of Arne Jacobsen’s design) requires something out of the ordinary design-wise, as well as an innovative and expert gastronomy. The Alberto K lives up to this high standard. The unusual Scandinavian-Italian symbiosis works well for diners who appreciate the love of ingredients and the care in preparation that is manifest in everything on offer, from the homemade durum bread to that morning’s lobster from Thyborn. Other creations include ham from Parma and its well-smoked counterpart from Lgumkloster; rabbit with truffle oil from Umbria; spring cabbage with polenta, and lump fish with Tuscan rosemary. Alberto K also boasts an extensive, mainly Italian, wine list. To top it off, the views from the location on the 20th floor are superb, making this a spectacular setting for a business lunch or a longer dinner.

Hammerichsgade 1
Tel: 3342 6161.
E-mail: salescphzh@cphza.rdsas.com
Website: www.alberto-k.dk
Price: Dkk500. Wine: Dkk250.

Cap Horn
By day, this is the perfect place for a smrrebrd sandwich in the pleasant canalside setting. When the temperature stays up at night, Cap Horn is also a good place for a relaxed business dinner by the water, with more substantial Mediterranean options, such as grilled fish and steak, on the menu. The excellent range of desserts at dinner is another plus point, as is the cosy atmosphere of this former jazz club.

Nyhavn 21
Tel: 3312 8504. Fax: 3315 7130.
Price: Dkk300. Wine: Dkk150.

Kommandanten
Denmark’s only two-star Michelin restaurant continually delivers and is the perfect venue for impressing clients, as well as severely denting the platinum card. The building, dating from 1698, is a typical burgher’s house of the period with numerous small rooms on several floors. The restaurant enjoys an effortless style, with silver service set against long windows, wooden floors and a quietly contemporary elegance. The main culinary influence is French and the service is first rate. Sample dishes include duck breast with port wine sauce, pork shank with morels, as well as fried Norway lobster la nage served with aniseed and spring onions, although there is also a ‘special’ menu offering six small dishes for a fixed price of Dkk690. The wine list contains in excess of 1,000 wines, many available in half bottles.

Ny Adelgade 7
Tel: 3312 0990. Fax: 3393 1223.
E-mail: kommandanten@kommananten.dk
Website: www.kommandanten.dk
Price: Dkk600. Wine: Dkk250.

Peder Oxe
Situated right on Grabrodretorv, the city’s most beautiful square, Peder Oxe specialises in traditional Danish cooking and is a good place to get to grips with the nation’s culinary larder. The decor is suitably old fashioned. It may attract too many tourists for some tastes but the quality of the food is still high, with specialities like the eponymous oxe burger and the oxe steak.

Grabrodretorv 11
Tel: 3311 0077.
Website: www.pederoxe.dk
Price: Dkk340. Wine: Dkk147 (70cl carafe).

Soren K
Located in the Black Diamond, the Royal Library, Sren K continues to win praise from the Danish press for its super-modern minimalism. This is a splendid venue for impressing clients. The decor is bright and trendy, with modern lines and colours. Fresh seafood (such as grilled halibut with beetroot risotto, balsamic vinegar and oyster vinaigrette) is a speciality, but all the produce is of the highest quality.

Sren Kirkegaards Plads 1
Tel: 3347 4949. Fax: 3347 4951.
E-mail: soerenk@kb.dk
Website: www.soerenk.dk
Price: Dkk500. Wine: Dkk300.

Trendy

Barstarten
One of the hottest recent nightlife venues in Copenhagen, Barstarten also offers very good food. At weekends, locals and savvy visitors flock to this funky venue, for the DJ sets and the buzzing atmosphere. The normal menu includes fresh Mediterranean dishes (highlights are the Mediterranean polenta with roast vegetables and the grilled fish) which are served with fresh salads. The Sunday brunch menu is also good value. Booking is advisable, seeing as only 25 covers can be catered for at once.

Kapelvej 1
Tel: 3524 1100.
E-mail: bar@barstarten.dk
Website: www.barstarten.dk
Price: Dkk250. Wine: Dkk160.

Formel B
Formel B is an unexpected find in a busy part of the city. Head chef Singh Gill performs culinary wonders with the freshest of local produce in a stylish setting that just manages to avoid being pretentiously hip, with polished wooden floors and a sleek, minimalist look. The cooking is French with a funky accent and includes codfish with oysters, bouillon of quail with truffles and foie gras, and mushroom pie with walnuts. The restaurant’s six-course menu is among the best in the city. Reservations strongly recommended. No lunch. Closed Sunday.

Vesterbrogade 182
Tel: 3325 1066. Fax: 3325 2092.
E-mail: bordbestilling@formel-b.dk
Website: www.formel-b.dk
Price: Dkk550 (six-course set menu, plus Dkk450 wine pairing). Wine: Dkk365.

Restaurant Godt
Run by an Anglo-Danish husband and wife team, this small restaurant more than justifies its Michelin star. The focus is on fresh local meats and seafood given innovative culinary twists. The daily changing set menus (three, four or five courses) might include soup of Norway lobster served with monkfish and red caviar, or brill with a beurre blanc of oysters or veal with a sauce of morels. The wine list is extensive but diners can also choose to have a ‘wine menu’ offering a glass of different wine to accompany each course (Dkk100 per course). The simple two-decked restaurant is very relaxing and is tastefully decorated – only pictures of the late King Frederick and Queen Ingrid, parents of the present Queen, adorn the dove grey walls. There are a very limited number of tables and Godt is no longer the closely guarded secret it once was, so booking as far ahead as possible is essential. Closed Sunday and Monday and at other holiday periods.

Gothersgade 38
Tel: 3315 2122.
Price: Dkk445-565 (set menus). Wine: Dkk250.

Konrad
Konrad, one of the leading lights of the modern Scandinavian culinary revolution of the mid-1990s, remains one of the most respected restaurants in the city. In tribute to the English design guru and restaurateur, Terence Conran, Konrad’s geometrically clean and stylish interior, DJ bar and cool clientele ensure this venue’s continued popularity. A hip restaurant with equally hip clientele, this is the place to see and be seen. The food combines French with Danish in an imaginative way, including such offerings as boeuf Barnaise, beef carpaccio with cauliflower served with lemon and parmesan, and stuffed crab and lemon sole with oyster sauce, saffron and bacon. At weekends, after midnight, the restaurant transforms into a stylish cocktail bar.

Pilestraede 12-14
Tel: 3393 2929. Fax: 3393 5696.
E-mail: good@living.dk
Website: www.restaurantkonrad.dk
Price: Dkk400. Wine: Dkk225.

La Petite Bourgogne
This three-storey La Petite Bourgogne in a corner of the Kultorvet marketplace specialises in classic Burgundy dishes, something of a novelty so far from its home but definitely worth checking out, especially for lovers of the accompanying Burgundy wine. The decor is a relaxing burgundy red with contemporary paintings on the walls. There are three menus: a taster of five or six courses (from Dkk399), the Burgundy menu and an la carte menu. Starters include snails in garlic butter, flaky smoked salmon with watercress, or an excellent crayfish and cauliflower soup, while mains, such as Bresse chicken breast served with a morel cream sauce or rabbit in bacon with Dijon sauce, will delight. There is also the classic repertoire of coq au vin and boeuf bourgignon, plus a splendid selection of Burgundy cheeses. Booking recommended. No lunch.

Kultorvet 5
Tel: 3391 0949. Fax: 3369 0581.
E-mail: mail@niscos.dk
Website: www.lapetitebourgogne.dk
Price: Dkk350. Wine: Dkk175.

Budget

Barock
This bright bar-restaurant, the first restaurant in Nyhavn, is extremely elegant, decorated in the style of Louis XVI with an ornate tiled ceiling and rosehead wall lights. Nevertheless, Barock makes it into the ‘budget’ category as it offers excellent modern Danish cuisine at outstanding value for money. As well as pastas, salads, steak and chicken dishes, the menu includes shrimps with potatoes and avocado, lemon sole poached in white wine and tempting desserts like walnut pie with chocolate and crme fraiche or dark and white chocolate mouse with orange sauce. There is also a fairly comprehensive wine list. From April to October, the waterside terrace is the place to be on a warm summer’s evening, enjoying a meal while watching the world go by.

Nyhavn 1
Tel: 3333 0151. Fax: 3333 0311.
Website: www.barock.dk
Price: Dkk280. Wine: Dkk140.

Pasta Basta
This popular budget restaurant offers 15 different types of pasta dishes and the options are imaginative, such as fettuccine in a white wine sauce with grilled salmon strips, garnished with salmon caviar and saffron. The unfussy, unpretentious surroundings are bright and airy and are also home to an all-you-can-eat daily buffet. As well as being good value for money, Pasta Basta is family friendly and has over 150 seats, able cater for large groups.

Valkendorfsgade 22
Tel: 3311 2131.
Website: www.pastabasta.dk
Price: Dkk200 ( la carte); Dkk79 (fixed-price buffet). Wine: Dkk110.

Restaurant Kultorvet
This bistro is situated on a corner of the Kultorvet market and serves a decent Danish menu, both set (Dkk99.50-140.50) and la carte. The cubicle layout, decorated with old plates and photographs of Copenhagen in years gone by, makes for intimate conversation. The restaurant is ideal for a light lunch, with its popular open sandwiches (smrrebrd) with herring, egg, shrimps or smoked salmon. Alternatively, for a more substantial early evening meal (the bistro closes around 2000), there are good-value standbys like pork with Barnaise sauce and salad.

Kultorvet 2
Tel: 3314 7099.
Price: Dkk150. Wine: Dkk155.

Restaurant Puk
This slightly down-at-heel basement bar-restaurant is not the place for those who want a sophisticated or elegant setting. Although its rustic atmosphere, with wooden beams, old photographs and paintings, is enhanced with various objects dotted around, such as ancient cash registers, dolls, battered musical instruments, books and statuettes, adding a quirky, off-beat appeal. And for no-nonsense basic Danish cuisine, it is hard to find anywhere better. House specialities include herrings in various guises (pickled, marinated and curried) Wienerschnitzel, fillet of ox baked on an oak platter (planksteak), and ‘old cheese’ served with a splash of rum.

Vandkunsten 8
Tel: 3311 1417.
Price: Dkk250. Wine: Dkk159.

Shark House Deli
This small, lively deli is perfect for anyone looking for a tasty and quick lunch in the trendy Nrrebro area of Copenhagen. The Italian and French deli food on offer (mainly sandwiches, salads, houmous and soup) is among the cheapest in the city and great value for its high quality. Most people grab something ‘to go’, but there are tables in summer for a more leisurely meal.

Blagardsgade 3
Tel: 3335 3135.
E-mail: sharkhouse@mail.dk
Price: Dkk100. Unlicensed.

Personal Recommendations

1.th
This restaurant is something of a local secret and is set to remain that way unless it changes its booking policy. Diners have to book weeks in advance and then receive an ‘invitation’ to come around for dinner at 1900 in this homely yet impeccably stylish second-floor venue. The set menus take diners on a unique culinary journey, lasting the entire evening, through many different cuisines and styles of cooking, although primarily Modern Danish with a classical basis. Owner Mette Martinussen’s favourite dish is rumoured to be sausages and these do often feature on the menu. There is only space for 16 or so diners, the nine-course dinner has to be paid for in advance (fixed price) and the restaurant is open only from Wednesday until Saturday.

Herluf Trollesgade 9
Tel: 3393 5770. Fax: 3393 6769.
Website: www.1th.dk
Price: Dkk900 (including wine).

Caf Victor
A small L-shaped bistro situated on the corner of Ny stergade and Hovedvagtsgade, Caf Victor is proving popular with celebrities. Divided into a bar-caf and a restaurant, it combines excellent Danish food with fast and friendly service. The menu features herring in various guises, good salads and familiar dishes with pork, steak and fish. Fresh oysters are served daily. This is an excellent, chatty place for a quick lunch, while the restaurant merits a longer stay for a relaxing dinner.

Ny stergade 8
Tel: 3313 3613. Fax: 3391 1340.
E-mail: cafevictor@sovino.dk
Website: www.cafevictor.dk
Price: Dkk300 (set menus: Dkk425–495). Wine: Dkk180.

Cascabel Madhus
Vegetarian heaven is the best way to describe this popular, good-value restaurant. Cascabel Madhus is located off the main tourist trail but is still close to the city centre and, as it does not feature in many guidebooks, it is a good place to eat like the locals do in unfussy surroundings. The eat-in or take-away menu revolves around vegetarian curries and rice dishes, but also includes orange pepper and goat’s cheese quiche, chick pea, pepper and basil ‘meatballs’ (frikadeller), and mushrooms with pumpkin seeds, as well as three-choice combination dishes. Excellent value for money. Closed weekends. No dinner.

Store Kongensgade 80-82
Tel: 3393 7797. Fax: 3393 7786.
E-mail: cascabel@restaurant.dk
Website: www.cascabel.dk
Price: Dkk160. Wine: Dkk140.

Il Ristorante
One of the best Italian restaurants in the city, offering a traditional repertoire of classic Italian pasta and dessert dishes, as well as some tasty more imaginative concoctions. The fillet of lamb in a red wine sauce, the duck in an orange sauce and the tournedos in a light mustard sauce are all rather special. The wine list is modest but well thought out. Subdued lighting and ochre walls adorned with old paintings and pictures make this a smart but relaxed restaurant, an easy place to enjoy an inexpensive meal.

Grnnegade 33
Tel: 3315 1565.
Price: Dkk345. Wine: Dkk180.

Restaurant Ida Davidsen
Proving that there is no such thing as ‘just a sandwich’, Ida takes the Danish smrrebrd tradition to new heights. Her 200-plus creations include such delightful toppings as smoked salmon, beef tartar and caviar. This is a real Copenhagen institution, with walls bedecked with old family photos. Diners should remember, however, that Restaurant Ida Davidsen is a lunch venue only and it closes at 1700 (the kitchen at 1600). Closed weekends.

Store Kongensgade 70
Tel: 3391 3655.
Price: Dkk85-150. Unlicensed.