The national dish
and the other classics

Stegt flæsk med persillesovs — crispy fried pork belly with boiled potatoes and parsley sauce. Danes voted it the national dish in 2014, and it's still on traditional menus all over Copenhagen.

Hearty and pork-forward: frikadeller (meatballs), hakkebøf (minced beef with soft onions) or flæskesteg (roast pork), almost always with potatoes and brown gravy. Lunch is usually smørrebrød — open sandwiches on rye.The smørrebrød guide

A pølse from a pølsevogn — the little hotdog wagons on squares and stations. First you pick the sausage: a red boiled one (rød pølse) or a brown grilled one (ristet). Then order it 'med det hele' — with everything: mustard, ketchup, remoulade, raw and crispy onions and pickles.

Three things, high to low: smørrebrød, the open rye-bread sandwiches piled with herring, eggs or roast pork; wienerbrød, the buttery pastries the rest of the world simply calls a 'Danish'; and New Nordic cooking, the local fine-dining movement that turned the city into a food destination. Start with a smørrebrød lunch — it's the one classic you can't get right anywhere else.The smørrebrød guideThe bakery guide

Danes call them wienerbrød — 'Viennese bread' — and any good bakery makes them fresh every morning. The ones to know: kanelsnegl, the cinnamon swirl; spandauer, with custard or jam in the middle; and tebirkes, a poppy-seed roll with a soft marzipan centre.The bakery guide

Honestly, the classics are meat-heavy. But Copenhagen is one of Europe's easiest cities for vegetarians — most traditional restaurants now offer a plant-based take, and the New Nordic scene does vegetables like nowhere else.

Alchemist and Noma battle for the top spot — expect around 4,000–5,000 kr. per person for the tasting menu alone, before wine pairings that can nearly double it. Three-Michelin-star Geranium sits just below. The good news: Copenhagen's best everyday food — smørrebrød, bakeries, food markets — costs a fraction of that.

Noma — voted the world's best restaurant five times and the reason Copenhagen became a food destination. Its New Nordic cooking reshaped fine dining worldwide. Getting a table takes luck and planning, but the city's food scene is full of places run by Noma alumni.

Several. Torvehallerne — the two glass food halls by Nørreport — is the central one, open all year for everything from smørrebrød to chocolate. Tivoli Food Hall, right by the gardens' main entrance, is another all-year option — and you don't need a Tivoli ticket to get in. Reffen is the big outdoor street-food market on the Refshaleøen harbourfront in the warmer months, and Broens Gadekøkken does harbour-side street food by the Inner Harbour Bridge in season.The Refshaleøen guide

The movement Noma started in the 2000s: local, seasonal Nordic ingredients — foraged, fermented, pickled — served as inventive tasting menus. It turned Copenhagen into one of the world's food capitals and still shapes menus across the city, from Michelin rooms to casual wine bars.