I love food. I love cooking, trying new foods, eating out, finding restaurants… everything about it. Considering that, I was very excited to come to Copenhagen where there’s such a great food scene going on.
In this post, I’m going to list and talk about some of the best meals I’ve had here, as well as how to explore a passion for food on a budget in a rather pricey city like Copenhagen. I’ll also talk about where to find food options fitting dietary restrictions, like dairy-free and vegan, and my favorite meal to cook for myself when I’m not going out.
Places I’ve Been
Lunch Spots/Cafes
- Next Door Cafe – fun vibes, good breakfast spot
- WeCycle – great food and smoothies near Islands Brygge
- The Living Room – good for doing work, get the goat cheese sandwich!
- Sankt Peters Bageri – go for the Wednesday snails
- Paludan Bog Cafe – super cozy vibe, bookstore cafe, hygge
- Fresh Bagel – good for cheaper lunch near DIS, the workers are also so nice
- Momo Wok Box – quick lunch right next to DIS, stir fry and noodles
- Cafe Flottenheimer – cozy spot for a sit-down lunch
- 42 Raw – vegan and healthy options, the acai bowl is really good
- Cafe Oha – healthy and has student discounts, near Nimbus Kollegium
- Hope Organic – Acai and poke bowls, has student discounts
- OliOli – also acai and poke bowls, there’s one in the airport
- Sandwich Pigeon – a lot of sandwich options for a filling meal
My Favorites: Paludan Bog Cafe, WeCycle, Fresh Bagel, and The Living Room
A Wednesday snail from Sankt Peters Bageri Cafe Oha Acai Bowl
Coffee
- Democratic Coffee – go for the almond croissant but not the coffee
- Emmerys – student discount and good for a chain coffeeshop
- Espresso House – cozy vibes but not great coffee. Amazing chai lattes
- Lagkagehuset – everything is so so good. And expensive
- Buzz Coffee- carrot cake and chai lattes? Yes. Also very hygge
- Joe & The Juice- health.
My Favorites: Emory’s, Joe & The Juice, and Lagkagehuset
Dessert
- Bon Bon Ice Cream
- Paradis Ice Cream
- NiceCream – amazing, plant-based ice cream
- Is à Bella – ice cream in the glass markets
- American Pie- such good pies, they also make savory pies
- Reffen- has some great dessert options!
My Favorites: NiceCream and American Pie
Ice Cream at Reffen American Pie
Restaurants (both lunch and dinner)
- Ramen to Bíiru – ramen and Mikkeller beer… no compaints 🙂
- Slurp Ramen Joint – very popular, had to wait in line outside every time
- Chao Viet Kitchen – Vietnamese food near DIS
- Karma Sushi – they have a Wednesday special that is wonderful
- Mao Bao – Asian food and drinks, they have a great happy hour special
- Hidden Dim Sum – really good dim sum
- Tapas Huset: Casa Lola – pretty good tapas
- Mikkeller Bar in Vesterbro- ton of beers on tap
- Mikropolis – Mikkeller beer and also cocktails! Cute place near Norreport
- Neighborhood Pizza – good cocktails but overpriced pizza
- Gorms – pizza, they have a few locations all over the city
- Rossopomodoro – rooftop restaurant, the best pizza I’ve had in Cope
- Warpigs- very good BBQ, the mac and cheese is amazing
- Boulebar – they have games (Boule) and food
- Halifax – burger chain that’s really good
- Mahalle- Lebanese in a cozy space
- Send Flere Krydderier -went with my core course; good middle eastern food
- Indian Swaad – pretty good Indian right by DIS
- American Pie – the savory pies are amazing
- Kayak Bar – go when it’s nice out and get the mussels… you will not regret
- Mazzoli’s in Tivoli – cute Italian place in Tivoli
- Færgekroens Bryghus in Tivoli – go for the vibe not really the food
- Sticks’n’Sushi – really good sushi and they have a couple of locations
- Kiin Kiin – a friend’s parents took me here… beyond amazing, Michelin star
- Amass – near Reffen, Michelin Guide New Nordic
- Restaurant Barr – “casual” New Nordic by a former NOMA chef
- Llama – Peruvian, tons of sharing plates and good cocktails
The last seven places I went to with my parents and also my friend’s parents… save them for people with real salaries.
My Favorites: Kiin Kiin, Hidden Dim Sum, Ramen to Bíiru, Sticks’n’Sushi, Mikkeller Bar, Rossopomodoro
Mazzoli’s in Tivoli Rossopomodoro Part of the appetizers at Kiin Kiin Slurp Ramen Restaurant Barr Dessert at Mao Bao
Brunch
- Grød – really good oatmeal; they have both sweet and savory types
- Wulff and Konstali – small plate style brunch
- Møller Kaffe & Køkken – small plate style brunch
- Mad & Kaffe – small plate style brunch
- Sidecar – Just amazing. Make a reservation very far in advance
My Favorites: Møller Kaffe & Køkken, Sidecar, and Grød



Markets/other fun places:
- Reffen – a must visit
- Magasin – fun to just walk around and look at the food and chocolate
- Glass Markets – close to DIS with a ton of options
- Bolton’s Food Court – more food options!
My Favorites: Reffen when the weather is nice, and the Glass Markets
From The Glass Markets Mikkeller near Reffen!
Dairy-free places and healthier eating in general
I don’t have any dietary restrictions, but of the places I’ve been these have some good options for those of you who do:)
- Mao Bao had a really good mango dairy-free ice cream
- NiceCream was amazing, and vegan!
- 42Raw – vegan options
- Hafnia Bar – healthy eating
- Halifax Burgers – has a couple of vegan options
- Hope Organic – healthy lunch by DIS
- Souls – good vegan options at a sit-down brunch place
- Matcha Bar
- Cafe Oha
- Chao Viet – has vegan options
- Sidecar – has a vegan plate
- The Glass Markets – have a ton of options for all sorts of dietary restrictions
- Paleo- sweet potato wrap was so yummy and so healthy, more options too
My Favorites: Paleo, Sidecar, and NiceCream
Hope Organic Mao Bao dairy-free mango ice cream
Eating Out on a Budget
It’s no lie that Copenhagen is pretty expensive, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find places to eat out on a budget. A lot of spots offer a student discount if you ask, and it can sometimes be as high as 20% off! I also usually share things with friends and then split the bill between multiple people, so I can try more dishes but not order an entire one for myself. Dinner generally is more expensive than lunch, so I don’t really go out to dinner very often and most of the places above have been lunch visits. I try to limit myself to one or two meals out a week, but sometimes I forget to pack lunch so that number goes up, oops. Overall, I used my meal stipend to cook most of the time, but my stipend just ran out and now I’ve been eating out more often than earlier in the semester.
Super easy cooking idea
As a small side note to this list of places to eat, I have to include the meal I probably ate the most this entire semester: roasted chickpeas and sweet potatoes.
This has literally become a staple of my diet. It’s so easy and you can keep sweet potatoes and chickpeas around for a long time without worrying they will spoil. You can bake it all one one pan making it super easy to clean. It’s also gluten and dairy-free and even vegan! All you do is toss chickpeas, chopped sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts in olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper and then bake for about 15 minutes. I like to add a balsamic glaze after it’s done, which might take away the vegan or gluten-free aspects but it’s super yummy. It’s also great with a scoop of tahini over some salad for a bigger meal.
Anyways that ends this long blog post all about food… hope it made you hungry:)