Best restaurants in Copenhagen — 36 you can book

Search for the best restaurants in Copenhagen and you get the same list every time: starred kitchens that have to be booked half a year ahead and cost what a weekend away costs. This guide is about the opposite. Thirty-six restaurants in Copenhagen where you can get a table on a Tuesday, pay the bill without thinking about it for a week, and leave full.

The order follows our editorial score, which weighs the kitchen, the produce and the craft — not how the plate photographs. The top nineteen get a section each with the address, the opening hours and what to order. The last seventeen are listed together further down, and they are here for the same reason as the rest: they are good enough to recommend.

If you just want the whole list with a map and filters, it is on restaurants in Copenhagen. For what is worth eating in the rest of the country, start with the restaurant guide.

1. Bæst, Nørrebro

Guldbergsgade 29. Bæst makes its own mozzarella from organic Danish milk and cures its own charcuterie from animals it knows. That is why it sits at the top: the kitchen runs a dairy and a sausage workshop inside the building, and you can taste it in every dish.

Order the charcuterie first and a pizza after, and let the cheese decide which one. The pizza comes out of a wood-fired oven and is thinner and more sour than what the rest of the street serves. It costs more than a pizza budget and less than a proper restaurant bill.

Dinner runs every day of the week from five to ten, with lunch added on Saturday and Sunday from twelve to half past two. Book a table; they keep a few seats for walk-ins, but do not plan an evening around it.

2. Restaurant Schønnemann, city centre

Hauser Plads 16. Danish lunch in its purest form: a low-ceilinged basement, white paper tablecloths and a snaps list longer than the food menu. More than a hundred kinds of snaps, and waiters who have been here long enough to choose for you. Ask them — it is faster than reading the list, and they get it right.

The warm liver pâté with bacon and mushrooms is what people come back for. The stjerneskud — a plate of fried and poached plaice with shrimp — is the house signature, and this is not the tourist trap the basement looks like from the street. The bill is a restaurant bill, not a lunch break.

Open every day from half past eleven to five, and not a minute longer. No dinner service and not many tables, so book, even on a Tuesday. The rest of the field is in the guide to smørrebrød in Copenhagen.

3. Damindra, Frederiksstaden

Sankt Annæ Plads 16. The best sushi in Copenhagen that does not hold a Michelin star — and that is a description, not a consolation prize. Damindra Tillekeratne describes the kitchen as Japanese tradition with Sri Lankan roots and a Nordic expression.

The thing to know before you book: à la carte is served at lunch only. In the evening it is a set menu, and there is no way round it. Lunch starts at 298 kroner for a bento box, individual dishes run between 180 and 398, and the lunch omakase is 485. In the evening the menu starts at 585 and tops out with omakase at 945. If you want to try the place without setting aside a whole evening, lunch is the answer — it is also the only service where children are welcome.

Tuesday to Saturday: lunch from a quarter past twelve to two, dinner from five to ten. Closed Sunday and Monday. The house does not take Amex or Diners, and the restaurant has moved from Holbergsgade to Sankt Annæ Plads — the old address is still circulating elsewhere, so write the new one down.

4. No. 2, Christianshavn

Nicolai Eigtveds Gade 38. Nordic cooking in bistro format, looking across the harbour towards the Black Diamond library. Fewer ceremonies than at the fine end of the city, the same kitchen craft.

Lunch is the best deal here: a set menu at a price that does not require an occasion, in a room with a view most places charge more for. In the evening the menu grows longer, and the bar makes both classics and its own drinks, so the night can carry on after dessert.

Lunch from twelve to half past two Monday to Saturday, dinner from half past five. Monday to Thursday they close at ten, Friday and Saturday at one in the morning. Closed on Sunday. There are tables on the quay in summer, and they are worth the booking.

5. Aamanns 1921, city centre

Niels Hemmingsens Gade 19-21. Adam Aamann treats smørrebrød as a kitchen rather than a tradition: the flour is milled in house, the herring is cured for months, and the herbs for the snaps are foraged. The room is tall and bright, with old stone arches and a terrazzo floor.

The rye bread is the foundation, and that is where the difference shows — everything else is built on top. The herring is what the kitchen itself points at, and it comes in several versions that change with the season. The house snaps is made for the food, not the other way round.

Lunch every day from half past eleven to five with last orders at four, dinner every day from six. It costs more than classic lunch smørrebrød, and you can taste why. Choose it when the open sandwiches are the main event of the evening rather than a pause in the middle of the day.

6. Marv & Ben, city centre

Snaregade 4. Scandinavian cooking in a cellar on one of the narrowest streets in the city. The name — marrow and bone — is not an accident: this kitchen uses the whole animal, including the parts others leave behind.

The room does half the work: low ceilings, old stone, candles and no music you have to talk over. The menu changes with the season, and if you are unsure, let the kitchen choose. That is where the house is at its best.

Tuesday to Saturday from six to midnight. Dinner only; closed Sunday and Monday. There are not many tables in Snaregade, so book ahead. The price sits above everyday and below the starred kitchens, and there is no dress code.

7. Radio, Frederiksberg

Julius Thomsens Gade 12. Claus Meyer's Nordic bistro opposite the old radio house helped prove that Nordic cooking can also be done at a price people pay on a Tuesday.

The formula is a set menu rather than a long card: the kitchen decides, and the food holds its level because they cook few dishes and cook them often. The produce is organic and largely Danish, and vegetables take up more room than meat without anyone making a point of it.

Dinner Tuesday to Saturday from half past five to midnight, and lunch on Friday and Saturday from twelve to three. Closed Sunday and Monday. It is walking distance from Forum metro, Frederiksberg and the lakes, and the busy nights need booking.

8. Kinyōbi, city centre

Antonigade 2. Kinyōbi is not a sushi restaurant that acquired a sound system. It is a Japanese listening bar that also makes excellent sushi, and the order of those two explains the rest: a vinyl DJ, a purpose-built hi-fi rig and a bar that runs until two at the weekend.

Alongside the sushi and sashimi there is a charcoal grill with Iberico presa, wagyu A3 and yellowtail collar. The House Nigiri Selection is 230 kroner, the sashimi selection 235, and the Kinyōbi Omakase 650 per person. A single piece of toro is 115 kroner, grilled edamame 45.

Read the door policy before you travel out here. The place states itself that a reservation does not in itself grant entry, and that it weighs attitude, dress and previous visits. That is not a sentence you usually find on a pizzeria, and it is the only one of its kind on this list. There is no lunch; the first service is at five, and they close at midnight Sunday to Wednesday, at one on Thursday and at two on Friday and Saturday.

9. Palægade, Frederiksstaden

Palægade 8. Classic smørrebrød with nothing rewritten: roast beef with remoulade, stjerneskud and herring in several versions. The place opened in 2016 with the stated ambition of making the best open sandwiches in Denmark, and the detail shows they meant it.

The cake trolley is wheeled round after lunch, and it is worth waiting for. In the evening the house changes character and serves a Danish-French menu instead of smørrebrød — effectively two restaurants in one room, and most people come for the first.

Lunch every day from half past eleven to five, dinner Monday to Saturday from six to midnight. Last arrival for lunch is a quarter to three, so come in good time if there are several of you. White tablecloths and waiters who know what they are recommending.

10. Le Saint Jacques, Østerbro

Sankt Jakobs Plads 1. The pavement tables under the trees on the square are the closest Copenhagen gets to Paris. The kitchen is French bistro with no translation: fish, meat, sauce and a wine list that can keep up.

The menu is the classic one, and that is the point — you order what you expected and it is done properly. Fish is the strongest card in the house, and the name was not chosen at random.

Lunch from twelve every day: until three on weekdays and Sunday, until four on Saturday. Dinner from six to ten, and already from five on Sunday. Book at the weekend, especially if you want to sit outside — the square in front is one of the best places to sit in the city when the weather allows.

11. POPL, Christianshavn

Strandgade 108. The most expensive burger in the city, and the only one served medium-rare with the Danish food authority's disclaimer printed on the menu. That is a signal of how much the kitchen trusts the meat: organic Danish beef, and bacon cured and smoked in house.

Cheeseburger, hamburger and the vegetarian one all cost 150 kroner. Charging the same is rare, and it says something about how the house sees the meat-free option — it is built on quinoa tempeh rather than an industrial patty. The dry-aged burger on sixty-day beef is 250, a set seasonal menu 450 per person and fries 55. The kitchen works with fermentation techniques it describes as taken from noma's laboratory.

Dinner every day of the week from five to half past ten. Note the lunch window: Saturday and Sunday from twelve to two and no other day. Turn up at noon on a Wednesday and it is closed.

12. Je t'aime, Vesterbro

Dybbølsgade 9. French all the way through and all day long: croissant and coffee in the morning, charcuterie and a glass in the afternoon, proper food at night. That range is what makes it useful in a way very few wine bars are.

The wine list is French with the weight on what you can get by the glass, and the kitchen sticks to what a bistro should be able to do: cheese, charcuterie, something warm in the evening. There are pavement tables on the street behind the Meatpacking District.

Weekdays from eight in the morning to midnight, Saturday and Sunday from twelve to midnight. Early in the day you can walk in; in the evening it fills up, Friday in particular. By Copenhagen standards the price is moderate, and it is one of the few addresses that works for both breakfast and dinner.

13. L'Alsace, Pistolstræde

Ny Østergade 9. The restaurant has been behind the gate in Pistolstræde since 1978 and serves what the name promises: oysters, choucroute and Alsatian wine. The courtyard is cobbled and has a fountain, and the noise from the shopping street disappears the moment the gate is behind you.

This is a brasserie, not a fine-dining room. French food cooked with precision and served without ceremony, and you can just as well come for a glass at four as stay until late.

Monday to Saturday from half past eleven to midnight, with no afternoon break. Closed on Sunday. The courtyard has outdoor tables in summer, and they are the best reason to come. The bill is a real restaurant bill, but you are also paying for the setting.

14. Kødbyens Fiskebar, Meatpacking District

Flæsketorvet 100. Fish is the whole business: oysters, raw fish, fish soup and the day's catch, served in one of the white slaughterhouse halls. The tiles and the long bar counter make a room that is loud in the good way.

Oysters are the signature, and they are cheapest early in the evening. If there are two of you, sit at the bar — shorter wait, a better view of the kitchen, and you can order a little at a time instead of committing straight away.

Open from half past eleven every day: until midnight Sunday to Thursday, until one on Friday and Saturday. Book at the weekend, or arrive before seven. The rest of the district is in the guide to the Meatpacking District.

15. Selma, Nørreport

Rømersgade 20A. Smørrebrød that builds on the classics instead of repeating them. The rye bread is still the base, but what goes on top has been thought through by someone who wants more than herring and egg.

It is the easiest way into the dish if you did not grow up with it: the plates are less formal than in the old lunch cellars, and you can eat your way through several without setting aside an entire afternoon. Selma also serves in the evening, which the classic lunch restaurants do not.

Watch the weekdays here — it is the only place on the list that closes on Tuesday. Lunch Wednesday to Monday from half past eleven to four, dinner Wednesday to Saturday from half past six to eleven. So lunch runs six days and dinner only four. If you stick to lunch it is the cheapest of the city's good smørrebrød addresses, and it is a few minutes' walk from Torvehallerne market and Nørreport station.

16. Ambra, Frederiksstaden

Store Kongensgade 59. Chef Andreas Bagh has made the New York Italian in a Danish edition: a place that works for a Tuesday and for a party. The pasta is made in house and the dishes are kept simple.

The room has high ceilings, chandeliers and a bar that takes up as much space as the dining room. That is deliberate — this is a restaurant where the evening is allowed to continue after dessert.

Dinner only, every day from five. Sunday to Thursday they close at one, Friday and Saturday at two. Book a table at the weekend; you can usually get into the bar without. It is a few minutes from Kongens Nytorv and Amalienborg.

17. Jah Izakaya & Sake Bar, Vesterbro

Gasværksvej 21. Jah is an izakaya — a Japanese gastropub — and not a sushi restaurant. There is sashimi on the menu but no nigiri section. If you came for a sushi menu you are in the wrong place; if you came for the best Japanese cooking in Vesterbro, you are in the right one.

The rooms were Omonim's, one of the city's first Japanese restaurants, which closed in 2016. Ulla Inoue, daughter of the original owners, took over with her husband Satoru and two friends, and the head chef is Gentaro Kimura from Kyushu. Edamame is 45 kroner, gyoza 110, sashimi 210 and gyukatsu 220. An omakase tasting menu is 495 kroner per person with a minimum of two. The house recommends three to five dishes per person to share, and they brew their own beer with yuzu and Japanese hops.

Every day from half past five: until midnight Sunday to Thursday, until one on Friday and Saturday. The last food order is at ten — the bar runs longer than the kitchen, which is worth knowing before you sit down at half past ten.

18. Perron, BaneGaarden

Otto Busses Vej 45. A sourdough bakery and pizzeria in the old railway goods buildings behind Dybbølsbro, now a car-free yard with gardens and workshops. Bread and pastry from the morning, and the pizza oven is lit later in the day.

It is as much an excursion as a restaurant. The food is organic, and there is both vegetarian and vegan on the menu. At the weekend brunch is served from ten to two, and lunch starts at eleven.

Tuesday to Friday from half past eight to four, Saturday and Sunday from nine to four. Closed on Monday. It is a fifteen-minute walk from Central Station, and there is room for children to run around without anyone being told to keep quiet.

19. Delphine, Vesterbro

Vesterbrogade 40. Cofoco's Mediterranean kitchen, with dishes from the Greek islands and southern Italy: small plates to share, olive oil, lemon and the grill, in a bright room facing Vesterbrogade.

The formula is the one Cofoco is known for — a set menu at a price that does not require a special occasion. You pick the number of dishes instead of reading a long card, and the kitchen sends them out as they are ready. The grill is what the food is built on.

Sunday to Thursday they open at half past five and close at midnight; Friday and Saturday they open at five and close at half past twelve. There are pavement tables. Book at the weekend — it is one of the Cofoco addresses that fills up first.

The last seventeen, and why they are here too

The gap between number nineteen and number thirty-six is small, and the final seven are where the price drops. Here is the rest in the same order:

• Gorilla, Flæsketorvet 63 in the Meatpacking District. Many small plates, loud music and a DJ later in the week, in one of the big halls. Opens at five every day and closes at midnight Sunday to Wednesday, at one on Thursday and at two on Friday and Saturday. Book before nine if you want to be able to talk.
• Pluto, Borgergade 16 in the city centre. The same house as Gorilla in a quieter edition: small plates to share, a long wine list and a bar you can sit at without a reservation. From half past five every day — until midnight Monday to Thursday, until two on Friday and Saturday, and until eleven on Sunday.
• Slotskælderen hos Gitte Kik, Fortunstræde 4 in the city centre. A lunch cellar from 1910 next to the parliament, where you walk up to the tray and point at what you want. The herring is the reason to come. Open every day from eleven to five, with the kitchen serving between eleven and three.
• Zeleste, Store Strandstræde 6 by Nyhavn. Danish-French cooking in a cobbled courtyard most people walk straight past. Every day from twelve to ten with no afternoon break — useful when the rest of the neighbourhood has shut its kitchen.
• Barabba, Store Kongensgade 34. Pasta, antipasti and a bar at the centre of the room; the menu changes daily. Wednesday and Thursday dinner only from half past five, Friday to Sunday also lunch from twelve to half past two. Closed Monday and Tuesday, which is where plans go wrong.
• Mother, Høkerboderne 9-15 in the Meatpacking District. Neapolitan sourdough pizza from a wood oven, served at long tables in an old butcher's stall. Open from eleven in the morning every day, Sunday from ten; the kitchen closes at ten Monday to Thursday and eleven on Friday and Saturday. On weekdays between eleven and five every pizza on the menu is one hundred kroner.
• Les Trois Cochons, Værnedamsvej 10. One of Cofoco's first restaurants: terrine, confit, sauce and a cheese to finish, as a set menu. Lunch all seven days from half past eleven to three, dinner every day from half past five to midnight.
• Vækst, Sankt Peders Stræde 34 in the Latin Quarter. A greenhouse built into the middle of the dining room and a green Nordic kitchen that gives vegetables as much space as meat. Lunch every day from twelve to quarter past two, dinner every day from half past five with last arrival at nine.
• Sticks'n'Sushi Nansensgade, Nansensgade 59. The original: the chain opened here in a basement in 1994 and today runs restaurants in Germany, England and Scotland. Set menus at 375, 435 and 525 kroner per person with a minimum of two, and no omakase. Open from eleven every day, but the kitchen closes an hour before the restaurant — half past nine Sunday to Thursday, ten on Friday and Saturday.
• Pastis, Adelgade 1 near Kongens Have. Steak frites, oysters and moules, served without a break from eleven in the morning. Sunday to Thursday until eleven at night, Friday and Saturday until one.
• Nebbiolo Winebar, Store Strandstræde 18. An Italian wine bar a corner from Nyhavn, weighted towards Piedmont, with antipasti alongside. Every day from three to midnight.
• Nozomi, Store Kongensgade 60. The only sushi address in the city open twelve hours straight, every day, all year — twelve to ten. All you can eat is 269 kroner Monday to Thursday and 289 Friday to Sunday, children under twelve 149. It is table service rather than a buffet, and that is the difference between a good and a bad all you can eat.
• Cocks & Cows, Gammel Strand 34. Burgers from 99 kroner, two cocktail bars, a karaoke room and a heated courtyard, so the outdoor tables work all year. From twelve every day: until ten Monday to Wednesday and Sunday, eleven on Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday — the latest burger in the city centre.
• Halifax, Larsbjørnsstræde 9. Nine named burgers from 109 kroner, where almost everything can be swapped: breaded chicken or a mushroom-root patty instead of beef, a pretzel or gluten-free bun for ten kroner, and any burger served as a salad bowl with no bun at all. From twelve every day, until nine Monday to Thursday and Sunday, until ten on Friday and Saturday. This is the chain's smallest address and it is not wheelchair accessible.
• Takii Sushi Bar, Jagtvej 113 in Nørrebro. The cheapest all you can eat in the city: 189 kroner at lunch Tuesday to Thursday, 219 in the evening Monday to Thursday and 239 Friday to Sunday. Cake and ice cream are included. Open until ten every day, from three on Monday and from one the rest of the week. The evening sitting has a two-hour limit; lunch has none, but has to be finished by four.
• Sushi Factory, Amagerbrogade 40 — the only address on this list in Amager. All you can eat 239 kroner Sunday to Thursday and 259 on Friday, Saturday and public holidays, half price for children under eleven. Every day from three to ten, but the kitchen closes at half past nine, so the last round has to be ordered before that.
• The Bronx Burger Bar, Vandkunsten 1 in the city centre. The biggest patty among the city's burger bars at 200 grams, and the cheapest cheeseburger at 99 kroner. Fourteen burgers plus a children's menu, three of them plant-based. From twelve every day: until ten Monday to Thursday, half past ten on Friday and Saturday and nine on Sunday — the kitchen closes an hour before the door.

Restaurants in Copenhagen, neighbourhood by neighbourhood

One number explains why it is hard to find a good restaurant outside the centre: twenty-one of the thirty-six are in the old town and Frederiksstaden. That is not an editorial decision, it is the city. The restaurants stand where the tourists and the offices are.

The old town and Frederiksstaden hold the twenty-one. For smørrebrød it is Schønnemann at Hauser Plads 16, Aamanns 1921 at Niels Hemmingsens Gade 19-21, Palægade at Palægade 8, Selma at Rømersgade 20A and Slotskælderen at Fortunstræde 4. For French it is L'Alsace at Ny Østergade 9 and Pastis at Adelgade 1. For Italian, Ambra and Barabba sit on opposite sides of Store Kongensgade at numbers 59 and 34. For Nordic cooking it is Marv & Ben at Snaregade 4 and Vækst at Sankt Peders Stræde 34. And for Japanese, four of the seven are here: Damindra at Sankt Annæ Plads 16, Kinyōbi at Antonigade 2, Sticks'n'Sushi at Nansensgade 59 and Nozomi at Store Kongensgade 60. Add Pluto at Borgergade 16, Zeleste at Store Strandstræde 6, Nebbiolo Winebar at number 18 in the same street and the three burger bars Cocks & Cows at Gammel Strand 34, Halifax at Larsbjørnsstræde 9 and The Bronx at Vandkunsten 1.

Vesterbro and Kødbyen have eight and are the only district that comes close. Delphine at Vesterbrogade 40 and Je t'aime at Dybbølsgade 9 are the two you go to in the evening, Les Trois Cochons at Værnedamsvej 10 is the French one, Jah Izakaya at Gasværksvej 21 the Japanese one, and Perron at Otto Busses Vej 45 sits in BaneGaarden behind the central station. Inside Kødbyen you have Kødbyens Fiskebar at Flæsketorvet 100, Gorilla at number 63 and Mother at Høkerboderne 9-15 — those three appear with the rest of the neighbourhood in the guide to Kødbyen.

Nørrebro has two, and one of them is number one on the list: Bæst at Guldbergsgade 29. The other is Takii at Jagtvej 113, and the two are opposites — house-made mozzarella against the cheapest all you can eat in the city. Otherwise the neighbourhood has chosen the bakery, the wine bar and the pizzeria over the restaurant, which is why it looks thin here and not under bakeries in Copenhagen.

Christianshavn has two: No. 2 at Nicolai Eigtveds Gade 38 by the water and POPL at Strandgade 108. Østerbro, Frederiksberg and Amager have one each — Le Saint Jacques at Sankt Jakobs Plads 1 has the best pavement in the city, Radio at Julius Thomsens Gade 12 is Claus Meyer's Nordic bistro by the old broadcasting house, and Sushi Factory at Amagerbrogade 40 is the only address on this list in Amager.

To see them all on one map with open-now status, they are here: all restaurants in Copenhagen.

Which kitchen are you looking for?

The split by kitchen says more about what Copenhagen has become than any of the other numbers: seven of the thirty-six are Japanese — more than any other kitchen on the list, and more than there are smørrebrød addresses.

• Japanese and sushi, seven: Damindra, Kinyōbi, Jah Izakaya, Sticks'n'Sushi, Nozomi, Takii and Sushi Factory. They run from 189 kroner for all you can eat to 945 for omakase, the widest price spread in any category. The whole field is in the guide to sushi in Copenhagen.
• Italian and pizza, six: Bæst, Ambra, Barabba, Nebbiolo Winebar, Mother and Perron. More is in the guide to Italian restaurants.
• French and Danish-French, six: Le Saint Jacques, Je t'aime, L'Alsace, Les Trois Cochons, Pastis and Zeleste.
• Smørrebrød, five: Schønnemann, Aamanns 1921, Palægade, Selma and Slotskælderen. The whole field is in the guide to smørrebrød.
• Burgers, four: POPL, Cocks & Cows, Halifax and The Bronx — from 99 to 250 kroner. More is in the guide to burgers.
• Nordic, four: No. 2, Marv & Ben, Radio and Vækst.
• And four that do not fit a box: Kødbyens Fiskebar is fish and nothing else, Delphine is Mediterranean sharing food, and Gorilla and Pluto are small plates from the same house.

Where can you eat without booking?

Five of the thirty-six take you as you come. Slotskælderen has neither a long menu nor a table plan — you look at the tray and point. Mother seats people together at the long tables when it is busy. Pastis and Zeleste serve without a break from eleven and twelve respectively, so there is nearly always a gap between lunch and dinner. Nebbiolo Winebar opens at three and runs on wine bar logic: you sit down.

The seven new arrivals at the cheap end work the same way. Halifax, The Bronx, Cocks & Cows and Takii are built for walking in off the street, and Nozomi is open twelve hours straight precisely so it can take you outside the usual meal times.

At the bar the rules are different from the tables. Kødbyens Fiskebar, Pluto and Ambra all keep counter seats for people who turn up, and that is the best shortcut into all three on a Friday. Bæst also holds a few places for walk-ins, but it is not something to plan an evening around.

One runs the other way. At Kinyōbi having booked is not enough: the house states that a reservation does not in itself grant entry, and that it looks at attitude, dress and previous visits. It is the only door policy on the list.

Where do you eat cheaply in Copenhagen?

The previous edition of this guide said the lowest price level did not exist in the city centre. That is no longer true. Two of the thirty-six sit at the lowest level, and one of them is right in the middle of town: The Bronx Burger Bar at Vandkunsten 1, where 200 grams of beef in a cheeseburger costs 99 kroner, and Takii at Jagtvej 113, where all you can eat at lunch is 189.

Fourteen sit at the middle level. Selma is the cheapest way into good smørrebrød if you stick to lunch, and Slotskælderen is the cheapest of the classic lunch cellars. Mother sells every pizza on the menu for one hundred kroner on weekdays between eleven and five, and Halifax, Cocks & Cows and Sushi Factory are in the same class.

The Cofoco addresses Delphine and Les Trois Cochons run a set menu where you choose the number of dishes instead of reading a card. That mechanism is what keeps the price down, and it works. Je t'aime, Barabba and Zeleste are in the same class.

The best trick among the expensive ones, though, is a different one: eat lunch instead of dinner. At Aamanns 1921, Palægade and No. 2 it is the same chef and a different bill — and at Damindra, the only address on the list at the top price level, the difference between lunch and dinner is 485 kroner against 945. More cheap addresses are in the guide to eating cheaply in Copenhagen.

Where can you eat late in Copenhagen?

Copenhagen kitchens close early, and that is the most common reason an evening goes wrong. The latest are Gorilla, Pluto and Kinyōbi: all three until two in the morning on Friday and Saturday. Ambra closes at one Sunday to Thursday and two at the weekend, and it is the only one on the list open past midnight every single day.

No. 2, Kødbyens Fiskebar, Pastis and Jah Izakaya stay open until one on Friday and Saturday, and Delphine until half past twelve. If it has to be a weekday, L'Alsace, Marv & Ben and Je t'aime run until midnight. If it has to be a burger, Cocks & Cows is the latest in the city centre at midnight on Friday and Saturday.

But look at the kitchen, not the door. Four places on the list shut the kitchen before the restaurant, and that is where the evening goes wrong: Jah Izakaya takes the last food order at ten, Sticks'n'Sushi and The Bronx close the kitchen an hour before the door, and Sushi Factory closes at half past nine even though the door is open until ten.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal

Six of the thirty-six have vegetarian on the menu as more than an afterthought, and three of them also have vegan: Perron at BaneGaarden, Cocks & Cows at Gammel Strand and The Bronx at Vandkunsten, which has three plant-based burgers — Beyond Meat, veggie and falafel.

Two places start from vegetables rather than adding them. Vækst has built a greenhouse into the middle of the restaurant, and the Nordic kitchen gives vegetables as much space as meat — there is still a piece of meat or fish for whoever wants it. And at POPL the vegetarian burger costs exactly the same as the cheeseburger, 150 kroner; it is built on quinoa tempeh rather than an industrial patty, and charging the same says more about the house than a section on the menu would.

Gluten-free is written down in exactly one place: Halifax in Larsbjørnsstræde, where the bun can be swapped for a gluten-free one for ten kroner, and where any burger can be served as a salad bowl with no bun at all. The same place is also the only one that states anything about halal: all the chicken is halal certified, the beef is not. All nine burgers can be had with breaded chicken instead of beef.

The rest of the list is not built around any of this, and at the classic lunch cellars — Schønnemann and Slotskælderen — herring and liver pâté are the entire point. Call ahead if the allergy is serious; we only repeat what the restaurants publish themselves.

Where can you bring children?

Seven of the thirty-six are marked as child-friendly, and five of those are Japanese. That is not a coincidence: all you can eat has children's prices, because it is a menu rather than a bill per dish. Takii lets children under three eat free and charges 119 kroner for three to ten year olds, Sushi Factory charges half price for children under eleven, and Nozomi 149 kroner for children under twelve. Damindra also takes children, but at lunch only — in the evening it is a set menu.

Perron at BaneGaarden is the obvious one if it has to be outdoors: the yard is car-free, there are gardens to run around in, and nobody has to be kept quiet. Mother in the Meatpacking District is the other one — long tables, pizza and open from eleven in the morning, so you can eat at five instead of eight. And The Bronx has a children's burger on the menu alongside the other fourteen.

Otherwise it comes down to timing. Slotskælderen and Zeleste are open in the middle of the day when it is quiet. The late addresses in the Meatpacking District, Gorilla and Kødbyens Fiskebar, are not built for it, and Kinyōbi least of all.

Should it be a julefrokost?

Fourteen of the 36 on this list take Christmas lunches, and ten of them have published a 2026 Christmas menu with prices and dates. It is a different exercise from booking a table: the minimum party size runs from two to twenty-five, and several of the menus close before December begins — Delphine on 26 October, Les Trois Cochons on 23 November. The prices, dates and minimums are in julefrokost in Copenhagen.

Why there are no stars on this list

This guide leaves out restaurants with a Michelin star. Not because they are not good, but because they solve a different problem: they have to be booked months ahead and cost what they cost. The places here are ones you can use in an ordinary week — or on an ordinary night of a short trip.

That does not mean the ambition is low. Aamanns 1921 is recommended by the Michelin guide without holding a star, and Damindra is the best sushi in the city without one — that is exactly the category this guide cares about: kitchens that want something, where you can still get a table. There is also only one address per chain in each city, so a restaurant with four branches takes one place. That applies to Sticks'n'Sushi, where we take the 1994 original on Nansensgade, Sushi Factory, where we take Amagerbrogade, Nozomi, where we take Store Kongensgade, and Cocks & Cows, which has four addresses in Copenhagen.

Questions and answers

What is the best restaurant in Copenhagen?

By our editorial score it is Bæst at Guldbergsgade 29, on 9.1. It sits at the top because the kitchen makes its own mozzarella and cures its own charcuterie in house — craft rather than purchasing. Two places follow on 9.0: Restaurant Schønnemann if you want the most Danish experience, and Damindra at Sankt Annæ Plads if it has to be sushi. The score covers kitchen, produce and craft, and it is not built on the star ratings guests leave elsewhere.

Which restaurants in Copenhagen are open on Sunday?

Thirty-one of the thirty-six. Only five are closed on Sunday: No. 2, Marv & Ben, Radio, L'Alsace and Damindra. Watch the other weekdays instead: Selma closes on Tuesday and Barabba on Monday and Tuesday, while Perron closes on Monday. Twenty-eight of the thirty-six are open all seven days.

Do you need to book, or can you just turn up?

It depends on the night. Bæst, Restaurant Schønnemann, Marv & Ben, Damindra and Barabba need booking even midweek — there are few tables and they go. Slotskælderen, Mother, Pastis, Nebbiolo Winebar and the four burger and all-you-can-eat addresses work without. If you have not booked, the bar is the shortcut: Kødbyens Fiskebar, Pluto and Ambra keep counter seats. At Kinyōbi the opposite applies — a reservation does not in itself grant entry.

How much does dinner out in Copenhagen cost?

We show price in levels rather than in kroner, because menus change. Two of the thirty-six sit at the lowest level — The Bronx with a cheeseburger at 99 kroner and Takii with all you can eat at 189. Fourteen sit at the middle level, nineteen one level up — a real restaurant bill without the starred surcharge — and one, Damindra, at the top. The cheapest way to eat at the expensive ones is to take lunch instead of dinner.

Where do you get the best sushi in Copenhagen?

Seven of the thirty-six are Japanese, and they solve different problems. Damindra at Sankt Annæ Plads is the best — omakase at 945 in the evening, 485 at lunch, and à la carte in the middle of the day only. Kinyōbi is a listening bar with omakase at 650 and a door policy worth reading. Jah Izakaya is a gastropub with sashimi and no nigiri, and Sticks'n'Sushi on Nansensgade is the chain's 1994 original. If it has to be cheap, it is Takii at 189, Sushi Factory at 239 or Nozomi at 269. The whole field is in the guide to sushi in Copenhagen.

Where do you get the best smørrebrød in Copenhagen?

Five of the places on this list make open sandwiches, and they do it differently. Restaurant Schønnemann is the classic, Aamanns 1921 the most worked-through, Palægade the most formal, Selma the most modern and Slotskælderen the most informal. The whole field is in the guide to smørrebrød in Copenhagen.

Where do you eat best in the Meatpacking District?

Three of the places on this list are on Flæsketorvet and Høkerboderne: Kødbyens Fiskebar is the one where the food is the reason to come, Gorilla is the one for larger groups and loud music, and Mother is the one for children or a late pizza. Bars, nightlife and the rest of the district are in the guide to the Meatpacking District.

How this list was made

The order follows our editorial score, which weighs the kitchen, the produce and the craft — not guest ratings, and not how much press a place gets. All thirty-six are in the dataset behind restaurants in Copenhagen, where you can filter by neighbourhood, price and whether a place is open right now.

Addresses, prices and opening hours were checked against the restaurants' own information on 27 September 2026. The prices are here because the restaurants publish them themselves; where they do not, no kroner are quoted. Times change, especially lunch service and the late weekend closings, so look at the cards below before you set out.