While traditional Danish food is certainly meat-centric, I did not have trouble finding vegetarian food when I visited Copenhagen. No matter where I travel to, I tend to find out in advance good vegetarian-friendly places to eat. Here’s my food guide to Copenhagen and it is vegetarian-friendly.
Food Markets
Whether vegetarian or not, one cannot really go hungry from a food market. Every time I visit a new place, I try to visit at least one food market because not only are they a one-stop destination for all types of foodies (great when travelling in a group) but also offer an insight into the local food and produce, the culture and the workings of daily local life. In an expensive place like Copenhagen, an added advantage is that eating in a food market will be easier on your pocket as compared to a restaurant.
Torvehallerne
Right by the Nørreport Station, Torvehallerne is a foodie-paradise in the form of an upscale covered market. Fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, meat and fish, cooked food, gourmet artisanal products, sweet treats, coffee, beer and wine – Torvehallerne has it all. Since it was a short walk from our Airbnb, we happened to go to Torvehallerne a couple of times during our stay in Copenhagen.
My favourite pick for lunch has to be Hallernes Smørrebrød. Smørrebrød is the traditional Danish open-faced sandwich made with rye bread topped with a variety of fresh, local ingredients. If you eat meat, you will be spoilt for choices at Hallernes Smørrebrød. Luckily they had one vegetarian option called Kartoffelmad which was made with potatoes, crispy fried onions, mayonnaise and thyme. Although the ingredients sound simple, the combination was fantastic and delicious!
Smørrebrød – Kartoffelmad
The stall that we most visited during our stay was The Coffee Collective – be it for our morning fuel or an afternoon pick-me-up. We had heard that they make the best coffee in Copenhagen and they certainly lived up to the expectations with their high quality, fantastic coffee made with passion.
And while my coffee was being made, I may have sneaked across to Laura’s Bakery to get some Cinnabuns, those heavenly cinnamon-flavoured swirls.
Cinnabun
When in Copenhagen, Torvehallerne is a must-try! Your taste-buds will thank you 😉
Address: Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København K, Denmark
Copenhagen Street Food Market
Copenhagen Street Food Market is another fantastic food market located on the Paper Island (Papirøen). Connected to Nyhavn by a footbridge, it is very well located and worth a visit when you need a food break from all the sightseeing. With food stalls, trucks and bars serving cuisines from all over the world, there are various options for vegetarians, non-vegetarians, vegan, etc. Unlike Torvehallerne, there is plenty of seating available. If the weather is nice, you can sit on the deck chairs on the pier enjoying the city views else inside in the covered hall where the food stalls are. They also have events with live music, DJ’s, etc. which means a lot of locals like to hang out here too.
Latienda – Vegetarian Columbian Food – Vegan pulled seitan burger with crispy plantain chips on the side.
Address: Hal 7 & 8 Papirøen, Trangravsvej 14, 7/8, 1436 København K, Denmark
**Copenhagen Street Food Market is soon closing down and moving to a new location.
Restaurants
Mad & Kaffe
Mad & Kaffe is a very popular Copenhagen restaurant and I found out about it from my “research” on Instagram when I was planning my trip. Keeping with the Danish tradition of focus on local, high quality ingredients, Mad & Kaffe serve excellent food that is also beautifully served making it completely Insta-worthy. Since they do no accept bookings, we reached there quite early in the morning (9 am) for breakfast and it was already full. After about a 10 minute wait we got a table inside the restaurant which was warm, cosy and welcoming. You can build your own breakfast by choosing items from a checklist. 3 items cost 85DKK, 5 items 125DKK and 7 items 150DKK.
Address: Sønder Blvd. 68, 1720 København V, Denmark
The Union Kitchen
Another breakfast/brunch and another restaurant I found through Instagram – so typical of me, right? 😉 What made me choose The Union Kitchen was the pictures of coffee that they serve with super cute words as latte art. The cosy, bustling restaurant is very close to Nyhavn and Amalienborg making it a perfect pit stop for a delicious grub.
The Green Bowl – Masala spiced lentils, shaved broccoli, roasted sweet potato, poached egg, pistachio, pea shoots, onion chutney
Crisps!!
Address: Store Strandstræde 21, 1255 København K, Denmark
Morgenstedet
Morgenstedet is a vegetarian restaurant, running since over 20 years, in the heart of the bohemian Freetown Christiania neighbourhood. They serve wholesome food prepared using organic, local produce. The food is cooked by volunteers and draws influence from various world cuisines. The menu which changes based on who is volunteering on the day, is usually a short and sweet one – a soup, few salads and a couple of mains. For delicious vegetarian food at affordable prices, I would highly recommend visiting this cute restaurant set in a white cottage with pebbled courtyard surrounded by a picket fence.
Thai Red Curry with vegetables
Potato Gratin with broccoli hummus and salad.
Address: Fabriksområdet 134, 1440 København K, Denmark
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Do you have anything to add to my Vegetarian Food Guide to Copenhagen? I’d love to know!
Want to read more about Copenhagen? Check out my Copenhagen travel guide!
Cheers,
Ameeta xx
Oh this is wonderful! I also loved the smorrebrod the last i was in Copenhagen and it was divine! I will need to refer back to this post as I love to have vegetarian options while traveling as well.
Author
Thanks Jin 🙂 Smørrebrød was definitely on my list to must-eat in Copenhagen 🙂
Oh wow, all of these look amazing! I went to Copenhagen in February this year on assignment and on a strict budget, so I couldn’t afford to properly explore Copenhagen’s food scene, but I plan to go back one summer and rectify this! 🙂
Author
Copenhagen can get so expensive and that’s where food markets come so handy, don’t you think? I would love to hear your experience when you go back and explore the food scene there 🙂
All of this looks so delicious! Not a veggie, but love the option. Thanks for sharing.
Author
It was very delicious Amy 🙂 The good thing about this guide is that I tried to include places which cater to all type of foodies including veggies.
This post is very useful for me! This Vegan pulled seitan burger with crispy plantain chips on the side looks delicious! I am vegetarian for about five months now… Will definitely save this list for later when I will visit Copenhagen. I went to Copenhagen Street Food Market before, and loved this place.
Author
I am so happy that you found this useful. I spent so much time in Copenhagen Street Food Market simply checking out all the stalls before I could decide what I wanted to order. There are so many good options there.
I lived in Copenhagen and saw many vegan restaurants. All your pictures look so yummy!
Author
Thank you, it must be so nice to live in such a cool and stylish city!
Loved this! I ate a lot of the same foods – and some fish haha. I’m not a vegetarian but I do eat like one a lot of the time. Will need to remember some of these places the next time I go!
My taste buds want me to take a trip to Copenhagen asap. Yum!
Omigosh, my mouth is watering now! That vegan burger looked delicious and I love plantain chips. Looks like some great restaurants to try!
The vegan burger looks scrumptious! Your colourful food guide’s inspiring me to make a trip to Denmark!
Saving this! I’m heading to Denmark for a few days next May and am simultaneously trying to eat less meat. Can’t wait to try some of these!
Author
Wow! You already seem to have your 2018 travel plans sorted 🙂 I am glad you liked my post and hope you find it useful when you visit Copenhagen. It’s such a cool city, you will have a great time!