One of the first things we like to do when visiting a new country is take a food tour. Foodie culture and travel go hand-in-hand, and food tours are the ultimate combination of both. Plus, if your tour guide is worth his or her salt, you’ll learn about your host country’s history and culture, too.
My advice? Take the food tour early on in your stay: the tour will introduce you to a variety of different local foods and delicacies (many of which may not otherwise have been on your radar), and if you really love a dish or a restaurant, you can make plans to return!
Copenhagen City Center
We chose Foods of Copenhagen based on their impeccable online reviews and their beautiful website (the food photography on there is just gorgeous, seriously! Go check it out, I’ll wait!). The website promised a 4-hour walking tour with no more than 8 guests and 6-7 food stops covering about 3 miles: sounded perfect, but we were a little worried that a toddler wouldn’t be allowed. Foods of Copenhagen assured us that it would be fine to bring her along on the group tour, so we prepaid online (it was 950dkk per person, about $145 each) and were good to go.
We met our friendly tour guide, Fie, in the city center area. Our first stop was to try smørrebrød – traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches with rye bread and lard. There were all kinds of toppings to choose from (including curry herring and eggs), but my favorite were the pork and veal meatballs and the pickled cucumber. We also tried a traditional liquor (“snaps”) that warmed me up right away. Yowza!
Smørrebrød in a traditional Danish restaurant.
Our next stop was to Sankt Peter’s Bageri to try Viennese danish. These sweet treats would be the perfect way to start the day, but I honestly never would have tried them if Fie hadn’t steered us into this adorable pastry shop.
Fie explained that although Americans call these pastries “danish,” they’re actually from Vienna (Austria).
The Torvelhallerne food hall is a must-stop. Torvelhallerne has it all: breads, meat, cheese, cookware, alcohol, sweets, and flowers (like the gorgeous dahlias my husband bought for me after the tour). It’s also in the middle of the city, so we ended up going back there on three more days.
torvehallerne food hall
After leaving the food hall, we crossed a bridge over the Copenhagen lakes to get to the neighborhood of Nørrebro: a millenial hipster’s dream come true.
You cross a bridge over Soterdams Sø to get from the city center to Nørrebro
Our first stop was a little shop selling sparkling cider. It’s the new, hip thing, and unlike a lot of ciders on U.S. menus, these aren’t sweet at all. Plus, you have to give them props for this fun label.
Our stop at BRUS was one of my favorites. And seriously. Look how gorgeous this brewery-restaurant space is.
We had Korean chicken, beer, a broccoli dish, and fermented fries. Everything was so delicious and so perfectly bar-foodie that it made me wish there was a football game on tv.
Another fave? Grod. Similar to Chinese/Hawaii jook, grod is anything boiled to a mushy texture. We tried the pea risotto (bottom left) during the food tour and went back to a different location to try their chicken congee (right). Such good comfort food!
We also tried some foods and made stops not pictured here (I wanted to share highlights without giving up their whole gig!) — and the tour was overall fantastic.
If you’re ever in Copenhagen, try to book a culinary tour with Foods of Copenhagen. Our guide Fie was terrific, and we got a great introduction to Danish cuisine and the city of Copenhagen. Five stars!
Dahlias rom Torvelhallerne food hall
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