March 15, 2018

Top 3 best food markets in Copenhagen

Since 2011 food markets and food halls has popped up all over Copenhagen. Today Copenhagen has several amazing places to explore street food, local produce and amazing drinks in cool urban settings. We have done the dirty work and eaten our way through all of Copenhagen’s food markets and food halls. This guide is the result of our hard labor for you to enjoy during your time in our beautiful city. Velbekomme!

(Velbekomme is the Danish expression for “bon appetite” or “you are welcome”)

1. The Bridge Street Kitchen – Overlooking the harbor

Behind The Bridge Street Kitchen (Broens Gadekøkken in Danish) are the creators and owners of Copenhagen Street Food. They started their journey with the street food market Paper Island. It sadly had to close in 2017, but they have made a strong comeback with two new markets. One of them is The Bridge Street Kitchen and it is a cooperation with some of the owners of restaurant Noma. The other one is Reffen, and we will tell you all about later in this guide.

You find this gem just across from the scenic and historical Nyhavn by crossing The Inner Harbor Bridge. Don’t let the size fool you. Despite being Copenhagen’s smallest street food market, this is a place packed with big flavors and high quality.

What to eat?

The vendors are a mix of some of Copenhagen’s best fast food concepts and high-end restaurants. Representing the fast food are GRØD and Gasoline Grill. Restaurants such as IBU, PMY and Palægade are doing a wonderful job expressing themselves through street food. The food is as diverse as the vendors are. The market displays the rapid development of Copenhagen’s food scene over the last decade.

The humble hotdog is represented, but in a wonderful gourmet version from Kejser Sausage. Innovative coffee roasters like Coffee Collective represent the new wave of light roasted coffee.

You can buy creative craft beer by ToØl, some of Copenhagen’s most experimental brewers. We could go on for hours, but you get the point. This is the crème de la crème of street food in Copenhagen gathered in a few containers overlooking the harbor. It is simply a wonderful place to take in the astonishing beauty of Copenhagen while enjoying outstanding street food.

The Bridge Street Kitchen closes for winter between December and April. But we promise you as soon as the sun comes out, this is the place to be! Even on the rainy day, people have a wonderful time snacking under the large umbrellas covering the communal tables.

How to visit?

If you would like to learn more about this amazing food market and its history, join us on our Culinary Bike Tour. We love to tell our guests about the harbor areas hidden gems, passionate people and forgotten stories. The Bridge Street Kitchen is a melting pot of good food, interesting people and hidden stories, so we always make sure to drop by on our culinary bike adventures.

2. Torvehallerne – The original

For a foodie with a love for local and artisanal products, strolling around Torvehallerne is always exciting. Torvehallerne opened up in 2011 and were built in commemoration of the historical food market located just outside the old walls surrounding Copenhagen. The name describes the purpose and location in Danish: food halls on the square. Torvehallerne consist of two beautiful glass halls with over 60 different vendors. It is a mouthwatering display of local produce, artisanal products and delicious food.

What to eat?

Hall 1 focuses on the savory with seafood, meat and cheese.

Hall 2 is all about the sweets such as baked goods, chocolate, coffee, tea and wine.

In between the halls flowers, fruits and vegetables are sold all year around, and several ready to eat food concepts are spread out between and in the two halls.

Some of our favorite places to visit and taste in Torvehallerne are: Coffee Collective, GRØD, Granny’s House, Ostetorvet, Tante T, Omegn & Venner, Noorbohandelen and Hahnemanns Køkken. Each of the places are driven by passionate people working hard to develop and preserve our local food culture.

A food market can tell us so much about a city and the locals. It is a hub of passion, flavors and interesting stories. We believe it is an important place to visit in order to understand Copenhagen’s food scene.

How to visit?

We always show our guests Torvehallerne on our Copenhagen Delicacy Tour. It would be easy to spend several hours in here on a food tour, tasting the different delicacies and learning more about local producers. However, we want to show our guests the many hidden gems in the city and show the huge variety on the local food scene, which is why we encourage everyone to come back to discover on their own. It is wonderful place to drop by for quick lunch or to buy edible souvenirs. All the vendors are so welcoming and eager to share their passion. It is hard not to fall in love with Torvehallerne!

3. Reffen – Street Food Market in an old shipyard

Reffen opened up in May 2018 and has been a tremendous success ever since. The market is located in the upcoming urban neighborhood Refshaleøen, which is fast becoming a playground for creative minds and (street) food enthusiasts. Refshaleøen used to part of Copenhagen’s industrial harbor with shipyards, warehouses and docks.  Ever since Refshaleøen opened up to the public, there has been an influx of restaurants, food entrepreneurs and cultural events.

The past of the area contributes to amazing urban spaces with plenty of room for new initiatives to blossom. The market is composed by old shipping containers offering shelter to the street food vendors.

What to eat?

You can find food from all over the world.  Crispy Pig serves Danish pork roast sandwich (our traditional take on a burger) and the best crunchy pork rinds. Indian dosas (lentil pancakes with dips) from Dosa Corner. Grillfisken are perfecting the art of grilling seasonal seafood. Mexican elotes (corn on the cob with spicy mayo, lime juice and cheese) by Blue Taco. It is truly a great place to explore the diversity of street food around the world!

Reffen is popular in any weather or season. The market has a large covered eating area with wood burning stoves for the colder months. It is open most of December but closes down for winter until the end of March.

Getting to Reffen can seem troublesome, but don’t worry, we got you! Despite appearing miles away from the city center, it only takes approximately 10 minutes by boat, bus or bike to get from the heart of Nyhavn out to Reffen. Check out their website for more information.

How to visit?

A few years back we started our Culinary Bike Tour to show our guests the outstanding restaurants, delicacy shops and hidden gems of the harbor areas called Nyhavn, Christianshavn and Refshaleøen. With fresh and innovative food places like Noma 2.0, Reffen, Baghavenand Amass, we believe Refshaleøen is the places to be, for anyone wanting to experience some of Copenhagen’s best food. It is developing into a foodie paradise and we are extremely lucky to have all this just a bike ride away from the city center!

4. Tivoli Food Hall & Tivoli Corner – Food hall, rooftop & pool!

We know, we promised you a top 3. But with the food scene constantly changing and new places popping up, we had to include the next place as well. It was a close tie between the 3rd and 4th. Please forgive us ????

14 years of planning and in November 2017, Tivoli Food Hall finally opened with big ambitions. With its unique location at the corner of enchanting Tivoli Garden, the guests get the opportunity to enjoy their food while overlooking one of the world’s oldest amusement parks (you can visit the food hall without paying entrance to the garden). The interior of the food hall is inspired by the visual identity of Tivoli Garden. Together with the extraordinary view it creates “hyggelig” atmosphere and you almost forget you are in the middle of modern city like Copenhagen.

Tivoli food hall

What to eat?

Compared to Torvehallerne, Tivoli Food Hall offers a more commecial range of food stalls. Some of the places that stand out to us are the biodynamic bakery Brødflov, the street food concept BobbaBella inspired by the island of Bornholm by the Michelin restaurants Kadeau and The Bird & Kissmeyer serving some of Copenhagen’s best G&T’s and toasts (the Danish grilled cheese).

As part of the Tivoli Corner expansion, the award-winning Nimb Hotel is expanding with 21 luxurious rooms with balconies overlooking Tivoli Gardens. In addition, Nimb Hotel guests will also benefit from a spectacular new rooftop terrace, restaurant and recreational area with Copenhagen’s first outdoor heated pool. Maybe you should consider staying at Nimb on your next visit to Copenhagen?

How to visit?

Book a customized tour with us, if you want to learn more about Tivoli Food Halls.  As your local host and food expert, we are always happy to arrange the perfect tour for you and your fellow travellers!

Other recommendations

If you would like other recommendations, then check out:

Or if you’re bitten by the travel bug, then perhaps read about Gastro Travel
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