Where To Eat in Copenhagen If You Didn’t Get Into Noma

If you can eat at Noma, René Redzepi’s pioneering Danish restaurant that’s among the best in the world, you should—it’s worth the hype. But that’s a pretty sizable if. At about $450 per person, excluding drinks, the price can be prohibitive. And good luck securing a reservation—tables are released three times a year through its online ticketing system and are gone like the wind. Plus, Noma shutters in between its three “seasons,” so no dice if your trip to Copenhagen is booked during a closure. The good news is that Noma’s gravitational pull has drawn promising chefs from around the world to Copenhagen like moths to a three-Michelin-star flame. Whether it’s the abundance of bike lanes, the universal health care, or the daylight-filled summers, many members of Noma’s extended family and alumni network have put down permanent roots in the Danish capital and opened food businesses of their own. The eatin’ is good in CPH—whether you make it to Noma or not.

The Essentials

When to go
Summer, to take advantage of 17 hours of daylight.

Where to stay
Live out your modernist dreams at any number of elegant Airbnbs in Nørrebro, or stay centrally at the slick Skt. Petri hotel.

What to bring back
Chocolate-covered licorice from Lakrids by Bülow for your friends who love licorice unabashedly.

You may find yourself wondering, as you stare at the ceiling while owner and sommelier Riccardo Marcon pours grappa directly into your open mouth, How did I end up here? Here is a modest-looking Italian spot in the city center started by the former head sommelier of 108, Noma’s shuttered sister restaurant. Pre-pandemic, Barabba was a late-night industry spot and even now, go on a Tuesday and you may find your somm from Saturday enjoying her “weekend.” Ask Marcon to pair your pasta (yes, you should spring for the spaghetti with anchovy butter and a gob of caviar) with whatever he’s most excited about. You won’t regret it, though the grappa may be a different story altogether.