If you read my write up of Day 2, you can imagine that we were in need of a restorative brunch after a late finish at Warpigs the night before. Luckily, our Airbnb was a stone’s throw away from Copenhagen’s Kødbyen (see Day 1 for more details) which is home to a lot of great food and drink. Having already been to Mother for pizza, we decided against their tempting buffet brunch and instead sought out some next level tacos. Hija de Sanchez is the baby of ex-Noma chef Rosio Sanchez who was craving Mexican food and something more casual after spending much of her career in high end restaurants. She opened the first taqueria by Torvehallerne market, and opened a second site in the Kødbyen in April 2016. We demolished multiple tacos in colourful surroundings, each one packed with flavour, none more so than the al pastor loaded with spit roasted marinated pork, pineapple, onion, and coriander. Order them all.
To complete our recovery, we grabbed our daily coffees from Prolog and wandered into the centre of the city to soak up the festive market atmosphere and do a bit of shopping. If you love interior design and contemporary furniture, make sure you spend some time at Hay House – don’t expect to have any money left once you’re done though. At Christmas, locals and tourists flock to the Royal Copenhagen store to see the annual Christmas Tables exhibition. Every year, the tables are set by different artists, and put on display on the first and second floor in the flagship store at Strøget. It’s definitely worth a look, as you can see below!
The afternoon was reserved for a trip to Mikkeller’s new barrel room facility, now called Mikkeller Baghaven, where the friendly Nanna was waiting to show us around and give us a private tasting. Our Uber driver wasn’t entirely convinced about our desire to go to a bunch of warehouses on the waterfront that looked like something straight out of a Scandinavian thriller – cycling is probably your best bet. It is relatively remote out on Refshaleøen (formerly an island), but it’s also home to Amass and the new Noma site (which hasn’t opened yet), so there are plenty of reasons to make the journey.
Mikkeller Baghaven is a vast space right by the water with imposing windows and abandoned cars offset by cheeky Mikkeller signs outside and their trademark cartoon characters peering over the top of the building. Inside, most of the warehouse is taken up with huge foeders and barrels, but there is still room for a bar with 16 taps. We were fortunate to turn up shortly after a Hill Farmstead event, so we worked our way through a few of their specials plus various Mikkeller brews, including the luscious Beer Geek Vanilla Shake. Grab the bourbon barrel aged edition if you see it. By the time we were finished, it was dark outside and the warehouse was beautifully lit as we said our goodbyes and planned our next move.
Heading back towards civilisation, we sought out sustenance at Copenhagen Street Food, a sprawling indoor street food market much like London’s Street Feast. You’ll find it on Papirøen (Paper Island), an area whose buildings served as paper storage for the Procurement Association of the Danish Press for many years. Now it’s a creative hub where you can find numerous exhibitions, installations and more. Copenhagen Opera House is practically next door, and Noma’s sister restaurant 108 is just around the corner.
For something totally different though, we then went for a stroll through nearby Freetown Christiania – a neighbourhood set up by hippies in 1971 that considers itself to be separate to Copenhagen and lives under its own set of rules. Be sure to abide by them if you visit – e.g. don’t take photographs, and don’t run on the main street! We didn’t get much of a feel for it since it was dark, and it was pretty hard to find our way around, but it’s certainly a very interesting place worth exploring.
Continuing on the tourist trail, we crossed the water at Inderhavnen Bridge to reach the picturesque Nyhavn canal. It’s a beautiful spot, but you’ll struggle to find somewhere to eat and drink with a view that isn’t overpriced. That said, you should check out Mikkeller’s Haven Bar popup at The Standard, and definitely drop in to Den Vandrette for outstanding wine and small plates as we did. It’s a charming candlelit bar with hospitable and knowledgeable staff.
After a glass of wine or two, we hopped across town to Norrebro to check out Brus, a stunning cafe, shop, brewpub and restaurant from the guys at To Øl and Mikropolis. It’s housed in an old 750 m² iron foundry and locomotive factory, over the road from Baest and Mirabelle. Once you grab a booth and start drinking beers, homemade sodas and cocktails from the 30+ taps, you’ll find it hard to leave. I’ll definitely be returning to try the food – think Szechuan beef ribs, pineapple kimchi, and fermented fries. Our final stop, which there are no pictures of because… tired, was Himmeriget – yet another essential beer bar with an absurd bottle list and rare brews on tap that stays open pretty late. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but take my word for it!
Another day down, two to go. This must have been one expensive trip – best not to think about it. Coming up on Days 4 & 5… More smørrebrød, more Mikkeller (obviously), all the lights at Tivoli, and an 5-course meal at a fancy restaurant. Stay tuned!
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Matt The Tips – Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are planning a trip to Copenhagen and have any questions, or if you have some suggestions for places I should check out next time! Email me at matt@mattthelist.com
Plan your own adventure with Map The List : Copenhagen
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MATT THE TRIPS | COPENHAGEN
A selection of travel posts from the Danish capital
