So a fairly significant amount of my time in Denmark has centered around drinks, whether they be of the caffeinated or alcoholic variety. Popping into a cafe or bar is a nice way to take a break in the afternoon or evening, and can be a great way to enjoy a Copenhagen patio. So I figured a blog post was in store to share interesting aspects about drinking in Copenhagen!
Caffeine
As in most places in Europe, drip coffee is not a standard cafe menu option. The Danes are all about espresso, with many cafes lining the streets. Ian and I are bodum coffee drinkers at home, and opted not to pack our bodum once our Airbnb host confirmed his kitchen is stocked with a bodum and coffee bean grinder. Perfect, we thought. Well, true to European form, we’ve replaced our morning bodum coffee with a daily morning espresso. This habit was kicked off when one of my best friends came to visit for a couple days, with Italian espresso in tow. Ever since her visit at the very beginning of our trip, we’ve been sipping espresso over breakfast.
Yet since we’re used to larger quantities of caffeine, most afternoons involve stopping in to a local cafe to grab another caffeinated beverage. There are an abundance of cafes in our neighbourhood (Vesterbro) so it’s easy to walk downstairs and grab something. Or, we might take a break, visit another neighbourhood, and pop into a cafe there. Either way, Copenhagen has an abundance. All have free wifi, which we kinda love, and most have benches on the sidewalk in front of their storefront. It is far more common here to have patio benches than patio tables and chairs. They take up less sidewalk space, and they’re more communal.
Pricing: Caffeinated beverages are pricey in Denmark, or at least in Copenhagen. We’d been forewarned that Copenhagen is expensive, and this is true largely for restaurant food and drink. Grocery store prices are reasonable to standard vis-a-vis Canada, but an espresso will easily cost $6-$7 CAD.
And lastly, Danes appear to love their independent cafes, or very small local chains. There is one mainstream chain cafe I see fairly frequently otherwise they are independents. Starbucks is essentially a no-show here. Because I’d seen so few locations, I googled it. Outside of mall locations, the airport, and the train station, there appear to be only a couple Starbucks locations in Copenhagen. While Danes love their coffee, they love their independents and obviously the demand is not there for Starbucks, which is especially overpriced here. A grande latte runs you $10 CAD.
Alcohol
Like caffeinated drinks, beer is also expensive in Denmark if you’re going out for a pint. At Mikkeller, Copenhagen’s most comprehensive beer bar, now with multiple locations, two pints cost us exactly $30 CAD. That being said, the beer was delicious. With over 40 taps to choose from and employees who willing hand out samples, you’d be hard pressed not to find something for everyone. Further, the atmosphere at each location is fun, hip, and with minimalist Scandinavian style. I didn’t want to be that person taking pictures of the entire bar, but here are a couple I managed to grab.
Because Copenhagen is home to Carlsberg brewery, there’s a wide selection of different Carlsberg brews. We stocked up on a number at the grocery store to try throughout our stay.
Given our close proximity to Sweden, we took a short commuter train ride to Malmö, Sweden, on Tuesday for the afternoon/evening, mainly so we could say we’ve been to Sweden. It was not very different from Denmark, except tipping small quantities at restaurants and bars is customary, unlike in Denmark. Luckily, we’d learned this so we could tip our friendly and amazing bartender at Malmö Brygghus.
Like many places in the world, though unlike many Canadian provinces, alcohol is sold in grocery stores here. Prices are reasonable and comparable to Canada. Further, grocery stores accept empties in an automated bottle return machine, and spit out store credits. No need to go to a separate location to return your bottles!
Lastly, public drinking is also allowed. So if you want to grab a beer and drink it in a park, go right ahead! Further, many restaurants and bars have beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) available to stay or to go. A cocktail bar below has this sandwich board sign:
Despite the price tags, drinks in Denmark are of a very high standard and delicious. We still have several spots left on our list of recommendations for drinks and espresso as we kick off our final week in Copenhagen.
On today’s agenda: train ride north of the city to Louisiana, Denmark’s premiere modern art museum. It’s along the water so we’re bringing our bikes to ride up and down the coast, checking out the large mansions that line the water’s edge.
Happy weekend!
Jenn's Thoughts 