Ida Davidsen has over 250 varieties of smørrebrød, the

Clockwise from above: Flowerpot Lamp
and Panton Chair by Verner Panton, at
the Danish Museum of Art & Design.
Relaxing in front of Samsøe & Samsøe’s
shop. Nimb hotel is decked with lights.
Ida Davidsen has over 250
varieties of smørrebrød,
the sandwiches for which
Denmark is famous.
the hit list
HOTELS
Prices are for a double room per
night with breakfast.
Hotel Skt Petri, 22 Krystalgade
(+45-3345 9100; www.hotelskt
petri.com), from DKr1,495 (about
£170). Hotel Twentyseven, 27
Løngangstraede (+45-7027 5627;
www.hotel27.dk), from £141. Nimb,
5 Bernstorffsgade (+45-8870 0000;
www.nimb.dk), from £350.
RESTAURANTS, CAFES, BARS
Prices are for a three-course meal
with half a bottle of wine.
Aamanns, 10 Øster Farimagsgade
(+45-3555 3344; www.aamanns.
dk), about £8 for lunch. Café Victor,
8 Ny Ostergade (+45-3313 3613;
22
261_smooth_guide.PRESS.indd 2
mustard, golf-ball-sized fishcakes,
and the option to mix up to four
different varieties in one meal.
Meanwhile, just around the
corner from the National Gallery,
Aamanns is another take on the
Danish tavern: sparkling white
and minimalist, with homemade soups
and cakes, and organic smørrebrød
elevated to an art form, topped with
razor-thin apple slices or tiny cubes of
quince and local forest mushrooms.
For supper, Cofoco, a chic basement
establishment in hip Vesterbro, is
inventive and fresh without being fussy.
It’s all about the ingredients here; the
menu simply lists what’s in each dish.
Don’t miss the rhubarb, cardamom and
white chocolate pudding. In a similarly
relaxed vein, Madklubben is all unaffected
stylishness, with outrageously good, hotfrom-the-oven bread and Nordic-modern
www.cafevictor.dk), €20 for
breakfast. Cofoco, 7 Abel Cathrines
Gade (+45-3313 6060; www.cofoco.
dk), about £31. Fiskebaren, 100
Flaesketorvet (+45-3215 5656; www.
fiskebaren.dk), about £63. Ida
Davidsen, 70 Store Kongensgade
(+45-3391 3655; www.idadavidsen.
dk), about £22 with beer. Karriere,
57 Flaesketorvet (+45-3321 5509;
www.karrierebar.com), about
£80. Madklubben, 66 Store
Kongensgade (+45-3332 3234),
€60. Noma, 93 Strandgade (+453296 3297; www.noma.dk), about
£125 for tasting menu (no wine).
The Paul, 3 Vesterbrogade (+453375 0775; www.thepaul.dk), about
£78. The Royal Cafe, 6 Amagertorv
(+45-3312 1122; www.theroyalcafe.
dk), about £19 for smushi lunch.
delights (Norwegian salmon in a lemony
mayonnaise foam was a standout).
Alternatively, head a few blocks south
to the regenerated meatpacking district,
where cool bars, cafés, restaurants, gyms
and art galleries (of which V1 is the
star, showcasing international stars such
as Banksy) are creating a sophisticated
edge. Karriere bar, part-owned by local
art star Jeppe Hein, is the place for
pre-dinner or late-night cocktails – an
unreconstructed art-house lair where
Olafur Eliasson lights tower over
canteen-style tables. The food is 100
per cent organic Danish and even the
SHOPS
AC Perch, 5 Kronprinsensgade (+453315 3562; www.perchs.dk). Meyers
Deli, 107 Gammel Kongevej (+453325 4595; www.meyersdeli.dk) and
branches. Normann Copenhagen,
70 Østerbrogade (+45-3555 4459;
www.normann-copenhagen.com).
YDE, 5 Ny Adelgade (+45-8813 6533;
www.yde-copenhagen.com.
SIGHTS
Danish Museum of Art
& Design, 68 Bredgade
(+45-3318 5656; www.
kunstindustrimuseet.dk).
Davids Samling, 30
Kronprinsessegade
(+45-3373 4949; www.
davidmus.dk). Museum
of Danish Resistance,
cocktails toe the locavore line: the
Purple Overdose, which can be made
on request, is flush with beetroot and
mint. For dinner, there’s no more
of-the-moment table to book than at
Fiskebaren, a Danish seafood showcase
populated by ferociously hip locals. The
Jutland trout and the mussels steamed
in apple cider are particularly fine.
You may well want to take some
Danish gourmet treats home with you.
Meyers Deli is a one-stop paradise that
champions local ingredients in three
different locations and also serves a
relaxed but fizzing Sunday brunch. And
then there is AC Perch, a jewel box of a
teashop that first opened in 1835 and
sells loose leaf tea that is stored in oldfashioned jars and weighed out on scales.
There are branches in Japan (which
speaks for itself) and a tea salon where
you’ll find everything from scones and
jam to zingy 21st-century tea smoothies.
There is, of course, life beyond
eating in Copenhagen. Indeed,
you’d be remiss not to dip into
the homeware and fashion scene.
Seek out some of the more
offbeat boutiques and vintage
finds, especially in Vesterbro,
where you’ll discover the flagship
of Designers Remix Collection,
a local favourite, plus indie
storefronts such as Samsøe
& Samsøe, which champions
Scandinavian labels such as
Filippa K and Whyred. And YDE,
one of the city’s rising couture
stars, produces clothes inspired
by Marie Antoinette and worn by
the Danish royal family. The place for
iconic Danish housewares, meanwhile,
is Normann Copenhagen in the centre of
town. Even the egg cups are paragons of
clean-lined Scandinavian design genius.
A bit of Copenhagen will come home
with you, regardless of whether you make
any purchases. It’s one of those quietly
inspirational places that slowly works
its way into your heart; the more you
pick away at it, the more excitements
you unravel. It’s this combination of the
obvious and the unexpected – like musk
ox and modern cuisine – that has put
Copenhagen firmly on the map. ✦
Churchillparken (+45-3347 3921;
www.natmus.dk). National Museum,
12 Frederiksholm Kanal (+45-3313
4411; www.natmus.dk).
LESS THAN AN HOUR AWAY
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
(pictured below) is home to over
3,000 works. Enjoy lunch in the
sculpture garden, with views toward
Sweden. 13 Gl Strandvej, Humlebæk
(+45-4919 0791; www.louisiana.dk).
WHEN TO GO
claes bech-poulsen/nimb. louisiana museum of modern art. © paw ager. pernille
klemp, danish museum of art & design. steen larsen. www.karrierebar.dk.
war. Another highlight is the
Davids Samling, a collection of
Islamic art from the 8th to 19th
centuries that is beautifully
displayed in the town house of
the collector himself. It is to
Copenhagen what Sir John
Soane’s Museum is to London.
After half a day or so of
cultural immersion, you’ll be
hungry. A table at Noma is the
theoretical ideal, but at short
notice a near-impossible reality
(bookings should be made
months ahead). The good
news is that Copenhagen is
swiftly catching up with its
rivals as a card-carrying foodie
destination. Among the city’s
luminaries is The Paul, steps
away from the twee delights
of Tivoli Gardens. Few other
Michelin-starred restaurants
can claim to overlook a
pirate ship, and the roasted
langoustine is sensational.
Indeed, the joy of
Copenhagen is that it’s
increasingly difficult to eat
badly here. Start with breakfast
at brasserie-style Café Victor. It’s
replete with sublime cinnamon
buns and pastries (usually gone
by 10am, so hotfoot it) and smart locals
chatting over free-range eggs and ham.
Come lunchtime, it’s worth bearing in
mind that the Danes excel at sandwiches.
The century-old national institution that
is Ida Davidsen is still going strong, with
countless varieties – over 250, in fact – of
smørrebrød, the open-faced sandwiches
for which Denmark is famous. Or get
yourself utterly au courant and head to
one of two buzzy new arrivals. The Royal
Cafe, with its pink aprons, pretty flocked
wallpapers, custom-made chandeliers
and Fritz Hansen chairs, has swiftly
established itself as an ideal stop-out
for shoppers, discreetly tucked away as it
is just off Strøget, the longest pedestrian
shopping street in Europe. It’s given
rise to a new culinary phenomenon –
“smushi”, which combines the smørrebrød
concept and ingredients with those of
sushi: tiny, open burgers with creamy
July for the jazz festival; September
for Copenhagen Design Week.
HOW TO GET THERE
Daisy Finer travelled as a
guest of Kirker (020-7593
1899; www.kirkerholidays.
com), which offers three
nights at Nimb, including
flights from Heathrow and
transfers, from £968 per
person. British Airways
flies from Heathrow six
times daily, from £108.
EasyJet flies twice daily
from Gatwick, from £53.
howtospendit.com
05/04/2011 14:03