72 hours to enjoy the best Danish food in Copenhagen 🇩🇰 (like a local)

Copenhagen is undeniably beautiful. The rose of Scandinavia, as my partner Kevin likes to call it. It's also the epicenter of gastronomy, especially in the fine dining world. But what lies beyond the Michelin stars? What are the essential Danish bites and experiences you can only have here? In this video, we're diving into 72 hours in Copenhagen, how to eat and explore the city like a local. We're starting our morning at Hart Bakery in Refshaalund by the water. Founded in 2018, they're known for their naturally leavened sourdough and seasonal Danish pastries. It's also where Markus from The Bear trains to level up his pastry skills in season two. We ordered classic Danish breakfast items, a morning bun with butter and cheese, and a little something sweet. Good morning! Good morning! First breakfast in Denmark and you're of course gonna get a morning bun. A morning bun or morgenbolle consists of bread and cheese and butter and that's it. Every morning we start with a morgenbolle. We love it, we're addicted to a morgenbolle. I will say this is one of those things, before you try it, like when you see this on camera, you know my mouth, it ain't like watering like crazy. It looks pretty dry. I mean I love a grilled cheese with this, but once you try it you'll understand why this is such a staple breakfast item. The bread is also like a sourdough bun, so there's a little bit of a twang. The butter is whipped, so it's kind of like moisture element and the cheese is salty and acute and a little pungent and together it makes a really great bite. Definitely on the drier side, that's just the way it is, but that's why you get coffee on the side. What is special about Hart Bakery Kevin? Richard Hart, who's the founder, opened it after working at Nomad. He just really perfected like the sourdough bread and then especially the tea that we're going to eat after. It's like a respect for the old traditions, but with a new modern twist to it. I really like that. This is the first thing I want when I get home. Smørrebrød and a bun with cheese. Taste. T-birgis. So this is a very old staple pastry in Danish homes. You see it very rarely in the new age bakeries, but that's what I really love about Hart. Almost classic way, but with a modern twist I would say. So a t-birgis is layered pastry that you fill up with ramuns. And ramuns is like a cream with whipped butter, sugar, almond paste. That's also why you see this like caramel is just like oozing out while it's getting baked and covered in poppy seeds. You see it's all caramelized and really nice down here. That's a good ramun. Old people love this a lot. You're old so you like it? I love it. It's also by the water so it's super nice. You get a view of the canals and also the bakery's beautiful old barn and it's a great place to start your mornings with some bun and cheese and something sweet. This could start the opium war. Get it? Because it's poppy seeds. And I'm with my poppy. After a hearty morning bite, we crossed the canal to explore more of Amar. Here you'll find beautiful urban design by the water, so take the time to walk around taking in where urban life feels connected to nature. So right behind me we have the opera house and I think it's one of the only opera houses in the world where the entrance is right out to the ocean. So here you have a bus which is a ferry that comes in and out every 20 minutes and then you can actually sail over to the other side. Across the opera you have a mailing ball which is where the king and queen resides. Pretty cool man. And you can kind of feel that the most important part about Copenhagen is that it's so interwoven with water. Yeah and it's it's coming from the street between Sweden and Denmark where there's a very strong current so it kind of constantly keeps the channels clean. But also why it's a little cold and windy. Of course that's a part of the charm. Look another go-boat. Now it's time to walk east in my tabby socks and flip-flops. Not gonna lie my feet were kind of hurting and this is Kevin making fun of me for how I walk. So I waddled my big booty to Copenhagen's hottest and hippest, Lavankina. It's a great place to grab a bite to eat and a glass of organic wine while swimming. So if the weather is nice when you're visiting, definitely go check it out. But we skipped it this time because it was slightly chilly for a non-Dane like me. So we instead decided to visit the highest point in Copenhagen, Copenhale. These steps are like very wide. I don't think they're really fit for my size. I think wearing tabby socks with red flip-flops wasn't the best shoe choice for today. You can also take the elevator by the way or rock climb all the way up. It's the home to the largest climbing wall in Europe. And you know what? When you're walking up these steps you're gonna realize it smells kind of farty in here. It's not your own armpits. It's actually coming from the hill itself. And Kevin will explain why that is in three, two, one. It's built as a power plant using all the waste and creating energy for Copenhagen. So that's also why you see all the garbage trucks from all of Copenhagen. When people think of landfills, it's usually super nasty and somewhere you don't want to come with your kids. To think that this landfill has become a tourist destination and where people can come and ski, rock climb, and hike up. It's quite amazing and you can see a beautiful, beautiful view of all of Copenhagen from the top. So definitely worth coming. And I'm kind of thirsty. Should we grab a beer? Conveniently located next to Copenhagen is Reffen street food market. Here you'll find food from all around the world, which showcases how diverse Denmark is. But the true beauty of this market is grabbing a cold beer on tap and sitting by the water chilling. And when you say cheers, don't forget to say skål. We're getting the ultimate Copenhagen street food, a hot dog. And you might be thinking, I mean, a hot dog is just a hot dog. What could be different, right? But just wait until you see. We needed a hot dog. So we got a rested hot dog, which is the classic with mustard, ketchup, gremolade, which is our Danish pickle sauce. Two kind of onions, raw and fried onions. See, I'm somebody who only grew up with American style hot dogs. And the amount of topping there is on a hot dog. This is like a whole gourmet meal. OP element to this is definitely the crispy onions. This one is our classic pølse med brød, sausage with bread. And here we have kind of the same spread. And this is a medister. So this is a sausage spiced with different spices. So you have raw onions, fried onions, gremolade, mustard and ketchup. How do you eat this? I want to start with a bit of ketchup and a little bit of fried onions. You can also just dip everything in one go. Some also like to mix it. The idea of dipping into different sauces. I love this actually. This is, I think, also something super special only to Denmark. So incredibly juicy. This is a hot dog fine dining. And this is what we call a French hot dog. So here you have a bread with one hole where you stuff dressings and then the sausage in. The most shocking of them all. French hot dog. I don't know if this kind of hot dog exists in France. Bread is definitely closer to more of like a baguette and a hard bread instead of the classic brioche hot dog buns that you would usually expect. But this I know it looks ass. Like when Kevin first ordered this I was like, you're eating this in front of me? The girls you're trying to impress? But this actually surprisingly slaps. I would say there's two hot dogs that you have to try. Definitely try the classic combo and then the French hot dog. It's also the first thing on the menu. So you know that this is a fan favorite for a lot of people. And to wash it all down you need some chocolate milk and you have to shake it. Kind of like Eva Mendes. This is a combo that's unheard of anywhere else in the world. Salty sausage and washing it down with chocolate milk. I understand why the average height here is like six four. Thank you for the rice. After a bite at Jette's hot dog, it's time to go. Go where? To the go boat. Renting a boat in Copenhagen is one of the best things you can do. You'll glide through their city's canals, past famous landmarks and experience It's a Danish word for that warm cozy feeling of being present with the people you love. My friend Jeremy and his family were visiting, so we stocked up on snacks and wine and cruised along the channels. You'll see people chilling and swimming by the water. There's really no better way to see the city's beauty woven together with the sea. I highly recommend going about an hour before sunset. You'll watch the sun dip over Copenhagen, painting the canals in golden light. We're back in Vesterbro where Jette's hot dog is. Once a gritty red light district, it still carries traces of that old edge with bars, strip clubs and tattoo parlors. But when you walk deeper into the heart of Vesterbro, you'll find the meatpacking district where now it's a hot spot for trendy restaurants and buzzing bars. So we popped into Fiske Bar where the chef was gracious enough to give us a little behind the scenes tour. We do everything as local and sustainable. We try to also use all parts of the fish. For example in this one, the monkfish, we're using the tail for a dish and the bones for a sauce and that way we can come up with more ideas to use everything. We get from 180 to maybe 450-420 guests a day. There's a lot of dishes we love at Fiske Bar and the menu is always changing so let's quickly go over what we ordered. First up, sourdough bread with seaweed butter. Basic yes but it's an important first impression. The butter is whipped into submission into a light airy foam with flecks of seaweed running through its salty umami depth that pairs perfectly with the soft warm bread. Next, flatfish crudo with smoked mussels, seaweed, rye, and burnt onion and just look at that plating. Now our favorite dish of all, the mussels. Honestly this alone is worth the trip to Fiske Bar. Wow. Plump, juicy, and cooked to perfection. They're bathed in a rich creamy fish broth sprinkled with chopped green onion and tender potatoes. Think clam chowder on steroids. After a long day of climbing Copenhill and riding boats, this was exactly what I wanted especially with a We also had a little carrot salad on the side for extra crunch and fiber and finally the showstopper of the day, a whole grilled monkfish head which I had to order the moment I saw it in the kitchen. POV you're Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. How many restaurants in the world will serve a whole ass monkfish head? These fish cheeks are so big that it almost reminds me of enoki mushroom. The flesh itself is extremely like creamy and milky but it tastes like chicken. It's good. So if you're looking for something slightly more fancy but still laid back, Fiske Bar is a great place to come for a date night or for solo diners and remember to always order the mussels. You thought we were gonna end the night there? No babe, that is not the Viking way. We're going to a classic Danish bodega. We met up with some friends to play a classic Danish drinking game. So this is gonna be the game of snød we're gonna play today. It's the most classic bodega game and snød means the sea. So the rules are simple, it's all about guessing how many it is all bluffing. Six twos. Six threes. Six fours. Eight fours. It's a fun place where you're guaranteed to meet some interesting characters. Okay not gonna lie, I thought Jebe was bluffing but he wasn't. And that's the whole point of playing snø. You keep the dices rolling making new memories with both old friends and new ones. The next day I felt like death himself which is why we're in Assistenskygård, Copenhagen's most famous cemetery. You might think a graveyard is a weird place for a morning walk but here it's more like a leisure park. It's also the final resting place of Denmark's most famous author H.C. Andersen. It's beautiful and peaceful, the perfect spot for a morning stroll to go get a strong cup of coffee. This is the OG third way coffee. So Coffee Collective was the first in Copenhagen to kind of see coffee in a new light. So Coffee Collective is important because it's the first place to start a new way of drinking coffee which was light roast. They wanted to respect coffee. Coffee Collective kind of changing the face of Nørrebro. It is kind of very similar to Brooklyn in a sense that it was kind of the start of gentrification in this neighborhood, right? It was. This is where it all started in Nørrebro. A five minute walk from Coffee Collective you hit the heart of Nørrebro, the home to the largest Middle Eastern community in Denmark. Around 15 percent of Copenhagen's population is Middle Eastern and that cross-cultural influence can be smelled by the fragrant scent of za'atar spiced bread wafting in the air. We're at Ali Bageri, a family-run Middle Eastern bakery where locals, both young hipsters and Middle Eastern families, gather for brunch. It's an old establishment here in Nørrebro. It's been here since 1993. So Nørrebro is the city part of Denmark where we have the biggest Middle Eastern population and therefore you also see a lot of Middle Eastern eateries. We ordered a brunch one plate and it comes with hummus, labneh with za'atar and olive oil, cheese and two types of cheese, pickles to cut some acidity and the crowning jewel is omelette that is deep fried so it gets that nice fluffy crispy edge and with a sprig of mint on top. It also comes with a bunch of flatbread and on the side we got orange juice and ayran. And what is ayran? Ayran is a yogurt drink from Turkey that you will find in every single shawarma bar in Denmark. So this is kind of to take the spice away. You drink yogurt drink. And the flatbread that we got on the side we got half and half za'atar which is the Arabic spice mix along with feta cheese. I think that's the beauty of Nørrebro is that you can find hipster coffee but you can also find really great eateries like Turkish Breakfast and they're making everything from scratch as well and the owner is so kind. I would say Persian breakfast is probably one of my favorite ways to start the day. Lots of dips. Not the kind that gives you cancer. Egg is executed perfectly and the pickles on the side. A little bit of raw onion to start off the morning. They also make their fresh za'atar mix. You know what I love za'atar for? If you buy za'atar and sprinkle it on top of popcorn it will be the best popcorn you'll ever have. It's very salty but I like that. Like I don't like sweet yogurt like gogurt that you can just That's weird. Irony I like a lot. This is the Red Square. This is the heart of Nørrebro. It's designed by Bjarke Engels which also designed Copenhagen. The concept behind the Red Square was to bring parts of the whole world together one place. So all the way down through the park here you will see different icons from different parts of the world. Which one is this one from? Qatar. And light pole is from Germany. You have the bowl from Spain. A water fountain from Istanbul. It's kind of to showcase the diversity of Nørrebro. It's a melting pot and I live right there. I can't reach for the first one. Strawberry. Are you okay? I ate ----. There's a food channel. Anyway we're heading to Omen's featured in the Michelin guide for their modern take on S'morebro Denmark's most iconic dish. Kevin will explain in a bit what it is but first chef Neeraj gave us a little bit behind the scenes tour of the operation that makes it all happen. This is the herring that we marinate in the house here. It's been matured in salt barrels for six months and then we marinate by ourselves what we how we want it. What is a smørrebrød? Smørrebrød is an open-faced sandwich so it's different fillings on rye bread and rye bread is a dark bread that retains the absolutely love. A bit more sour, deep notes. Smørrebrød means butter bread. And this one is pickled or smoked? Fermented. Fermented. So you put them in barrels with salt leave them in a basement for two three months. The lactive fermentation breaks down bones and makes it very acidic and fresh. Wow so tasty. You have the salted pickled herring and when it goes through the salting process you get the moisture that's drawn out so the flesh becomes a lot more taut and there's a really nice bite to it. What else is something that you should you think people should try? I think people have to try either our shrimps or salmon a chicken salad or beef tartare to finish on. And I would say what's special about Danish shrimps is that they're really quite small but my favorite smørrebrød at Omen's will forever will be the tartare. Like the tartare here is just so good like you can see how beautifully red the beef is and they grind it. And what I think is really special about Omen's is they have different types of rye bread for each and different smørrebrød. So this one you can see on the outer rim that it had more oat flakes embedded on the top and it makes more sense because you want a hardier bite because the tartare is a little bit more soft. I think the attention to detail at Omen's is what makes it really really special. I also look like a midget here Kevin. After a great meal at Omen's we ventured into Nørreport to go look at Tovhallen. It used to be an old vegetable market that now became an upscale glass and steel food market packed with over 60 stalls selling everything from artisanal cheese, meat and seafood. It's also a fun place to visit to see what kind of things are in season in Denmark and a fun place to hang out. For dinner we made a reservation at Coors, one of Copenhagen's oldest and most iconic seafood restaurants. And we prepared for this in advance right? Yes you have to book it 24 hours in advance so they can prepare all the things. They got famous for having their own fishmonger right here and then they have their restaurant right beside it. It was opened in 1910. Back in the days here this was where all the old fishmonger ladies were standing selling their fish. There was this smart person who got an idea he wanted to open a fish restaurant right beside the fishmongers and ever since it's been an institution. Scallops. Scallop is creamy. Creamy, creamy, creamy. Wow. So let's start with the tail. Then we can kind of go in. Then we can break off the claws and then you cut it on the side here. You take a little bit of the mayo. Just a little bit. Dig it out. You see here and then all the flaky. Everything needs bread. Cheers. Delicious, creamy, fresh, really nice texture. Brown crab is the big crab we have in Denmark. We don't really have king crabs. Let's see if we can kind of massage this one out and then we can kind of scoop out all the meat. So here you also just want to get in there. Wow that's very good. This one we're gonna serve on a ramsen toast. The crab meat is very flaky so it has a really nice texture to it. I will take that one. What do you mean with that? I will take what is rightfully mine. That looks so bomb. It's a bit garlicky coming from the rams. Wow the sweet crab bitterness. The crab is super flaky and sweet. Crabs with any form of carbohydrates is my favorite. Okay where are we? Let me just check google maps. Okay so we're at Tivoli. This is a very old amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen. So this park has been here since mid-1800s and it's a very treasured place for Copenhagen. Tivoli closes at 11 but technically they really first kick you out at 12 o'clock. So if you don't want to do rides and you just want to walk around and see the beautiful park you can do that until 12 o'clock. I will say the beauty of Tivoli isn't about the rides itself it's how old these rides are and there's a certain antique charm to it that you can't see anywhere else in modern amusement parks. So treat it as a relic of its own and Tivoli shines brighter at night. There aren't many amusement parks in the world set right in the center of a city like Tivoli. The neon lights blur like watercolor against the long summer nights making it the perfect place for a night walk. And you can't come to an amusement park without having something sweet so we grabbed a pink cotton candy. This looks like Marge Simpson's hair. A night at Tivoli is sweet like cotton candy. Good morning day three of dusk summer we are here at Louisiana museum. So we are at Louisiana art museum which is an hour drive away from Copenhagen. It's surrounded by beautiful nature out to the ocean. It's built in the 50s by Knud who wanted to create a art museum for modern art. I think what makes Louisiana really special not just like the art itself but the architecture here and the Danish design and how well it incorporates nature into the whole museum. I think that's what makes this place really special and stand out to other museums in the world. I don't know why but something about being in museums makes me very hungry so we stopped by Juno bakery to grab their world-renowned cardamom buns. I have yet to try a cardamom snort I can keep up with Juno's. It is touristed there is a long line but it's worth it. Juno really mastered the light and airiness of this cardamom snort. Cheers. Cheers. Holy smokes like it's so light and fluffy. Ah I could eat like 10 more of them. Oh so tasty. This is why I wanted you to come here. I think the balance in spice is also really really on point. If there's not a line I'm gonna buy one more. A little pro tip the line is very long in the morning so head over after 1pm. So when people are eating smørrebrød what are like the two biggest drink choices for Danes? These two. So it's beer and snaps. Snaps is a flavored spirit made on potato. They go hand in hand for a classic lunch. That is also why Juno is specialized in snaps. So this is the curry herring. Salted preserved herrings and then seasoned with a curry dressing with capers on the side. Red onion always very important. Soft-boiled egg and then it's pork lard underneath. This is definitely for the more adventurous eaters. Is curry herring something really common in Denmark? Yeah when I was a kid I grew up only eating curry herrings. If yesterday's omens was much more of the modern classic, Sjøndeman's is smørrebrød in the most traditional sense executed to perfection. We tried the herring yesterday that was marinated in black currant right and the herring here is cured only in salt but because of lactic acid fermentation the flesh also tightens up and it has a really really nice bite to it. I would say if you try it once it's very addicting and you can never go back. So this is fried place. Remoulade, dill and then lemon on the side. Butter in the bottom. And what is remoulade made of? So remoulade is kind of like pickle. This is one of the most classic sauces we have in Denmark. I want to say remoulade is like what Thousand Island is for Americans. It tastes pretty similar. I would say it's more like a honey mustard and a Thousand Island put together. Like the fish itself is so tasty. It's also panné-ed and breaded to perfection. It's so crispy. You can see the edges. Really freaking good. So this is hønsalat. Which means? Hen salad. Is this an acceptable ratio of mayo to chicken? 100%. I'm Korean so I've not seen this much mayonnaise to meat ratio ever in my life. Just because it's like an open-faced sandwich doesn't mean that it's not a complex dish. Green asparagus embedded within the chicken salad. So you get a little bit of that creaminess with the chicken and a little crunch coming from the asparagus adding to kind of the juiciness. You have the really crispy bacon on top and then you have a toasted buckwheat. And I think the bite together is so luxurious. So good. This is the king of Danish smørrebrød. So this is the turmeric curry dressing with fermented cauliflowers, carrots, pickled cucumbers and onions. Pickled beetroots. You have salty capers. Fresh zested horseradish. A raw egg yolk on top. Look how runny it is. Red onions. You have the steak which is minced beef and then underneath you have a toasted bread. Let's go. You don't have to do everything in each single bite. You can kind of construct your bite. So you can go a bit more spicy which is the horseradish. You can add a bit more of the relish which is more sour and umami. You can get the beetroots which it's more earthy and then this salty notes from the capers. Wow. You know what this tastes like? A Japanese hambag steak mixed with like the Korean beef tartare. What really really makes this special is just like all the side dishes. Like the freshly grated horseradish. It is so tasty. I like that the toasted bread on the bottom it absorbs all that meat juice and the egg yolk. So it becomes really really soggy like this. Almost like stuffing. It is actually the best part. Pronouncing this dish is like kind of like a litmus test for the Danish proficiency language. And what is this exactly? So this is a compote of different seasonal red berries served with 50% cream. And then on top are slivered almonds. This is berries and cream but completely cooked to perfection. It's definitely a little bit more viscous but with the heavy cream it kind of mellows it out. Berry taste coming through with a little bit of the toasted almonds. Like it is one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life. Seasonal fruit desserts when executed to perfection is. For a very first time and visitors to Copenhagen must or must? Absolutely must. I think Søndermans is the most important place to go if you come and visit Copenhagen. After a kingly feast we walked over to the king's garden Kongens Hale. It's Copenhagen's oldest and most visited park dating back to the early 1600s. Scattered throughout are sculptures including, you guessed it, of H.C. Andersen. It's a favorite spot for both locals and visitors to picnic stroll and soak up a little bit of royal history in the city. We are in Nyhavn. What does Nyhavn translate to? Directly translated it means new harbor. The big new harbor that was built in through Copenhagen. It's very iconic for the long channel in and all the very different colorful houses. And this is where all sailors they would dock when they came to Copenhagen. Things we need to do in Nyhavn is drink big beers, cold ice creams and just traverse up and down. Nyhavn was built in 1600 by Christian V and it notoriously known for being like where thieves and sailors and everybody was hanging out. H.C. Andersen was living right here for 18 years also. It's a very famous street for Denmark. Kongens Nytor, the big square. This was the grand square that the king made. So that's why you have Nyhavn coming all the way in here. You have an old establishment called Hotel Dangleterre. You have the royal theater. And this was really the show off part of Copenhagen. You know Kevin and I we were thinking about doing a fine dining experience either at Noma or Cadeau or many other great places which I'm gonna write in the description box if you want any suggestions. But this time it wasn't really what we were feeling. Instead I want a real burger. Okay pause if this doesn't make sense to you it's because my delivery was very weak but I was referring to the scene in the menu. You know what I'd really like? Tell me. A cheeseburger. And the best burger that represents Denmark is inside here. We actually want to go after the Baron Bodega on day one but they're open from Wednesday to Sunday. It's a late night institution serving Danish fast food, pork burgers, hot dogs and Chinese fusion takeout. But the thing that you need to try here is a flæskestær sandwich and a So flæskestær is the most treasured part of the pork for Danes. It's the loin piece with the skin. So a flæskestær sandwich contains the bun, flæskestær, french dressing, braised red cabbage and pickled cucumbers. So we came to Easter Grill for our last bite the flæskestær sandwich because this is like a iconic place. As a non-Dane I think flæskestær sandwich is one of the top three burgers that you can ever try on earth because it's crispy pork. It's also warm and you have the skin that's just completely shattering when you bite into it. You also have the combination of the hollandaise and you have the red braised cabbage that sweet the whole bite cups together perfectly. I feel like this is one of those bites that you have to try when you're here. This is like a Danish sprite right? Kind of like an old-school ripple. It's a little more saltier than a sprite. I think that's probably the reason why I like it so much. And this is our final stop and something that I always have to get whenever I'm in Copenhagen. Kevin actually ended up ordering one more for the road.