Julefrokost 2026 — the Danish Christmas lunch

The julefrokost is the only meal in Denmark you book three months before you eat it. If you want a Saturday in December, you need to be moving now — the good addresses fill December during October, and the companies book first.

These are the places in the guide taking Christmas lunch bookings this year. All of them were checked on their own websites, and each entry says what they do and what to watch out for. Under each one you will also find what the house does the rest of the year, because that is what decides whether the julefrokost turns out to be herring and snaps, pasta or omakase.

What a julefrokost costs, city by city

We have read the Christmas menus at every house in the four cities that has one up, and copied the figures out verbatim. That gives a comparison no single city guide can give — and it points the same way every time:

City	Cheapest	Dearest	Christmas menus	City guide
Aalborg	250 kr	849 kr	3	julefrokost in Aalborg
Odense	298 kr	1,295 kr	7	julefrokost in Odense
Copenhagen	365 kr	1,795 kr	10	julefrokost in Copenhagen
Aarhus	not stated	not stated	6	julefrokost in Aarhus

The starting price falls the further west you go. Cheapest in the country is Proud Mary in Aalborg at 250 kroner for a served classic Christmas lunch; dearest is Gorilla in Copenhagen at 1,795 for Gorilla All Night, with an open bar from 9pm to 12.30am. So the spread is not about the food alone.

Three things the figures reveal, worth taking with you:

• The drinks often cost more than the food. At Proud Mary in Aalborg the food is 250 kroner and three hours of free bar 349. At Pluto in Copenhagen the price goes from 745 to 1,095 once the wine is included. Ask for the total, not the cover price. The exception is worth knowing: Aalborg Street Food folds free beer, wine and water from 6pm to 1am into its 849 kroner, which is seven hours against Proud Mary's three — but the package needs at least 50 guests.
• Lunch is markedly cheaper than dinner, and it gets overlooked because everyone is looking for an evening. Den Gamle Kro in Odense charges 298 kroner at lunch against 328 in the evening, and Duus Vinkælder in Aalborg 269 against 399 at the weekend.
• Only one place in the whole country has a children's price. Duus Vinkælder in Aalborg charges 98 kroner for children under 12. None of the ten Copenhagen, seven Odense or six Aarhus Christmas menus has one.

And the buffet is not where you would expect. None of Copenhagen's ten Christmas menus is a help-yourself buffet — they are served menus or family style. In Odense three of seven are buffets, and in Aalborg Duus Vinkælder has one. If your party needs to get up and fetch its own food, the capital is the hardest place to do it.

All figures are copied from the houses' own pages in September and October 2026 and apply to the 2026 season. Christmas menus change every year, so they will need rereading before 2027.

Copenhagen

Restaurant Schønnemann, Hauser Plads 16. The city's best-known open sandwich cellar serves a julebord Thursday to Saturday from half past six until eleven in the evening — on top of the ordinary lunch. It is the one time of year the cellar opens after five, and there are more than a hundred snaps to choose from. The house has served smørrebrød since 1877: a low cellar, white paper tablecloths and waiters who recommend without fuss. Book early; it is the hardest table in the city in December.

Les Trois Cochons, Værnedamsvej 10. Cofoco takes Christmas lunches across their restaurants, and the bistro on Værnedamsvej is the one that suits a smaller group best. A set menu at a manageable price, as the rest of the year: you choose the number of courses rather than reading a long card, and the kitchen is French bistro with terrine, confit and a cheese to finish.

Zeleste, Store Strandstræde 6. The courtyard behind Nyhavn is cobbled and closed off from the street, and the house takes both private and company bookings. New Year is on the card too, if December gets too busy. The kitchen is Danish-French with open sandwiches and warm dishes, and it is open every day from twelve to ten without an afternoon break.

Perron, Otto Busses Vej 45. The bakery at BaneGaarden holds Christmas lunches in the old goods buildings. This is the informal version — green, organic and without white linen. The yard is car-free, and there are both vegetarian and vegan dishes on the card. Closed on Monday.

The whole city, gone through: ten Copenhagen Christmas menus with prices, dates and minimum party sizes are in julefrokost in Copenhagen.

See every restaurant in Copenhagen →

Aarhus

Pinden, Skolegade 29. The city's classic lunch restaurant serves its own version of the traditional Danish Christmas lunch, and the Christmas platters are on the card through November and December. They have to be ordered when you book the table. The rest of the year it is stjerneskud, meatballs, herring and snaps in a room nobody has rebuilt. Open Tuesday to Saturday, and book if there are more than four of you.

Restaurant Komfur, Guldsmedgade 40. The French address on Guldsmedgade keeps the Christmas lunch as a separate card alongside the ordinary one, and the kitchen runs until midnight — later than most in the city. The house closes between Christmas and New Year, so it has to fall before the 24th.

Thors Mølle, Thorsmøllevej 15. Christmas lunch inside the Marselisborg woods. The journey is the point: you arrive on foot or by car through the forest and sit in a building from another age. Worth knowing first: it is only open Thursday to Sunday from twelve to four, so this is a lunch, not an evening.

NorR, Marselisborg Havnevej 46D. The harbour restaurant takes Christmas lunches in its function rooms, and the view over the water comes with it. The kitchen is Nordic without ceremony and runs from half past eleven to eleven without a break — the party does not all have to arrive at the same time.

Sct. Pauls Apotek, Jægergårdsgade 76. A Christmas menu in the old pharmacy. The cocktail bar is part of the house, so the evening can continue without anyone moving. The cabinets and drawers are still there and the light is low. Evenings only, and closed Sunday and Monday.

Grappa, Åboulevarden 60. An Italian Christmas menu for 2026 — for anyone who would rather hold the julefrokost without herring and roast pork. The restaurant sits on the river with a wine bar next door and is open every day from ten in the morning until midnight, Friday until one.

The whole city, gone through: sixteen addresses and six Christmas menus are in julefrokost in Aarhus.

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Odense

Oluf Bagers Gård, Nørregade 29. The Renaissance courtyard runs Christmas lunch, a julebord and Christmas Eve, and the 2026 menus are already up. It is the finest room in the city for a December lunch: the building is from the 1500s, and the yard is closed off from the street. The kitchen sticks to open sandwiches and regional dishes, and there is takeaway. The yard is not large, so book — and it is closed on Sunday.

Den Gamle Kro, Overgade 23. Christmas menus in the covered courtyard. Classic Danish throughout, with room for larger parties. The yard has a glass roof, so it works all year, and the house has function rooms. Open every day of the week.

Sortebro Kro, Sejerskovvej 20B. Julebord 2026 at the edge of the Funen Village museum. If the Christmas lunch should feel like something your grandmother would recognise, this is where it is: herring, fried pork, open sandwiches and classic main courses in a half-timbered inn with a parlour and function rooms. Open every day from twelve.

Klosterkroen, Lille Gråbrødrestræde 2. Christmas lunch and a krobal — that is, Christmas lunch with dancing afterwards, which few places still offer. The rest of the year it is Danish inn cooking with children's dishes and all-you-can-eat fried pork, Tuesday to Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Eydes, Kongensgade 31A. The steakhouse in the middle of town takes Christmas bookings and has a dedicated booking for them. Open until three in the morning on Friday and Saturday. It is steak, sauce and chips in the classic sense — the answer if somebody in the party does not want a plate of herring.

Cafe Kræz, Gråbrødre Plads 6, and Deilig, H.C. Andersen Haven 3, both have Christmas lunch on the card if you want the café format rather than a restaurant. Kræz is the cheapest address on the list and stays open until three in the morning Thursday to Saturday; Deilig is closed on Monday.

The whole city, gone through: seven Odense Christmas menus with prices and dates — and the city's three Christmas buffets, which the capital has none of — are in julefrokost in Odense.

See every restaurant in Odense →

Aalborg

Fusion, Strandvejen 4. The city's omakase restaurant holds Christmas lunches in its function rooms. It is the most ambitious December dinner in Aalborg: the kitchen chooses the menu, the produce is organic, and you only say what you do not eat. There are few seats, so book ahead. Closed on Sunday.

Nørregade 25, Nørregade 25. A 2026 Christmas menu from 3 November. The card is short and the kitchen cooks the same for everyone — which makes it easy to be many. The rest of the year it is Danish seasonal cooking, Tuesday to Saturday from twelve to nine without a break.

Duus Vinkælder, Østerågade 9, has no separate Christmas card, but the cellar from 1624 is a Christmas lunch in itself, and the open sandwiches are there all year. It sits under Jens Bangs Stenhus with vaults and low ceilings, and the wine list is the oldest tradition in the house. Closed on Sunday.

The whole city, gone through: Aalborg has the cheapest julefrokost of the four cities — from 250 kroner — and the only children's price. Fourteen addresses are in julefrokost in Aalborg.

See every restaurant in Aalborg →

If it should not be herring and roast pork

Not every party wants the same table twice in a month. Grappa in Aarhus does an Italian Christmas menu, and Fusion in Aalborg sticks to omakase. Restaurant Komfur and Les Trois Cochons are both French, one classic, the other a bistro with a set menu. Eydes in Odense is steakhouse all the way, and Perron in Copenhagen is the green, organic version with vegetarian and vegan on the card.

If it should be Danish and without surprises, it is Schønnemann, Pinden, Sortebro Kro, Den Gamle Kro, Klosterkroen and Duus Vinkælder. Those six cook that kind of food all year and do not have to do anything special in December.

When the lunch has to continue afterwards

Check the closing time before you book — not every house stays open until the party is done. Sct. Pauls Apotek has the cocktail bar in the same building and is open until two in the morning on Friday and Saturday. Eydes and Cafe Kræz in Odense both run until three in the morning Thursday to Saturday, and Grappa and Restaurant Komfur go until midnight.

At the other end are Thors Mølle, which closes at four in the afternoon, and Schønnemann, which normally closes at five.

The difficult days

Sunday and Monday are the awkward ones. Pinden, Klosterkroen and Nørregade 25 are all closed on both, and Sct. Pauls Apotek is closed on Tuesday as well. Oluf Bagers Gård, Fusion and Duus Vinkælder are closed on Sunday, Perron and Deilig on Monday, and Thors Mølle is only open Thursday to Sunday.

The rest take bookings every day of the week: Schønnemann, Zeleste, NorR, Grappa, Sortebro Kro, Den Gamle Kro, Eydes and Cafe Kræz. Restaurant Komfur is open every evening, and Les Trois Cochons every day — though Sunday is evening only. Those are the ones to start with if the date is fixed.

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Questions and answers

When should you book a julefrokost?

Now. Company Christmas lunches are booked from September, and the popular Saturdays in December are usually gone by October. If there are more than eight of you, early November is the last call.

What is the difference between a julefrokost and a julebord?

The julefrokost is the meal — usually during the day, often at the weekend. The julebord is the format: a table you walk to and from, rather than service at your seat. Several places use the words interchangeably, so ask which is meant before booking.

What does a Christmas lunch cost in a restaurant?

Between 250 and 1,795 kroner per person at the twenty houses across the four cities that have a Christmas menu with a price up. Cheapest is Proud Mary in Aalborg at 250 kroner for a served classic Christmas lunch, dearest is Gorilla in Copenhagen at 1,795 for Gorilla All Night, with an open bar from 9pm to 12.30am.

The typical range for the food alone is 300 to 650 kroner. Everything above that is drinks, music or both — and that is where the bill really moves: at Proud Mary three hours of free bar costs 349 kroner on top of 250 for the food. So always ask for the total, not the cover price. If you want to keep it cheap, pick lunch over dinner and a weekday over a Saturday; the difference is typically 30 to 130 kroner per person. See the table at the top for the difference between the four cities.

Can you hold a julefrokost on a weekday?

It is often the only way to get a table late in December. Many places also have more room and shorter waits Monday to Wednesday, and some charge less early in the week.

Should it be lunch or dinner?

The venue largely decides. Thors Mølle is only open during the day, and Schønnemann is normally a lunch cellar. Restaurant Komfur, Sct. Pauls Apotek and Fusion, on the other hand, open only in the evening for most of the week. If both have to be possible, Zeleste, NorR, Grappa, Sortebro Kro, Den Gamle Kro and Eydes are the ones running all day.

Where can a large group sit?

Sortebro Kro and Den Gamle Kro both have function rooms, and Den Gamle Kro also has the covered courtyard. Nørregade 25 cooks the same for everyone, which makes it easy to be many. Fusion, by contrast, is small, and the yard at Oluf Bagers Gård is not large either — both need booking ahead.

Is there Christmas lunch to take away?

Yes. Oluf Bagers Gård does Christmas Eve takeaway, and several of the bakeries prepare the julebord for collection. That is the answer if you want to hold it at home without cooking it yourselves.

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The lists above were taken from the venues' own websites in September 2026. Christmas cards and dates change, so check with the place before booking — and call rather than email when it comes to December.