The best smørrebrød in Copenhagen — 7 places

Smørrebrød in Copenhagen comes in two camps. On one side are the old lunch cellars, where the menu has looked much the same for generations and the snaps list matters as much as the food. On the other are the kitchens that have reclaimed the rye bread and built something new on top of it. Both are worth a lunch, but they are not the same meal, and they do not cost the same.

This list covers the seven places in the city where smørrebrød is genuinely part of what the kitchen does, rather than a box ticked for visitors. The order follows our editorial score. Under each place you will find the address, the opening hours written out and what to order, and at the bottom the answers to what people ask before they go: where to book, where you can walk in, and where it is cheapest.

What smørrebrød is — and what separates the good from the forgettable

Smørrebrød is a slice of rye bread with butter and a topping, eaten sitting down with a knife and fork. It is not a sandwich: there is no second slice of bread, you do not pick it up, and you order several, eating them one at a time. It sounds too simple to go wrong, which is exactly why it so often does. There is no sauce and no plating to hide behind. The bread, the butter and the topping are the whole dish.

Three things decide whether a place can do it.

The rye bread. At both Aamanns 1921 and Selma the rye is explicitly the foundation and everything else is built on top — and that is the order in which you taste the difference. A dense, moist rye carries a herring. A dry one does not.

Whether the house makes it itself. Aamanns mills its own flour, cures its herring for months and forages the herbs for its snaps. It is the most expensive way to do it, and it is what you are paying for.

Whether the herring is right. Herring is the dish where the gap between house-made and bought-in is widest. At Slotskælderen hos Gitte Kik the herring is the house's strongest card, and at Aamanns it is the order the kitchen points to itself.

There is no disagreement about the order at the table: herring first, then fish, then meat, cheese last. Nobody changes plates in between. And a glass of snaps — a clear Danish spirit, usually caraway or herb-flavoured — with the herring is not decoration, it is part of the dish. All the classic places here have their own.

All seven smørrebrød places in one list

If you only need the address and the hours, they are here. Six of the seven sit in the old town within a twenty-minute walk of each other.

Place	Address	Lunch	Dinner	Price
Restaurant Schønnemann	Hauser Plads 16	Daily 11.30-17	No	High
Aamanns 1921	Niels Hemmingsens Gade 19-21	Daily 11.30-17	Daily 18-22.30	High
Palægade	Palægade 8	Daily 11.30-17	Mon-Sat 18-24	High
Torvehallerne	Rømersgade 18	Mon-Thu 10-19, Fri to 20	No	Moderate
Selma	Rømersgade 20A	Wed-Mon 11.30-16	Wed-Sat 18.30-23	Moderate
Slotskælderen	Fortunstræde 4	Daily 11-17	No	Moderate
Zeleste	Store Strandstræde 6	Daily from 12	Until 22, Fri-Sat 22.30	Moderate

The most important number in that table is four o'clock. Five of the seven close the kitchen between four and five in the afternoon, which makes smørrebrød in Copenhagen a lunch whatever you had planned. Only Palægade, Selma and Zeleste work in the evening.

And Sunday is the thin day. Selma and Aamanns serve lunch only, and Palægade shuts the kitchen at five. If it has to be a Sunday evening, Zeleste is the only one of the seven that is open.

Selma's closing day is Tuesday, not Sunday — it is the only one of the seven that shuts midweek, and it is an easy mistake to make, because every other place is either open daily or closed at the weekend. Lunch runs six days, dinner only four.

1. Restaurant Schønnemann, city centre

Hauser Plads 16. A smørrebrød cellar that has been serving lunch since 1877: low ceilings, white paper tablecloths and a snaps list of more than a hundred kinds that runs longer than the food menu. The waiters have been there for years and recommend without hesitation — ask them to pick the snaps rather than reading the whole list. They get it right.

The warm liver pâté with bacon and mushroom is what people come back for, and the stjerneskud is the house's calling card. If you only eat smørrebrød once in Copenhagen, eat it here.

Open half past eleven to five every day, and not a minute longer. There is no dinner service and there are not many tables: book, even on a Tuesday. It is one of the most sought-after lunch addresses in the city, and the bill is a proper restaurant bill, not a lunch break.

2. Aamanns 1921, city centre

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

Order the herring. It comes in several versions that change with the season, and it is what the kitchen points to itself. With it come the house's own snaps, made for the food rather than the other way round.

Lunch every day from half past eleven to five, with last orders at four. Dinner every day from six — until half past ten Monday to Thursday and until eleven Friday to Sunday — one of only two places on this list where smørrebrød can be the main event of an evening. It costs more than the classic lunch version, and you can taste why.

3. Palægade, Frederiksstaden

Palægade 8. The place opened in 2016 with the stated ambition of making the best smørrebrød in Denmark, and it shows in the details. The menu is classic with no rewriting: roast beef with remoulade, stjerneskud, herring in several versions. White tablecloths, waiters who know what they are recommending, and nobody hurrying you along.

The cake trolley comes round after lunch. It is worth waiting for, and it is a reason not to order one slice too many.

Lunch every day from half past eleven to five, and the last lunch arrival is quarter to three — come in good time if there are several of you. In the evening, Monday to Saturday from six to midnight, the house changes character and serves a Danish-French menu instead of smørrebrød. It is effectively two restaurants in one room, and most people come for the first.

4. Torvehallerne, Israels Plads

Rømersgade 18. Not a restaurant but two glass halls with around sixty stalls: fish, cheese, smørrebrød, coffee, tacos and greens. Several of the city's good names have a stall here, and the standard is high throughout.

This is the answer if you do not want to spend two hours and a full lunch bill on a slice of rye. Buy one piece, move on to the next stall, and eat your way through several things without booking anything. The halls work as a market at the same time, so you can shop for dinner in the same place.

Open Monday to Thursday from ten to seven, Friday to eight, Saturday to six and Sunday from eleven to five. Come outside the lunch rush if you want to avoid queues at the best stalls. There are outdoor tables and takeaway. See the rest of street food in Copenhagen if that is the kind of lunch you are after.

5. Selma, Nørreport

Rømersgade 20A. Modern smørrebrød that builds on the classics instead of repeating them. The rye is still the base, but the toppings have been thought through by someone who wants more than herring and egg — beetroot and blackberry are on the menu, and so is a bowl of prawns.

It is the easiest way in for anyone who did not grow up with smørrebrød. The dishes are less formal than in the old lunch cellars, and you can work through several without setting aside the whole afternoon.

Lunch from half past eleven to four and dinner from six to midnight, Monday to Saturday. Closed Sunday. It is the cheapest of the city's good smørrebrød kitchens if you stick to lunch, and it is a few minutes' walk from both Torvehallerne and Nørreport station.

6. Slotskælderen hos Gitte Kik, city centre

Fortunstræde 4. A lunch cellar since 1910, a few steps from Christiansborg, the Danish parliament — and the interior matches the year: low ceilings and dark wood. Politicians from the palace and tradespeople from the neighbourhood have shared the room for more than a hundred years.

There is no long menu. You walk up to the platter of the day's smørrebrød, look at what is there, and point. The herring is what people come for and the house's strongest card; there are usually several kinds on rye on the same platter.

Open every day of the week from eleven to five, with the kitchen serving between eleven and three. No dinner. It is the cheapest of the city's classic lunch cellars and the least formal of them: this is where you go when you want the real thing without booking three weeks ahead.

7. Zeleste, Nyhavn

Store Strandstræde 6. A cobbled courtyard, closed off from the street, that most people walk straight past — and it is the real reason to come. The kitchen is Danish-French and straightforward, and the lunch menu is classic, with smørrebrød alongside warm dishes.

It is not a dedicated smørrebrød house like the first three, and you should not expect one. What it is, is one of the better lunches this close to Nyhavn, where the alternative is paying canal prices for the same thing.

Open every day from twelve to ten, with no afternoon break. That makes it useful at three or four o'clock, when the rest of the neighbourhood has closed the kitchen. The smørrebrød belongs to lunch; in the evening there is a regular dinner menu. It is a few minutes' walk from Kongens Nytorv.

Smørrebrød by what you need it for

The seven places do not solve the same problem, and it is usually the occasion rather than the taste that decides.

• The one time you want to do it properly: Schønnemann at Hauser Plads 16. A score of 9.0, the highest in the guide, a lunch cellar since 1877 and more than a hundred kinds of snaps. Lunch only, every day from half past eleven to five.
• If the craft is the point: Aamanns 1921 on Niels Hemmingsens Gade. The house mills its own flour and cures its own herring, and you taste it in the rye bread before anything else.
• A business lunch: Palægade 8. Lunch every day from half past eleven to five, and a French-Danish dinner menu Monday to Saturday until midnight — the only one of the expensive places that carries both.
• Without booking and without spending a fortune: Torvehallerne by Israels Plads. You walk in from the street, choose at the counter and sit wherever there is room.
• With a view and no cellar air: Zeleste at Store Strandstræde 6, a stone's throw from Nyhavn. Open every day from twelve to ten, Friday and Saturday until half past ten, with seats in the courtyard.
• Herring and no fuss: Slotskælderen hos Gitte Kik at Fortunstræde 4. A lunch cellar from 1910 by Christiansborg, open every day from eleven to five.
• Modern rye and an evening afterwards: Selma by Nørreport. Lunch from half past eleven to four and dinner from six to midnight, Monday to Saturday.

Lunch hours: when the kitchen actually serves

Smørrebrød is the meal in Copenhagen where most plans founder on the opening hours, so they are gathered here.

• Earliest open are Torvehallerne from ten and Slotskælderen from eleven. The others start at half past eleven or twelve.
• The kitchen closes early. Selma and Aamanns close lunch at four; Schønnemann, Palægade and Slotskælderen at five. Arrive at Schønnemann at a quarter to five and you will not get lunch.
• There is a gap between lunch and dinner. Aamanns, Palægade and Selma shut down between four or five and six. Zeleste is the only one that keeps the kitchen open all the way from twelve to nine, Friday and Saturday until half past nine.
• Sunday: Schønnemann, Palægade, Slotskælderen, Zeleste and Torvehallerne are open. Selma is closed, and Aamanns serves lunch only.
• Monday: all seven are open for lunch. It is the easiest day to get a table at the three expensive ones.

Where to book, and where you can walk in

Book: Schønnemann is the most sought-after lunch address on the list and there are not many tables — reserve, even midweek. Palægade is a proper lunch restaurant with a last arrival of quarter to three, so a table is not something you find at two o'clock on a Friday. Aamanns is ambitious, but you can usually get in.

Walk in: Torvehallerne takes no reservations and needs none. Slotskælderen is the whole point of a spontaneous lunch — you point at the platter and sit down. Zeleste is open without a break until ten, half past ten on Friday and Saturday, which solves the quarter-past-three problem. Selma sits in between: easier than the three classics, but there is no reason to gamble on a Friday.

Where it is cheapest

Cheapest is a slice from a stall in Torvehallerne, where you decide whether it turns into one piece or four. After that comes Slotskælderen, the cheapest of the city's classic lunch cellars, and Selma, the cheapest of the good smørrebrød kitchens as long as you stick to lunch. Zeleste sits in the same range.

Schønnemann, Aamanns and Palægade are a step up, and they make no secret of it. These are restaurant bills with white tablecloths, waiters and an afternoon that disappears. To compare the price level place by place, each one is listed under restaurants in Copenhagen.

Lunch or dinner

Smørrebrød is a lunch dish. Five of the seven places close or change their menu during the afternoon: Schønnemann closes at five, Slotskælderen at five, Palægade switches to a Danish-French dinner menu at six, Zeleste moves to its evening menu, and Torvehallerne is a market rather than a dinner.

If you want smørrebrød in the evening, there are two options. Aamanns 1921 serves every day from six, and it is the place to go when smørrebrød is meant to be the main event. Selma serves from 6.30pm to 11pm Wednesday to Saturday, and it is the cheaper of the two — but also the one with the fewest evenings.

In November and December the question changes. Four of the seven here — Schønnemann, Aamanns 1921, Palægade and Selma — have a Christmas menu, and Schønnemann's julebord is the only evening service the cellar runs all year: Thursday to Saturday from 6.30pm to 11pm, 12 November to 23 December. If the smørrebrød is to be a julefrokost rather than a lunch, all ten Copenhagen Christmas menus with prices and dates are in julefrokost in Copenhagen.

If you are after a regular dinner instead, the recommendations are in the best restaurants in Copenhagen and in the national overview of the best restaurants in Denmark.

Taking the rye bread home

If you want to make it yourself, it starts where the restaurants start: with the bread. Meyers Bageri at Jægersborggade 9 in Nørrebro makes the Danish classics organically and without shortcuts, and the rye bread there is worth taking home. Open from seven every day, until six on weekdays and four at weekends — come in the morning, because the shelves thin out in the afternoon. The rest of the city's bakeries are listed under bakeries in Copenhagen.

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Questions and answers

Where do you get smørrebrød with roast beef and remoulade in Copenhagen?

Palægade at Palægade 8 is the one of the seven that puts it on its own menu: roast beef with remoulade is listed among the house's old favourites, and the remoulade is made in house, like the rye bread. The classic is on most lunch menus in the city, but we only name the places that publish it themselves. And watch out for the mix-up: Slotskælderen at Fortunstræde 4 has remoulade on the menu, but with plaice and fish fillet — not with roast beef.

Where do you get the best smørrebrød in Copenhagen?

Restaurant Schønnemann at Hauser Plads 16 has the highest score on this list, and it is where you take visitors. For the modern version, go to Aamanns 1921 on Niels Hemmingsens Gade; for the classic done properly and without rewriting, go to Palægade.

What does smørrebrød cost in Copenhagen?

It depends more on the place than on the slice. Schønnemann, Aamanns and Palægade are proper restaurant bills — a lunch you plan for. Selma, Slotskælderen and Zeleste are a step below, and the cheapest option is a stall in Torvehallerne, where you decide how many pieces it turns into. The price level for each place is shown on its own page.

Do you need to book?

For Schønnemann, yes — even on a weekday, because there are few tables. Palægade should also be booked, particularly for a group, and the last lunch arrival there is quarter to three. At Aamanns you can usually get a table. Torvehallerne and Slotskælderen need no reservation at all.

Where can you get smørrebrød in the evening?

Two places on this list. Aamanns 1921 serves every day from six, and Selma Wednesday to Saturday from 6.30pm to 11pm. Palægade is open in the evening too, but switches to a Danish-French menu with no smørrebrød. The classic lunch cellars — Schønnemann and Slotskælderen — close at five.

In what order do you eat smørrebrød?

Herring first, then fish, then meat, and cheese last. Nobody changes plates in between, and you eat one piece at a time rather than having them all arrive together. The snaps belongs with the herring.

Is there smørrebrød outside the city centre?

Not to any real extent. All seven places are within a quarter of an hour's walk in central Copenhagen: the old town, Frederiksstaden, Israels Plads, Nørreport and Nyhavn. If you are staying in Nørrebro and just need rye bread for home, Meyers Bageri at Jægersborggade 9 is as close as this guide gets.

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The order follows our editorial score, which weighs the kitchen, the produce and whether the place makes things itself rather than buying them in. There are no Michelin-starred restaurants on the list, and each house appears only once. Addresses and opening hours were checked against the places' own information on 24 September 2026, but they change — the last lunch arrival in particular. Call ahead if there are more than four of you.