Julefrokost in Copenhagen 2026 — prices, dates

A julefrokost in Copenhagen gets booked earlier than any other meal in the city, and this year we can put a number on how early. When we went through the venues' own pages on 27 September 2026, Schønnemann was already writing that only a few tables remain for 2026, and that they fall on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The cellar only serves its julebord Thursday to Saturday, so those three free days are lunch tables — the evenings are effectively gone, three months out.

Ten of the eighteen places on this list have published a 2026 Christmas menu with prices and dates, and we have copied them out. That is the most important change since the last update: we could not previously answer what a julefrokost in Copenhagen costs. Now we can. The range runs from 365 kroner per person at Perron to 1,795 at Gorilla, where the drinks are included.

A word on geography before you start calling. The classic julefrokost lives in the lunch cellars of the old town — Hauser Plads, Fortunstræde, Palægade — where herring, snaps and rye bread have been the same meal since the cellars opened in 1877 and 1910, and where the doors close at five. The other kind lives in the Meatpacking District and the old industrial buildings: big rooms, long tables, high volume and a bar that keeps going. The two share a name and nothing else, and it is worth agreeing which one you are going to before anyone books anything.

The ten Christmas menus — prices and dates

All figures copied from the venues' own pages on 26 and 27 September 2026. Prices are per person, and "min." is the smallest party the venue accepts.

Place	From	2026 season	Min.
Perron	365 kr	13 Nov – 18 Dec	25
Les Trois Cochons	395 kr	8 Sep – 23 Nov	9
Vækst	400 kr	18 Nov – 16 Dec	8
Delphine	450 kr	22 Sep – 26 Oct	9
Aamanns 1921	455 kr	17 Nov – 28 Dec	—
Gorilla	615 kr	not stated	8
Zeleste	650 kr	not stated	—
Pluto	745 kr	not stated	8
Palægade	not stated	not stated	—
Schønnemann	not stated	12 Nov – 23 Dec	—

Look at the third column. Three of the four Cofoco addresses close their Christmas menu before December properly begins: Delphine on 26 October, Les Trois Cochons on 23 November, Vækst on 16 December. A December julefrokost at Cofoco is therefore largely not on offer — and not because they are booked out. Because the season is over. Aamanns is the only one on the list running all the way to 28 December.

Two of the ten publish no price, and it is worth knowing in advance. Schønnemann and Palægade both have a Christmas menu with the dishes written out but no figure beside them. There the price is something you are told when you call — it is not a sign that they are sold out.

The other eight places here have not published a Christmas menu, and we are not going to claim otherwise. They are on the list because they are where we would gather a party in December, judging by what the kitchen does the rest of the year. Call and ask whether they take groups — most do, but they are the ones who get to say so, not us.

The smørrebrød cellars — the classic julefrokost

Herring first, then fish, then meat, cheese last, and snaps with the herring. These five are the city's real lunch rooms, and what they share is that the julefrokost is a lunch: they close in the afternoon, and the evening is your own problem. Several reappear in our guide to the best smørrebrød in Copenhagen.

Restaurant Schønnemann, Hauser Plads 16. The 1877 cellar is the city's best-known smørrebrød address and the only one on the list running an actual julebord: Thursday to Saturday from 6.30pm to 11pm in the season 12 November to 23 December, alongside the ordinary lunch every day from 11.30am to 5pm. It is the only time of year the cellar stays open past five. The price is not published, but two other things are. First: the house writes that only a few tables remain for 2026, and that they fall on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays — and since the julebord is only served Thursday to Saturday, what is left is lunch tables, not evenings. Second: the cellar is closed from Christmas Eve, 24 December 2026, through Monday 4 January 2027, so between Christmas and New Year Schønnemann is not an option. The list runs to more than a hundred kinds of snaps, and that is not decoration — it is why people stay seated.

Aamanns 1921, Niels Hemmingsens Gade 19-21. The stone vaults and the organic sourcing make this the modern version of the old lunch, and the house distils its own snaps to go with it. The Christmas menu comes in two forms: Christmas smørrebrød at 455 kroner and a julefrokost menu at 655, both running from 17 November through 28 December. That is the longest Christmas season on the list and the only one reaching into the days between Christmas and New Year. Lunch every day from 11.30am to 5pm with last orders at 4pm, and dinner every day from 6pm — until 10.30pm Monday to Thursday and 11pm Friday to Sunday.

Palægade, Palægade 8. Classic smørrebrød done properly, without reinvention. The house does have a 2026 Christmas menu, and it is built differently from the others: not one Christmas event but two versions of the same menu. At lunch it is the classic julemenu — herring, cured salmon, roast pork, risalamande — with two seatings, arrival either 11.30am-12.15pm or 2pm-2.45pm, and the table held for two hours. In the evening the same menu is extended with extra courses and add-ons, there is only one seating with arrival 6.30pm-7.30pm, and the evening menu must be chosen by the whole table. No price is printed, so you have to call for it. The cake trolley after lunch is the reason to go easy on the fourth piece. For a party of more than four, call rather than booking online.

Selma, Rømersgade 20A. Modern smørrebrød minutes from the Torvehallerne market. The closing day is Tuesday, not Sunday — worth noting, because every other cellar on this list either opens daily or closes at the weekend. Lunch Wednesday to Monday from 11.30am to 4pm, dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 6.30pm to 11pm. So lunch runs six days a week, the evening only four. As of 26 September the house still only had last year's Christmas menu online, so ask for the 2026 one when you call. The kitchen builds on the classics rather than repeating them, which makes it the place to take colleagues if someone in the party thinks herring is what their grandfather ate.

Slotskælderen hos Gitte Kik, Fortunstræde 4. A lunch cellar since 1910, twenty metres from parliament, and the only one here you can simply walk into. The herring is what you come for, and there is no reservation, no cake trolley and no ceremony. Note that the kitchen closes at 3pm even though the room stays open until 5pm — all seven days. It is the cheapest way to hold a proper lunch in the old town, and for a small party also the easiest.

For the office party — room for a group

Six places that can take a table of more than eight without it becoming difficult. Five have a Christmas menu with a price; the sixth is here because the room and the kitchen can carry a party.

Gorilla, Flæsketorvet 63. Sharing plates arriving in waves in a large, loud room, and the most worked-out Christmas menu on the list. The Gorilla package needs at least eight guests and costs 615 kroner per person, 890 with three glasses of house wine or 965 with a full bottle. If the party intends to stay, Gorilla All Night is 1,795 kroner with an open bar from 9pm to 12.30am. There are two seatings, 5pm-5.45pm and from 8.45pm, and booking goes through info@restaurantgorilla.dk. The house opens at 5.30pm day to day, kitchen until 10pm. If the julefrokost is really about gathering twenty people who need to shout at each other, and the food should arrive without anyone having to choose, this is the kind of room to book. Baggen is a hundred metres away, and it is no accident the two get used together.

Pluto, Borgergade 16. Many small plates to share and a long wine list. The Pluto package is ten servings family style for a minimum of eight guests: 745 kroner per person, 1,095 or 1,240 with wine. There are three seatings — 5.30pm-6pm, 8.45pm-9pm and from 11.30pm — and the table is held for three hours on Fridays and Saturdays, which is the detail that decides whether your party should take an early or a late slot. Booking at info@restaurantpluto.dk. This is the julefrokost for the party that just wants to eat together and cannot face a seven-course menu.

Zeleste, Store Strandstræde 6. The courtyard behind Nyhavn takes both private and corporate Christmas parties, and the price is given as "from 650 kroner per person". Groups book at selskaber@zeleste.dk. If December runs away from you, the house also does New Year with seven courses at 1,695 kroner — and it is the only address on the list with anything for takeaway: a shellfish platter for two at 1,295 kroner, to be ordered by 20 December. The kitchen is Danish-French and straightforward, and it is open every day from noon to 10pm.

Les Trois Cochons, Værnedamsvej 10. Cofoco's bistro on Værnedamsvej has two Christmas menus: Family Style at 395 kroner per person and "An evening" at 835. Minimum nine guests, with room for sixty upstairs or twenty in the private basement. The Christmas menu only runs from 8 September to 23 November — so this is the julefrokost you hold in November. Lunch Monday to Saturday from noon to 2.30pm, dinner every day from 5.30pm to midnight.

Delphine, Vesterbrogade 40. The Mediterranean bistro is built the same way as its sister: Family Style at 450 kroner and "An evening" at 895, minimum nine guests, and the house seats 188, the largest room on the list. But the season ends on 26 October, the earliest cut-off in the guide. If you want Delphine, it has to be October. Open from 5.30pm, Friday and Saturday from 5pm.

Kødbyens Fiskebar, Flæsketorvet 100. Oysters and the day's catch in an old butcher's hall, and the one in this section without a Christmas menu. Open from 11.30am to midnight, and to 1am on Friday and Saturday, so you can put a company lunch in the afternoon and stay five hours without anyone having to move. The price level is the high one — it is fish, not roast pork — but it is one of the few large rooms in the city where the food has not become an afterthought.

The informal julefrokost

No tablecloths, no seating plan, and nobody giving a speech. Four places where December can happen without anyone ordering a menu three months ahead.

Perron, Otto Busses Vej 45. The bakery at BaneGaarden holds its julefrokost in the old goods buildings behind Dybbølsbro, and it is the cheapest on the list: from 365 kroner per person, in a classic or a vegetarian version, with a bar package, a DJ or Christmas bingo as add-ons. The season runs 13 November to 18 December. But the minimum is 25 guests, and that single figure changes who the place is for: this is not somewhere for a family or a table of eight, it is somewhere for a whole department. Day to day it opens Tuesday to Friday from 8.30am to 4pm and at weekends from 9am to 4pm, and vegetarian and vegan are on the menu all year.

Vækst, Sankt Peders Stræde 34. The greenhouse in the middle of the room is why the place gets booked, and the Christmas menu is the greenest on the list: the Vækst menu with three courses is 400 kroner per person, "An Evening at Vækst" 800. Parties of eight and up must pre-order. The house seats 126, with a private room for thirty. The season is 18 November to 16 December. Lunch from noon to 5pm and dinner from 5.30pm to 10pm, Monday to Saturday; Sunday evening only.

Mother, Høkerboderne 9-15. Wood-fired sourdough pizza at long tables in the Meatpacking District, open from 11am to 10pm Monday to Thursday, to 11pm Friday and Saturday, and Sunday from 10am to 10pm. No Christmas menu, but it is the cheapest way to gather fifteen people on a December Saturday, and there is room for children. Nobody expects roast pork, and that is the whole point.

Where you go afterwards

The julefrokost ends at five, and then twelve people are standing on a dark street trying to agree. Here are four addresses that solve it. They do not hold a julefrokost — they hold the door open.

Ved Stranden 10, Ved Stranden 10. The canalside wine bar with the city's most instructive list and many bottles open by the glass. Open Monday to Friday from 3pm to 10pm and Saturday from noon to 10pm. Five minutes' walk from both Slotskælderen and Schønnemann, and that is the right order: herring first, wine after. More like it in our guide to the city's best wine bars.

Ruby, Nybrogade 10. A cocktail bar in a 1740 townhouse opposite parliament. Open until 1am, and 2am on Friday and Saturday. The age limit is 21, worth knowing if the interns are coming. In winter it is one of the best rooms in the city to come into from the cold.

Den Vandrette, Havnegade 53A. A natural wine cellar by the harbour with cheese and charcuterie good enough to work as the second half of the meal. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm to 11pm. Smaller and quieter than the other two — pick it if the party is six and not sixteen.

Baggen, Flæsketorvet 19. Bar and dance floor in the butchers' halls, open Thursday to Saturday until 5am. This is where a Meatpacking julefrokost ends, whatever anyone had planned. Do not put it in the plan; it arrives on its own.

Julefrokost near Nyhavn

Nyhavn has the window seats and the yellow houses, but almost no Christmas lunches: the quayside is tourist restaurants running the same menu all year. That is not a problem, because the city's lunch cellars are a few minutes' walk away. Measured in a straight line from the middle of the canal, six of the eighteen places on this list sit within six hundred metres:

Place	Distance from Nyhavn	What it is
Zeleste	170 m	Christmas menu from 650 kr, courtyard behind the quay
Den Vandrette	190 m	natural wine cellar, no Christmas menu
Palægade	310 m	classic julemenu, lunch and dinner
Pluto	510 m	Pluto package, 745 kr, min. eight
Ved Stranden 10	590 m	wine bar, no Christmas menu
Slotskælderen	600 m	lunch cellar, no reservation needed

Walk a hundred metres further and Aamanns 1921 (880 m), Ruby (900 m) and Schønnemann (940 m) join them — so nine of the eighteen are within a kilometre of Nyhavn. If it does not have to be a Christmas lunch, all 25 places in the area are in where to eat near Nyhavn and Kongens Nytorv.

If the party is meeting in Nyhavn and eating from there, Zeleste is the short answer. The courtyard on Store Strandstræde is two minutes' walk from the quay, takes both private and corporate Christmas parties from 650 kroner per person, and is the only one on the list with anything for takeaway. If it has to be the classic cellar with herring and snaps, Slotskælderen is ten minutes away and needs no reservation — and that is the one to pick if you are four rather than fourteen.

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Questions and answers

What does a julefrokost in Copenhagen cost?

Between 365 and 1,795 kroner per person at the eight places that have both published a 2026 Christmas menu and put a price on it. Cheapest is Perron at 365 kroner, dearest is Gorilla All Night at 1,795, which in return includes an open bar from 9pm to 12.30am. The typical range is 400 to 750 kroner for the food alone. Schønnemann and Palægade have Christmas menus with no price — there you have to call. Wine is the line item that really moves the bill: at Pluto the price goes from 745 to 1,095 kroner once the wine is included, at Gorilla from 615 to 890. So always ask whether drinks are included before you book — that is where the budget breaks.

What is the difference between a julefrokost and a julemenu?

The julefrokost is the occasion, the julemenu is the food — and at several of these places they are two different menus at two different times. Palægade is the clearest example: at lunch it serves the classic julemenu with herring, cured salmon, roast pork and risalamande, and in the evening that exact same menu is extended with extra courses and add-ons. Aamanns 1921 does the same with two price points: Christmas smørrebrød at 455 kroner and a julefrokost menu at 655. So do not just ask for "julefrokost" when you call — ask which menu is served at the time you want to come. At Palægade the evening menu also has to be chosen by the whole table, so it is not something you decide once you are sitting down.

When should you book a julefrokost in Copenhagen?

Now, if it has to be a Saturday. On 27 September 2026 Schønnemann wrote that only a few tables remained for the year, and that they fall on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Since the cellar only serves its julebord Thursday to Saturday, those three days are lunch tables — the evenings were effectively gone three months before the season. For a party of more than eight, the last realistic call is the start of November. Weekdays in early December can still be had at the end of November — and at Slotskælderen you can turn up without booking at all.

When does the Christmas season start and end?

Earlier than most people assume, and it is the most overlooked trap in this guide. Delphine closes its Christmas menu on 26 October, Les Trois Cochons on 23 November and Vækst on 16 December — so a December julefrokost at Cofoco is largely not on offer. In return, Les Trois Cochons starts as early as 8 September and Delphine on 22 September. Aamanns 1921 is the only one running right through to 28 December, and Schønnemann's julebord runs from 12 November to 23 December.

Can you hold a julefrokost between Christmas and New Year?

One place on the list, and it is worth knowing before anyone suggests Boxing Day. Aamanns 1921 runs its Christmas menu through 28 December and is therefore the only one of the ten whose season reaches into the days between Christmas and New Year. Schønnemann is closed from Christmas Eve, 24 December 2026, through 4 January 2027, and the other Christmas menus end on 23 December at the latest. So if the party wants to meet on 25, 26 or 27 December, it is not a question of booking early enough — most kitchens are simply shut.

How many people do you need to be?

The Christmas menus say so, and the numbers are not the same. Perron requires at least 25 guests, which makes it a department event rather than a family lunch. Les Trois Cochons and Delphine require nine; Gorilla, Pluto and Vækst eight. At the top end Delphine is the largest with 188 seats, Vækst takes 126 with a private room for thirty, and Les Trois Cochons has sixty upstairs and twenty in the basement. Schønnemann, Slotskælderen and Den Vandrette are cellars with few tables, where a party of twelve quickly becomes the whole room. Above eight people: call, do not write.

What is the difference between a julefrokost and a julebord?

The julefrokost is the meal: usually daytime, often at the weekend, served at the table. The julebord is the format: a laid table you go to and from, helping yourself. Schønnemann uses julebord for its evening service precisely because it is not a lunch. In practice many venues use the two words interchangeably, so ask which is meant before you say yes — the difference between sitting down for four hours and getting up every quarter of an hour is bigger than it sounds.

Can you hold a julefrokost on a weekday?

Yes, and at Schønnemann a weekday lunch is this year the only way in. There is more room and less waiting Monday to Wednesday, and most kitchens cook the same whatever the day. Watch the closing days: Selma is closed Tuesday — not Sunday, as you might assume — Den Vandrette is closed Sunday and Monday, Ved Stranden 10 is closed Sunday, and Perron does not open until Tuesday. Schønnemann, Aamanns and Zeleste are open every day of the week; Palægade serves lunch every day but dinner only Monday to Saturday.

Is there a buffet julefrokost in Copenhagen?

Not on this list, and that is not an oversight. None of the ten Christmas menus is a buffet. They are served menus or family style, with the dishes brought to the table: Les Trois Cochons and Delphine call it Family Style outright, Pluto sends out ten servings, Gorilla sharing plates, and Palægade and Aamanns serve a menu chosen in advance. We read all ten houses' own pages, and the word buffet appears on none of them.

The difference matters before you book for a large party. A buffet is self-service and a standing table; a family-style menu is platters arriving in sequence, paid per person however much each guest eats. If your party needs to get up and help themselves, what you are looking for is a julebord — and Schønnemann is the only one on the list that uses that word, for its evening service, Thursday to Saturday from 6.30pm. Even that is served rather than self-service.

If you want a genuine help-yourself buffet, it is usually found at hotels and country inns rather than at the city's restaurants, and those are not in our dataset. We would rather say we do not have them than call a family-style menu a buffet.

Can you eat out on Christmas Eve, 24 December, in Copenhagen?

None of the ten Christmas menus covers Christmas Eve, and the dates say so. Nine of the ten end on 23 December at the latest, and Schønnemann is explicitly closed from Christmas Eve, 24 December 2026, through 4 January 2027. Aamanns 1921 is the only one whose season runs on paper to 28 December, across the holidays themselves.

That does not mean the city is shut on the 24th — it is not. But it does mean Christmas Eve is a different product from a julefrokost, and none of these ten sells it. A house that serves on Christmas Eve does so as a standalone menu on the day, often with a single seating and payment in advance, and it is usually announced only in November.

Call and ask about the 24th specifically. None of the ten publishes holiday hours on its own site, and the opening times we list are the ordinary weekly ones — they say nothing about a public holiday. The same goes for the 25th and 26th; see the question about the days between Christmas and New Year above.

Is there a takeaway julefrokost in Copenhagen?

One place out of eighteen: Zeleste sells a shellfish platter for two at 1,295 kroner, to be ordered by 20 December. It is not a julefrokost in the classic sense, but it is the only one you can collect. If it is to be held at home for more people, the city's bakeries are the realistic route to rye bread, herring and liver pâté of the right quality; see the bakeries in Copenhagen. Elsewhere in the country there is more takeaway — the national julefrokost guide says where.

What do you do if someone in the party is vegetarian?

Say so when you book, not when you sit down. Two places have written the answer into the Christmas menu: Perron offers a classic and a vegetarian menu to choose between, and Vækst is built around the vegetables all year. Mother can always do the pizza without meat. The classic julefrokost, by contrast, is built on herring, roast pork and liver pâté, and a kitchen told the day before will cook something real instead — told at the table, it becomes a salad. Zeleste, Pluto and Kødbyens Fiskebar all work with menus that can be adapted, but it has to be agreed in advance.

How this list was made

Eighteen places, divided by what kind of julefrokost it is, and within each section sorted by our editorial score. Ten of them — Schønnemann, Aamanns 1921, Palægade, Gorilla, Pluto, Zeleste, Perron, Les Trois Cochons, Delphine and Vækst — have published a 2026 Christmas menu themselves, and the prices, dates, seatings and minimum party sizes are copied verbatim from their own pages on 26 and 27 September 2026. Two of the ten, Schønnemann and Palægade, publish no price. The other eight are our own recommendation based on the kitchen and the room, not a Christmas menu we have seen; at Slotskælderen, Kødbyens Fiskebar, Mother, Ved Stranden 10, Ruby, Den Vandrette and Baggen we found no Christmas menu, and Selma still had only last year's. The distances in the Nyhavn section are measured in a straight line from the middle of the canal using the venues' own coordinates and rounded to the nearest ten metres; the walk is longer. There are no Michelin restaurants on the list, and each house appears once. Prices and dates apply to the 2026 season and will need rechecking next year. December hours almost always differ from the normal ones, so call before you book — and call rather than write when the party is more than eight.