My husband and I visited Copenhagen last September for a long weekend.  One fun thing we did was take a food tour in Nørreport, Copenhagen. This post discusses the stops that we made and the foods that we tried. All in, the food was really interesting and tour taught us a lot about Danish culture and food. And, we had one of the best hotdogs I’ve had in a very long time!

Our tour started on a sunny morning outside of Torvehallerne Food Hall, one of Copenhagen’s most famous food markets. And even if you don’t take a food tour, a lunch visit to Torvehallerne is a must for all foodies in Copenhagen!

STOP 1: DANISH CHEESE AT ARLA UNIKA IN THE TORVEHALLERNE FOOD HALL.

The first stop of our food tour was inside Torvehallerne at a famous Danish cheese shop, Arla Unkia. Arla Unkia is apparently quite famous in Denmark and this location had a large the selection of Danish cheese. This tasting was a selection of three cheeses, all from Denmark and of varying ages. We paired the cheeses with a slightly spicy tomato jam and type of dessert apple wine. Everything was great, and I purchased some of the tomato jam to bring home.

STOP 2: SMORREBROD AT RORT IN THE TORVEHALLERNE MARKET

The second stop on our food tour was just around the corner from Arla Unkia in Torvehallerne at an adorable deli called Rort Deli and Spisebar! Rort’s speciality is open-faced sandwiches called smorrebrod that are famous all over Denmark, and I was very excited to try these sandwiches! We began our tasting at Rort with a taste of slightly effervescent rose wine. This was very good and paired well with our smorrebrod. Next up was the smorrebrod, and we tried two types. First, a type of hummus made with Danish peas, fermented garlic, cumin, lemon and parsley (the “hummus” looked a lot like egg salad) on top of hard brown bread topped with pickled pink onions and a spring of micro green. The second smorrebrod was an actual egg salad, mixed with cauliflower and truffle, and topped with micro greens. I adore egg salad, and these types of “salads” in general, and this one was great. I was drooling at the other salads as we walked away… Had I had more time in Copenhagen, I definitely would have returned to Rort for lunch.

STOP 3: LOCAL HONEY IN THE COPENHAGEN BOTANICAL GARDENS.

We left Torvehallerne after Rort and walked to the beautiful University of Copenhagen’s Botanical Gardens. The weather was super nice this morning, and the Botanical Gardens were gorgeous, filled with people relaxing and families playing. It was great that we sopped here, because these gardens were not on our Copenhagen itinerary! For those interested, entrance is free and its a great family spot. We even saw a snake (which terrified me!). Once inside, the group walked to the Palm House, dating to 1874 (!) and sampled two local honeys, which were made by a local company, Bybi, that makes hone right in Copenhagen city. Both were quite good, and both are for sale in the Botanical Gardens’ shop.

We moved along after tasting the “urban honey,” leaving the Botanical Gardens from the opposite side that we arrived.  This allowed us to see the Agpalilik Meteoritea – a meteor that is on public display in the courtyard of the Geological Museum in Copenhagen. We also walked by one of the most famous bakeries in Copenhagen – Charlie Scott’s. The cakes in the window were beautiful.

STOP 4: SMORREBRODS AT THE FAMOUS AAMANNS.

We arrived at our next stop after crossing a few very busy Copenhagen streets – Famous Aamanns. As its name suggests, Famous Aamanns is a well known restaurant serving the well loved smorrebrods throughout Copenhagen. Our group dined (or really lunched) on the second floor, and every guest was given a selection of four of Aamanns’ most popular smorrebrods: potato, eggs with shrimp, chicken salad, and roast beef with fried onions. Each of the smorrebrods was served on hard brown bread and each had its own flavor. I started with the potato, which was pretty tame. Brown bread topped with sliced, boiled potato, a bit of mayo, both pickled and fried onions and micro greens. I would order this agin. The next was my least favorite – hard bread topped with hard boiled eggs, baby shrimp, fennel and micro greens (this is on everything). I think this was my least favorite because I am not a fan of the baby shrimp… Next up was chicken salad, very similar to a US chicken salad, and I fully expected this one to be my favorite (I love chicken salad!). However, the chicken salad, which was topped with lettuce, mayo, micro greens and (I think) fried onion was a little to meaty for my taste. The final smorrebrod was really good – roast beef with fried onion and a single microgreen. This one and the potato smorrebrods were my favorite at Aamanns.

STOP 5: ROSENBORG CASTLE AND LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW CHOCOLATE.

Since Aamanns was a big stop in terms of food, we walked a bit to make room for later snacks. We reached Rosenborg Castle after a few minutes walking and found a pretty spot in the garden to castle gaze while sampling our next treat! Rosenborg Castle is quite beautiful and while we only saw the outside, I’m glad we made the stop. I would do the inside tour with more time. At this brief stop, we each tried a chocolate by a famous Danish chocolatier, Johan Bülow. Bülow got his start in 2007 making licorice chocolates, and today his brand is sold all over the word under the name Lakrids by Bülow. The chocolate fantastic, and I am not even a licorice fan. I was going to bring some home, but these chocolates are insanely expensive!

STOP 6: CRAFT BEER AT RESTAURANT BREW PUB BRYGHUS.

The next stop on our foodie stroll around Denmark was for craft beer at Bryghus Restaurant and Brew Pub. Dan and I used to be really into craft beer, so these types of stops are always fun for us. Bryghus is a sit down restaurant/pub located in a gorgeous courtyard with beautiful orange walls. The bright blue sky really stood out against these walls. At Bryghus, everyone selected a beer of their choice from Bryghus’ own beers. Dan ordered the Magic Haze, a 5.7% New England Style IPA, and I drank the Cider Spring, a cider around 5%. Both were good beers, which we drank with our fellow tour participants in the courtyard.

STOP 7: HOTDOGS AT DOP!

Our next stop was at DOP “food cart” (as they say in Copenhagen) for one of my very favorite guilty pleasures – hotdogs!!  DOP is a – get this – organic hotdog food cart that is always located between The Round Tower on Købmagergade pedestrian street and by The Church of The Holy Ghost on Strøget pedestrian street.  DOP is very popular with locals and tourists alike and has won a number of awards, which is honestly not surprising. We had our choice of dog and toppings, and we both went with the classic: a roasted sausage with mustard, ketchup, remoulade, fried onions, fresh onions, and pickles.  And honestly, this hot dog was amazing (and I know my hotdogs!). DO NOT MISS DOP IN COPENHAGEN. Its also budget friendly, and offers vegetarian and low carb (bun-less) options. This was my favorite stop on this tour and one of the best things I ate in Copehangen.

STOP 8: A VERY OLD CANDY SHOP.

After finishing our hot dogs, we walked a bit to Somods Bolcher for a very tiny candy tasting and brief demonstration of candy making. Somods Bolcher has been making hard candy in Copenhagen for over 125 years in this exact spot. Tourists can pop in for a look at the candy being made, as well as to buy some to take home. We all tried a small piece of candy straight off the line and stepped into the tiny shop for some to bring home (if you wanted). The candy is definitely old-fashioned, but in the best way.

STOP 9: FABULOUS CHOCOLATE TREATS AT SUMMERBIRD.

We ended our tour right where we began, in Torvehallerne Food Hall. This time, we stopped at Denmark’s famous Summerbird for its famous marzipan and butterfly candies. First up, the marzipan. This candy is a dome of marzipan covered in chocolate and, at times, topped with other treats. This was great. We also tried Summerbird’s famous butterfly candy, which was a chocolate butterfly with nut pieces. Summerbird is famous for both of these treats and they are popular souvenirs. We purchased some some chocolate covered almonds to bring home. Like Lakrids by Bülow, Summerbird can be found all over Denmark, including the airport, and they are not cheap. Some of their treats need to be kept cold.

STEAL OUR TRIP

The Copenhange Culinary Experience: This is the food tour that we did, although we booked it through Viator. It’s DKK 950 per adult, with all of the above included. The tour is stated to be four hours long but ours went over slight. Recommended if you have the time in Copenhagen.

TorvehallerneKBH: Frederiksborggade 21, 1362 København, Denmark. Open daily from 10:00 – 6:00 PM, with most activity occurring around lunch time.

Arla Unika: This is the website for the cheese shop. The Torvehallerne Food Hall shop is easy to find, and the staff speak English.

Rort Handy Smorrebrod: Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København, Denmark.  Open Monday – Friday 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM, shorter hours on the weekend.

Bybi: This is the website for the honey maker. The honey is sold is the Botanical Gardens’ gift shop.

Aamanns: We visited the Deli, which is open 10:30 AM – 7:30 PM daily. A few other locations around Copenhagen.

Lakrids by Bülow: These chocolates are easy to find in Denmark, including the airport.

Restaurant Brew Pub Bryghus: Ryesgade 3, 2200 København, Denmark.  Closed Sunday – Monday, open 12:00 – 11:00 other days, slightly later on weekends.

DOP: Amagertorv 31, 1160 København, Denmark. Open 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Monday – Saturday, opens at 11:30 AM on Sunday.

Somods Bolcher: Nørregade 36, 1165 København K, Denmark. Open daily during the day.

Summerbird: Summerbird has several locations in Copenhagen; we visited the Torvehallerne outlet. Chocolates are not cheap but fantastic. Most locations offer free samples. Summerbird is sold at the airport, but note that some of Summerbird’s chocolates need to be kept cold if you are traveling long distances.