Bars & cafes – All our local tips

Atlas is known as the mythical figure that carries the world on his shoulders. Atlas Bar has a similar concept, with food from all over the world. The Bar is located on the corner opposite from the Livingroom (see the Livingroom article), in one of the liveliest neighborhoods in Copenhagen.

Atlas Bar is homey and international at the same time, with maps on the tables and the daily menu written on a blackboard on the wall. The restaurant is in the basement and somehow a bit excluded from the world, which makes it even cozier. The menu is variable, but mostly exotic food is on the board.

Even though the food is mostly exotic, Atlas Bar always manages to squeeze the best Danish vegetables into their dishes. Atlas Bar is a great place for vegetarians, with a big selection of tasty veggie goods. If you don’t have a problem with devouring other species, try anything with seafood, it is amazing here. Also the homemade fruit and vegetable juice is worth the contents of your wallet and has lately become something close to famous.

If you happen to be really tired of ordering too expensive food in restaurants and getting two tablespoons of something on your plate, Atlas Bar is your place. The prizes are ok and the amounts of food enormous. Unfortunately you will sometimes have to wait a very long time for your food, but the tuna steak is worth it!

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Atlas Bar | Bars, Restaurants (World kitchen) | Main dish DKK 110.00
Larsbjørnsstræde 18 | Inner City | +4533150352
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 00:00

At Bang & Jensen you can get it all. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and all kinds of beer, coffee and cocktails. You could almost live here all day – and it would be quite a nice day, too. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are ample.

The places opened back in 1997 and was one of the first cafes in the street – if not the first. Now the area is full of great little places, but this is the place to go! A lot of the young people in Vesterbro uses the place as a mix of study hall, meeting point and living room. That makes the place feel like home.

The service is friendly and the place is usually quite packed. They also have free wireless Internet, so bring your laptop along.

Bang & Jensen is a great place to check out the current street style of Copenhagen. Just get a place by the window or look at the other guests. Style everywhere!

By the way – the kitchen closes at 19:30 on Saturdays to make room for cocktails.

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Bang & Jensen | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks, Restaurants (Café style)
Istedgade 130 | Vesterbro | +4533255318
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 02:00, Sat 10:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 22:00

Café Bartof has been described as the coziest music venue in all of Copenhagen, which is easy to imagine when you see the place.

As a bar it has a respectable size, but there’s not exactly room for a big band orchestra.

But that’s a part of the Bartof charm, there’s so little space, that the performers and the audience automatically create an intimate atmosphere that cannot be topped anywhere else.

Bartof also has a wide selection of different artists playing, such genres as : hillbilly countryblues, super bozza/pop and Irish folk/world, might give you a hint of the musical sprit of Bartof.

If you happen to show up on of the nights Bartof isn’t filled with jazzy delight or upbeat folk music, then you’ll experience a bar that quite simply is very cozy.

The word “cozy” is the closest thing we can get to the danish word “hygge”, which is something most danish people take much pride in.

“Hygge” is to relax with your friends, maybe chatting, maybe just enjoying each others company, maybe at home or maybe somewhere else, and that is the essence of the Danish spirit and the Bartof spirit as well.

Seeing that it is located on Frederiksberg, its a bit more pricey than other bars, but what the heck, you get what you pay for

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Café Bartof | Bars, Music, Relaxing | Beer DKK 21.00
Nordre Fasanvej 46 | Frederiksberg | +4538869067
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 03:00, Sun 11:00 – 00:00

Halvvejen is the Danish word for “Halfway”, as in being halfway home, but stopping to see whats going on.

Halvvejen is located halfway towards the main street called “Strøget”, which means that it is also a bit away from all the excitement of the inner city, but without being far away from anything.

The place is decorated as an old fashion bar, with old wooden stools and special plates for the regular customers. If you stop by around noon or early in the afternoon, you will experience a cozy little café with a variety of Danish seafood.

Whereas if you come during the evening, the café has transformed into a bar, but yet the coziness remains. The bar is perfect for having a chat, whilst listening to sweet tunes in the background. The music is both Young & Old, Fast & Slow, and I’ve often experienced several people sitting silently listening to the music, as in a world of their own.

All in all, Halvvejen is a wonderful little escape from the excitement, go have a chat, a meal, or just to sit quietly for a while

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Café Halvvejen | Bars | Thy Ecological Beer DKK 28.00
Krystalgade 11 | Inner City | +4533119112
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 03:00 (kitchen 12.00-15.00)

If there is such a thing as the Copenhagen mainstay café, it must be Café Norden. Very mainstream, very well located (at Amagertorv on the section between the main pedestrian streets Strøget and Købmagergade) and very big.

The café occupies two floors and has an almost industrial quality to it. But despite the scale, the place has a nice atmosphere with the heavy inspiration of a Jugend style Wienna café anno 1895. Complete with specially designed opal lamps on the walls. The ground floor is often busy and can be somewhat crowded and cramped at times, whilst the spacious upper floor has a calmer setting with larger tables, a high ceiling and red leather couches for the lucky ones. The window seats offer an interesting view of Copenhagen’s central hustle-and-bustle shopping havoc.

The offering is of the well assorted café with all sorts of coffee, tea and other hot drinks and also beers and soft drinks. Along with different (good) cakes, ice cream and so on. The kitchen is what you might call “heavy café” and offers both light food and snacks as well as more substantial meals, including a very talented tomato soup, full-meal burgers, lasagna and a quality pasta dish. In fact, everything is quality.

Prices reflect this and are fairly high – at least when it comes to food. The place can be a little hectic at times and you may have to be patient to cope. But generally the café is well staffed and things flow well.

Café Norden has outdoor serving all seasons, weather permitting and does not accept reservations for tables.

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Café Norden | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (bistro)
Østergade 61 | Inner City | +4533117791
09:00 – 00:00 daily (kitchen 09:00 – 21:00, Fri 09:00 – 22:00)

This café is almost a little secret, but I want as many people as possible to know about it.

The outside is not doing the very, very cosy inside justice – and I really think this is one of the most cosy, or “hyggelige” as we say, Danish cafés in Copenhagen. Café Retro is the perfect place to go after a long cold walk when you need to get warm, have a nice cup of coffee and just feel good.

And what makes you feel so good at Café Retro? Not just the great coffee and comfy sofas. But also the very kind and friendly service. And guess what – the bartenders are voluntary workers and all profits go to Africa and India! That is just so great!

The menu is limited to soup and snacks, but they have lots of coffee, beer and wine, so you’ll be just fine.

The café is dedicated to live music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But they also support a wide range of other cultural events. Keep up to date with current events on the website.

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Café Retro | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks, Festivals & events
Knabrostræde 26 | Inner City
Tue – Wed & Sun 13:00 – 23:00, Thu 13:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 13:00 – 01:00

Cinemateket is the only one of its kind in Copenhagen. This movie theatre doesn’t show the blockbusters running in regular theaters. Instead Cinemateket offers a wide selection of film classics, cult cinema, documentaries, short films and projects from the Danish Film School. Each month has its own theme and different genres are represented in the program during that month. So if you have a secret passion for German silent films, you might as well go and see one while you’re in Cph.

I saw “Dr. Mabuse” (Fritz Lang) in Cinemateket with a live pianist and the same old man who’s been to every film I’ve ever seen in that cinema! That’s what I call true atmosphere!

The last Friday of every month there’s a Friday Late Night arrangement. The theme is always music. The night begins with a film (about music) and afterwards the bar is open and a DJ starts the party. I recently saw the Tom Waits classic “Big Time”, so that serves an example of what kind of music movie we are talking about. In the basement there’s a Videotek where you can watch all kinds of movies made in Denmark over the years.

A good piece of advice is to buy and bring your own candy, because Cinemateket has a very narrow selection of edible goods to bring inside the theater. But maybe it is for the best not to be too tempted by enormous amounts of buttered popcorn. If you are starving after the film, Cinemateket holds a fancy restaurant called Sult (Hunger) and I have heard nice things about the place, but I have never eaten there myself since it is kind of pricey.

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Cinemateket | Bars, Cinemas, Music | Ticket DKK 55.00
Gothersgade 55 | Inner City
Tue – Fri 09:30 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 22:00

Copenhagen Jazzhouse is more than one thing. First of all it is, as you might have guessed, a jazz house. There are concerts almost every day. Mostly jazz, but also tango, soft rock and other genres are represented. Especially the tango concerts are fabulous, because people actually hit the floor and dance the tango. Both young and old, practiced and less practiced. Not just on the dance floor but in front of the bar and between the tables, people swing around like true tango alley cats.

Very different kinds of people come at the jazz house and the atmosphere is most often positive. People who come to the concerts are usually true lovers of music and it’s always easy to talk the ears off someone who shares your passion for some strange genre.

After the concerts, Copenhagen Jazzhouse turns into a swinging nightclub. Latin, acidjazz, soul, house and the likes of it is played and people of all ages come to sway their hips and flirt with each other. The bar serves good cocktails (definitely a decent cosmopolitan), excellent Danish beers and delicious wine. If you are not much into dancing, you can sit on the ground floor, where the music is not too loud. The ground floor has a bar of its own and conversations are easily made.

The nightclub opens after the concert and it is nice not having to bother with where on earth you are going to go afterwards. During winter and temperatures well below zero degrees Celsius, pub crawling can be less enjoyable. Therefore, you might as well enjoy a full evening in the Jazz House.

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Copenhagen Jazzhouse | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Concert ticket DKK 80.00
Niels Hemmingsensgade 10 | Inner City | +4533154700
Concerts Sun – Thu 20:00, Fri – Sat 21:00

Let it be said right away: I like this place best in the summer. As a café, it is very nice with a tasteful interior and the kitchen and bar are capable of providing a good mainstream product. And this, of course, goes both winter and summer. But in the summertime, its location on the lakeside of one of Copenhagens large, artificial lakes, makes it a gem.

Den Franske Cafe is located on the dividing line between inner Copenhagen and the residential areas of Østerbro. And therefore lends itself perfectly to being a waypoint on a walk along or around one or more of those lakes. Then you can sit and rest outside, under the trees and watch the swans, or people on an evening stroll as you drink your café au lait. Not at all bad.

The menu offering is actually quite broad with typical café/bistro dishes and a breakfast or brunch menu all mornings. And there is a bar capable of beers, wines and even a couple of different cocktails.

Prices are fair to average.

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Den Franske Café | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Café/Bistro)
Sortedam Dossering 101 | Østerbro | +4535424845
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 23:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 23:00 (kitches closes 22:00)

Din Nye Ven is directly translated Your New Friend. And this place is. The place is decorated in a very retro style with different chairs and camping tables which gives the place it’s quirky charm. The guests are mostly young people and very laid back and friendly. You can choose from different kinds of beer along with coffee and cold drinks. They even have their own beer called Din Nye Øl (Your new beer – but you might have guessed). According to fellow Spotter, Mette Walsted, it is very tasty and nice – and at a price of only 20 kr. a bottle, you can strech your budget and still have a night out!

Located in the very charming Latin quarter and with a monthly programme of great acts, DJ’s and art shows this is a great meeting point as well as the place to go for a night on the town. They even sometimes arrange ping-pong tournaments. Please check Din Nye Vens Myspace for special events and updates.

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Din Nye Ven | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Relaxing
Skt. Peders Stræde 34 | Inner City
Mon – Tue 13:00 – 00:00, Wed 16:00 – 00:00, Thu 13:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 13:00 – 02:00

Floss is located in the inner city of Copenhagen and is very close to both The Central Station, The City Square and Nørreport, so its very easy to get there using public transportation.

The first thing you notice about Floss is that everything is painted with graffiti; everything from doorknobs to pool queues is painted.
The bar itself is arranged into an upper and a lower floor, with the upper floor being equipped with tables and a regular bar, and the lower floor being a mixture of relaxed lounge area and a regular pub.

The lower floor is the most interesting part of the bar, seeing that there’s couches, pool tables and a really good foosball table (which we enjoy very much in Copenhagen), so if foosball is one of your interests, you should definitely visit Floss.

Apart from the cool architecture and decoration of the place, there’s also a really great atmosphere, people are often very social and there are people from many different nationalities.

All in all, the alcohol is cheap (happy hour 22:00 – 23:00), the people are friendly and the foosball is spectacular! So if you like any of these things, go visit Floss!

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Floss | Bars | 2 Gold Beer (Happy Hour) DKK 24.00
Larsbjørnsstræde 10 | Inner City | +4533116745
Mon 14:00 – 02:00. Tue – Sat 13:00 – 02:00

The Café Flottenheimer is very charming. A lot of effort has gone into making the place real homey and nice. And it is. Mixed furniture and a rustique feeling.

Located in the absolute center of the city, the cafe (and bar actually) is very nice for just dropping in. Guests are all sorts. Shoppers and chillers. There is a free WIFI network available and you frequently see people working there.

The menu is quite extensive for a small place like this – with convincing offerings in both the food and drink department.

There is a breakfast menu every morning until 12:00 and brunch til 13:00.

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Flottenheimer | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Café au lait DKK 29.00
Skindergade 20 | Inner City | +4535383212
Mon – Wed 10:00 – 23:00, Thu 10:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 02:00, Sun 11:00 – 17:00

Folkets hus (meaning “House for the people”), is a house dedicated to all people, and have been the joy of the neighbourhood for about 25 years now. It is more or less managed by the people going there, and anyone can join in.

There is so much stuff to do in Folkets hus, and I don’t have time to mention them all, but here’s some:

Folkets Hus spillefolk: Musicians arrange the “Ramslag” with music and dancing 2 Fridays a month.

Folkets Hus Choir called Ørevox (meaning “Earwax”) sings each Monday night.

Arabian dancing and folkekøkken (same thing in Germany : Vokü, Volksküche), where volunteers serve ecological meals every sunday evening.

Entry to all events are free, and most food and coffee, you can decide yourself how much you want to pay.

The volunteers at the house are also the arrangers of “The Peacewatch” standing at Christiansborg (Cityhall), most days of the year, in protest of the Iraqi & Afghan wars.

There’s also a forum dedicated to the people interested in philosophy, they agree on a book, and then they discuss, it is held on no specific night, so ask in the café Under Konstruktion.

Café Under Konstruktion, meaning “Under Construction”, which is a wordplay, because the café is always under construction, always evolving into something more.

The Café aims to cast focus on the consumerism and conformity of the common café culture, therefore everybody who works there are volunteers, and they arrange very cheap vegan food, and most of the profit goes to political projects and the maintenance of the café of course.

Folkets hus is truly a house for the people, i hope you will enjoy it as much as i have

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Folkets Hus | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Music
Stengade 50 | Nørrebro
Tue – Thu 14:00 – 23:00, Fri – Sat 14:00 – 00:00, Sun 11:00 – 23:00

Ingolfs Kaffebar is a really good reason to come to Amager. This cosy cafe / restaurant / bar is a favorite among a lot of the locals and with good reason. When you visit Ingolfs you’ll feel taken care of the their friendly staff. You can eat great food in relaxed surroundings. Have great coffee. Listen to live music. Enjoy life!

Ingolfs Kaffebar is a great place to have brunch with the family. Lunch with friends, and a romantic dinner with your sweetheart. Or you can sit and enjoy your own company with coffee and a lovely piece of cake. The choice is yours!
The live events have high priority and you can see the program on the website along with really great photos of prior events.

The people behind Ingolfs Kaffebar also own a similar place in Bornholm.

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Ingolfs Kaffebar | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Café style) | Brunch DKK 114
Ingolfs Allé 3 | Amager | +4532599596
Sun – Mon 10:00 – 22:00, Tue – Sat 10:00 – 00:00

“It was in my grandmothers kitchen at Vasavägen 3 I fell in love with cooking…”

On Vendersgade 16, corner of Nansensgade and Vendersgade, this love for cooking has come to life in the small and cosy Kaffe Kalaset.

Inside lovely vintage radios, record players and framed 50’s magazine covers make up the decorations with a backdrop of the colorful walls. The chairs and tables are all chic secondhand picks of retro style mixed creatively to make a funky, yet laid back atmosphere.

The two owners of Kaffe Kalaset are Swedish and the food a recreation of their grandmothers’ cookbook. A cookbook that I would just love to get my hands on, as the food here is just delicious, made with the everlasting ingredients “simplicity, love and care”.

For a vegetarian like me it even offers quite a few options, which is generally a rarity in Copenhagen. I recommend the vegan burger, which comes with a salad and roasted potatoes from the island of Samsø. The tasty Samsø potatoes are a Danish specialty and highly anticipated each year. With it you could have a pint of Birkebryg or a Bøgebryg – one is a lager the other one sort of ale-like – both really nice draft beer.

Another nice little curiosity (there are too many to name them all) is the blackboard next to the bar where you can leave a treat for your friends. Just write your friends name and the delicacy you have picked for him or her, pay up front to the friendly staff and surprise your friends next time they get there. Sweet.

The only downside is that it gets pretty crowded here, especially on a Friday evening where the temperature and noise levels rise to an incredible high. Still, it is the café I keep coming back to – it is just so lovely.

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Kaffe Kalaset | Bars, Coffee & tea | Kalas Burger DKK 89.00
Vendersgade 16 | Inner City | +4533330035
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 00:00, Fri 11:00 – 02:00, Sat 10:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 23:00

Lê Lê is a Vietnamese New Yorker style street kitchen. Lively, loud, busy, fast, authentic and cool. Four Vietnamese siblings, who came to Denmark, as refugees with their parents a generation ago, own the restaurant. Their family pictures beautify the walls alongside big art works in the huge open space, creating an intimate yet cosy ambiance.

The food is a delicious mix of Vietnamese and European cuisine served quickly and stylishly by a very attentive crowd of staff. With its long tables and benches set up alongside the busy open kitchen Lê Lê is a perfect place if you are lots of people. In the far end of the high ceiled space you will find the smaller tables which are probably better if you happen to be on a date or together in a smaller crowd.

Quite often you will find a long, but surprisingly fast moving queue outside as it is not possible to make reservations ahead. Whilst waiting to be seated you can enjoy a well made cocktail in the bar or lounge in a Chesterfield couch. My personal favourite is the Q4, a fresh mojito style drink with the perfect mix of sour lemons, rum and sweet syrup which will be sure to kick-start your evening to become a fun and uplifting experience. But be careful, all the drinks contain 4cl spirits, so one too many will quickly make you forget what you came for.

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Lê Lê nhà hàng | Bars, Restaurants (Vietnamese) | Main course from DKK 115.00
Vesterbrogade 40 | Vesterbro | +4533227135
Mon – Thu 11:30 – 23:00, Fri – Sat 11:30 – 02:00, Sun 11:30 – 22:00

Beat poetry, Russian propaganda posters, Cuban short films, stand-up opera, French avant-garde, Palestinian sounds, free-jazz performances, Flamenco, spoken word, written words, poetry slam, literary debates, words, words, words… They come to life in an old refurbished Methodist church in Møllegade dating back 1892. A quirky house of literature, Literaturhaus is the first place in Denmark solely dedicated to… well, words.

The idea comes from Germany where so-called “literature houses” are more common, brought to Copenhagen by Paul Opstrup the initiator of LiteraturHaus and run by volunteers. A hub for authors, critics, literates, students and anyone with a love for words Literaturhaus always attracts a variety of people young and old.

The building in itself is also interesting. The raw looking physical space with its high ceiled, sparsely refurbished church room and the intimate living room style café in the basement makes Literaturhaus a suited venue for performances of all kinds. At times somewhat avant-garde for my taste, however you will be guaranteed a new experience and plenty of food for thought.

Apart from having your soul and mind feed,

the cosy café downstairs offers homemade organic meals and drinks every Thursday evening – often there is a vegetarian special as well. Both events and meals are very budget friendly; a meal is generally at 35-40 kr.

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LiteraturHaus | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music | Entrance from DKK 25.00
Møllegade7 | Nørrebro | +4533329818
Tickets by phone or at the place Mon – Fri 12:00 – 16:00

Loppen is yet another fantastic place for musical adventures. It it has existed for about 35 years, and during that period of time, just about every kind of music has been performed.

Though originally called The Viking Jazz Club of Christiana, there have been both electro, punk metal, soul, funk, folk and jazz of course, often the music is quite “dance-friendly”.

Even though this review is specifically about Loppen, I just have to say a couple of words about the location: Christiania.

Christiania serves as a sanctuary for anyone who is tired of the consumerism and routine of everyday life, with its many activities, shops, music venues, restaurants, parties and social gatherings, it is the true center of Copenhagen.

During the summer there are many parties and mini festivals, with music and just about any other kind of entertainment, and during December there is the annual Christmas sale in Grå Hal (The Grey Hall) which showcases just about everything Christiania has to offer.

Back to Loppen: Which means “Flea” by the way, which is the official logo for Loppen, as you can see on the picture.

Loppen is used for many kinds of events, because, with its white chalky walls, wooden floors, wooden pillars and small wooden tables it creates a very intimate atmosphere, which is accommodated by friendly employees and visitors in general.

I advise you to check out their web-page, or ask a local if they know whose playing at Loppen while you’re in town, and I suggest you go see it no matter what is playing

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Loppen | Bars, Music | Entry fee from DKK 30.00
Sydområdet 4B 1. Sal | Christianshavn
Concerts 21:00

Madmanifesten is a hidden treasure in Amager. Tucked away in Tyrolgade just by Amagerbrogade and Øresundsvej this very modern place to eat doesn’t have huge signs and flashing lights. They get you on the hook with wonderful meals made from organic products of the season.

The course of the day is what the kitchen wants to cook and that makes this place stand out from the other cafes in the area. The staff is great at telling you about the specials of the day and you can feel that this place is made from love. I can also warmly recommend the weekend brunch buffet.

This is also a good place to take the kids, but don’t worry if you don’t have any – and don’t want the McDonalds playroom next to your dinner. In the back of café is a really cool playroom that almost makes you want to be 7 years old again.

And when you are at Madmanitesten – look up! They have really cool pictures in the ceiling. And the rest of the decor is also beautiful and simple. I especially like the black Verner Panton lamps hanging over all the tables. Please note that the place is usually quite crowded, so reservations are needed if you are a larger group of people.

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Madmanifesten | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Organic) | Main DKK 120
Tyrolgade 6 | Amager | +4532230300
Sun – Thu 10:00 – 16:00 & 17:00 – 21:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 16:00 & 17:00 – 22:00

Overdrevet (meaning “Exaggeration” as a reference to the Punk lifestyle) is the name of Det Nye Ungdomshus. The new name refers to the much loved Jagtvej 69 Youthhouse, which was torn down some time ago.

Overdrevet has tried to recreate the mood and activities of the old youth-house, and succeeded, it won’t ever be the same as Jagtvej69 which was loved by the alternative movement all over Europe, but its a start.

The place is more or less dedicated to the “Young Punk” movement, meaning hard rocking music, drinking & Living, the fact that their bar is called “The Deathmachine” serves as a hint.

But there’s much more to the youth-house than that, and the people going there are very open-minded toward all kinds of people, completely blind to appearance or music taste.

When the place opened, they were very keen on letting everyone see the place, so during the morning and afternoon, the parents, grandparents and children came to see the new place, while listening to jazzy easy listening music and watching galleries with the history of Jagtvej 69.

During the evening the young people took over the place with many types of music, punk & hip-hop included of course.

A perfect example to describe the agenda of the new youth-house, is the monthly hiphop gathering with the motto : “We’re anti-commercialist, anti-profit, anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-drugs & Anti-Anti”, and as you might have suspected the people coming to this place, are on the far far left on the political scale, but as said, anyone is welcome.

There is also a very nice café upstairs for reading books, the books are of free use, most are in danish, but it should be possible to find something in English, German or french as well, only open during the day though.

It’s wicked, punk and exciting, see you at Overdrevet

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Overdrevet | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Music
Dortheavej 51 | NV
Daily, just knock on the door and be nice

Its easy to spot Props when walking along Blågårdsgade in the heart of Nørrebro. The amount of bicycles parked outside the entrance bear witness to a popular local café. Looking through the large dim lit windows you will see a young relaxed crowd of people sipping hot drinks and beer.

Inside, the café interior is made up of secondhand furniture, vintage posters and paintings on the walls. However, you can never be sure that it will be the same next time you visit as everything in here is up for sale. Even the chair you sit on could potentially be sold whilst you rest your tired little bum-cheeks on it – and you will be asked to move somewhere else. The owner spotted the concept in a bar in Norway in the mid-nineties and brought it back home to Nørrebro.

Props to me represent the very essence of Nørrebro with its mix of people, its charmingly scruffy interior, the relaxed taste in music and a creative, international atmosphere. It is small, cozy, arty, relaxed, fairly cheap and not the least incredibly friendly.

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Props | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Beer DKK 25
Blågårdsgade 5 | Nørrebro
Mon – Wed 11:00 – 00:00, Thu – Sat 11:00 – 02:00, Sun 12:00 – 23:00

Opened in 2007, Salon 39 is an ambitious attempt at a cocktail bar + restaurant. And the place is a huge success, so if you want to eat, remember to book in advance. The style is relaxed in a dark minimalistic atmosphere and the jazz or blues music is – of course – from vinyl stock.

Both cocktails and kitchen are of a very high standard with a wide selection of cocktails – including exotic numbers like the classic Sazerac with absinthe, for instance. The kitchen favours simple but excellent menus with an obvious Italian bias. The audience is a mix of locals and people who come from far away to experience this rather unique place. I like!

Salon 39 has expanded with a banqueting room for parties up to 25 people.

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Salon 39 | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Bistro – Italian) | Cocktails from DKK 75.00
Vodroffsvej 39 | Frederiksberg | +4539208039
Wed – Thu 16:00 – 23:30, Fri – Sat 16:00 – 01:30

What better to nourish your soul than with soup? What better to brighten your mood than with cocktails? And what better place to go than Soupanatural in Guldbergsgade? Not only is everything organic – 1 Dkr. out of every soup or cocktail you buy go to charity. And the cocktails are min. 4 cl. alcohol. What’s not to like? I’ll hop on my bike for soup and cocktails like that any night!

Soupanatural offers 4-6 different kinds of soups daily. You can order 250 ml. or 400 ml. with the special of the day costing 30,-/40,- They also have a good selection of cocktails – and you can get everything to go. But the place is really a great place to hang out, so stay in and enjoy the comfort food, cocktails and organic beer. See the selection on the website.

If you are up and about early and want a good start on you day – try the porridge and a smoothie. They open at 08:00 most weekdays.

The location is very typical Nørrebro with a very environmentally way of making business. They don’t just talk about making a greener world – they start with the soup and everything that goes with it. The service is friendly and welcoming and even though the space is quite small the heart behind is big and warm.

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Soupanatural | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Organic) | Soup from DKK 35
Guldbergsgade 7A | Nørrebro
Sun – Tue & Thu 12:00 – 22:00, Wed, Fri & Sat 12:00 – 02:00

I stumbled upon this place by the end of a lazy saturday morning drifting along Istedgade, shopping bags in hand and ready for a hot well-brewed coffee.

It doesn’t have a name yet, and the friendly, laid back owners of this daytime coffee-shop, night time bar, do not seem to be in a real hurry to get one either. In fact everything about this place seems like its done in a pace that is just nice and chilled, perfect for more or less hungover days in Vesterbro.

It has a warm feeling to it, letting you know that it’s all about the people who come there and not so much about trying to be anymore than what it is – a “coffee bar”. Leftover wall paper illustrations from the previous Hansen ice cream shop and their own blue zebra artwork gives you the impression that all of it was just always here. Even the two gaming machines Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior fit in perfectly and adds to the feeling of a place that is very “real”…less neat, more Vesterbro.

So tell your friends, and stop by Enghave Plads for your coffee or beer. It’s that little purple place…

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Stumbled upon… | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Relaxing | Large latte DKK 30
Enghave Plads | Vesterbro
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 23:00, Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 10:00 – 18:00

There are so many activities at this place, so this review will mostly be a run through:

Some basic information: The place is located in one of the hip quarters of Copenhagen called Nørrebro, the bar is quite new, and located amongst shawarma stands and ethnic shops.

The bar is owned by an Irishman, which also explains why it is named after a Latin quarter in Dublin.

During the day the place is a cozy café where you can drink your coffee and have one of their many sandwiches and wraps.

It is decorated with contemporary art, which is replaced regularly, which gives the place a very lively character.

Besides the decorations, the bar also has a very casual look, with old couches and big chairs for relaxing.

On the upper floor there are pin-ball machines, pool and of course : Fussball.

2 Wednesday nights a month is Quiz Nights, which is jolly good ole family friendly fun with a prize for the winner, and a good time for everyone.

There is also Stand-up on Wednesday nights, but its in danish, so would probably be a confusing experience for people coming from other countries.

Another activity is Café Scientifique, which is a intellectual forum where anyone can join in, the concept hails from Paris, but now thrives in many places in Europe, it is not placed on a specific night, so an idea would be to ask the employees when the next meeting is, oh and its free.

Final information : the bar is divided into a smoking and a non-smoking section, so everyone is welcome

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Temple Bar | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Beer DKK 21.00
Nørrebrogade 48 | Nørrebro
Sun – Wed 13:00 – 01:00, Thu 13:00 – 03:00, Fri – Sat 13:00 – 05:00

If you are traveling for a longer period of time and need to get your dirty clothes washed, then there is no better place to do so than at Laundromat Café in Elmegade. With the wireless Internet you can even check your emails whilst smelly socks take care of themselves in one of the four shiny red launderettes in the back.

Whilst waiting for your laundry, or if you just happened to pop by the café to enjoy a good strong cappuccino, you can enjoy a good selection of magazines and newspapers or read one of their 4000 books, all of which are stylishly lined up in the bar according to colour. Lounge on the red leather diner style benches and have a look at the wall boxes decorated by young local artists or designers.

Wallpaper a few years ago labeled the place “the worlds hippest launderette” and without having visited all the launderettes in the world so far I would have to agree. The general crowd here is the young urbanites, designers, creatives, and students. Hip and arty. A flashy Mac laptop is more common here than not.

Only downside to the place is the prices, which are, well… quite hip! Laundromat is probably the most expensive place to enjoy your coffee in Nørrebro. Saying that the homemade food and the overall superior quality make me come back to enjoy the cozy atmosphere. Besides, not many cafés in Copenhagen are open this early, 08:00, so often it becomes my morning hang out before a long day of work.

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The Laundromat Café | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Latte DKK 32.00
Elmegade 15 | Nørrebro | +4535352672
Mon -Thu 08:00 – 00:00, Fri 08:00 – 02:00, Sat 10:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 00:00

If you’re traveling through Copenhagen, Moose would be a delight to drop by.

Not only because it’s a fun place to be, it is also filled with travelers like yourself! The people going to The Moose are mostly young people, consisting of students, workers and travelers from all over the world. It is also very popular amongst people who have moved to Copenhagen from other countries, simply because its a great place to meet new people.

The bar itself is divided into 2 parts, the front which is always packed with people, and the back room which is also packed, but its a bit easier to find a place to sit.
Within the regular “all-nighter” criteria i might add that Moose has : Fussball, cheap beer, friendly personnel, smoking allowed, and last but not least: open till very late

Moose doesn’t have : A dance-floor and walls without graffiti. So if you’re walking down the main street and feel like “Moosing”, just ask the first person with funny fashion style and funky hair, and they will definitely be able to show you Moose, and possibly join you for a Pint as well

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The Moose | Bars | 0.5 L Draft beer DKK 20.00
Sværtegade 5 | Inner City | +4533914291
Mon 13:00 – 03:00, Tue – Wed 13:00 – 06:00, Thu – Sat 13:00 – 07:00 Sun 13:00 – 03:00

It is one of those waterfront spots. The Royal Danish Play House is the newly inaugurated (2008) play scene of the Royal Danish Theatre and is located beautifully on the waterfront – just opposite the also fairly new opera.

Apart from the theatre itself, there is a restaurant, a cocktail bar and the café – all of them open for all including non theater goers.

If you want to dine somewhere out of the ordinary, I recommend the restaurant. Named after Ofelia, Hamlet’s lass, the restaurant is set in this huge, yet strangely intimate, industrial room with nothing but space, sky and the water. And white linen tablecloths. Definetely. The kitchen matches the unique setting with excellent offerings for brunch, lunch and dinner.

The café serves good quality without being cosmic about it. Light meals, fine teas, quality beer and of course coffee variants to your heart’s content.

And then there is the cocktail bar, in this perfect setting, which is quite serious about its cocktails and will serve you classics as well as some unique house cocktails. Opens at 18:30.

The place has free wireless Internet (indoors – possibly reachable outside – didn’t check). I recommend the website with more details, i.e. wine, actual menus and so on.

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The Royal Danish Playhouse | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Theaters, Restaurants (Intern.)
Sankt Annæ Plads 36 | Inner City | +4533693931
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 23:30

This cosy spot at Sortedamssøen has it all. Great coffee of all kinds. Check! Extensive menue. Check! Nice view of the lake. Check! Vinyl records in the cieling of the restroom. Check! The last part is almost my favorite thing about the place – but all of the decor has that very retro/low key feel that makes you feel welcome and at home. Oh – and if you have a dog, it’s allowed to go inside as well.

Vinylbar is great for brunch as it offers a large buffet. Order a warm drink and get cosy inside. Or watch the eager runners sprint by, the new moms with their strollers, old people with dogs and just life in general. Be careful when stepping outside – you have to cross a cycle path. You can also stay for dinner and in the evening there’s cocktails and music.

This is one of those all through the day kind of places to hang out and enjoy the city.

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Vinylbar | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (cafe style) | Brunch DKK 75.00
Sortedamsdosseringen 81 | Østerbro
Mon – Wed 10:00 – 22:00, Thu – Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 10:00 – 19:00