Best specialty coffee in Copenhagen, Denmark

The specialty coffee scene in Copenhagen has changed so much in the last years that it has been hard to keep track of it. However, some establishments stand out (in my humble point of view). Let’s divide them the best specialty coffee in Copenhagen by neighborhoods, which will make things easier:

Specialty Coffee Shops and Cafés in Copenhagen

Specialty coffee in Copenhagen’s city center

The city center has a high density of specialty coffee shops (spread in between of coffee chins and dripping jar coffee places, beware). The Coffee Collective is a coffee institution in the city by now and considered by many as the best cup of coffee in the city. There are two establishments in the city center: the coffee shop with old Bodega decor and the stand in Torvehallerne, the food market. Another popular coffee shop is Forloren Espresso, a shoe box-sized Danish café with japanese intimacy and delicious light roast beans from Aarhus. CUB Coffee Bar is a cozy coffee shop where they roast their own beans to make one of the most flavourful cups of coffee in the city. Also, the baristas offer courses for the most interested!

The Coffee Collective is the most known spot for a good coffee. Photo credit: Chris Tonnesen

Democratic Coffee, has its main location in the library close to Nørreport, which makes it very popular with students (it’s a great place to study). They roast their single origin beans in a different location in the city. A tip: pair it with their delicious almond croissant. Another popular spot is Café det Hvide Hus, meaning the “white house”, where you can taste a delicious cup of coffee, taste their insane popsicle and bump into Noma’s head chef René Redzepi, among others. One of my favourite spots is Café Atelier September, a former antique shop converted into a simple and beautiful coffee shop with not only an outstanding cup of coffee but also delicious cozy food like sourdough bread with cheese or rye toast with avocado.

Atelier September is bohemian and chill, and serves great coffee and food. What else do you need? Photo credit: Dianne Pavletich

Kompa’9 is a particularly quirky and charming little coffee shop focusing on organic coffee and fair prices. It is also a great place to work or study and they offer breakfast and lunch. Sonny goes on a different direction, elegant and stylish (but always with hygge in mind). The owner couple were inspired in a Paris high-end coffee bar. They have a little backyard that is perfect for a coffee break on a sunny day and they serve some delicious food as well.

Kompa’9 offers organic coffee, cozy surroundings and fair prices. Photo credit: Dianne Pavletich

Specialty coffee in Nørrebro

Nørrebro also has a lot of specialty coffee shops, in this case more filled with locals than the ones in the section above. One of my recurrent spots is Mirabelle, the bakery adjoined to italian restaurant Bæst governed by – Noma alumni – Christian Puglisi. Ecologic produce is key in this bakery and the decor is fantastic.

Mirabelle is as good a bakery as it is flawlessly decorated. Photo credit: Andrea Núñez

Andersen & Maillard is also a bakery, with delicious specialty coffee (the flat white is beautiful) and outstanding airy croissants that barely make it out of the oven before someone buys them, and it is decorated in a minimalist industrial style. Nørrebro also has its own The Coffee Collective, which mixes a good cup of coffee from directly sourced beans and a minimalist Scandinavian decor that screams – or probably whispers – of hygge.

Taste the delicious flat white and the airy croissants at Andersen & Maillard. Photo credit: Andrea Núñez

Vesterbro

Vesterbro is the epicenter of cozy coffee shops in the city. Let’s start with Prolog, located in the trendy meatpacking district. This little coffee spot roasts their beans in the city (in the same place as Democratic Coffee) and have, in my opinion, the best coffee in the city. You’ll want to take some of those beans with you. Also, the croissants are to die for. Another fantastic place is Rist, a really tiny specialty coffee shop with delicious coffee, a cozy industrial decor, really friendly staff and located in a really cool street. On a sunny day seat on the little chairs outside.

Rist Kaffebar is a small coffee shop located on the lovely street Værnedamsvej on the edge of Frederiksberg and Vesterbro. Photo credit: Astrid Maria Rasmussen

A bit away from the tourist reach is Enghave Kaffe, a strange English pub-looking coffee bar with a motorbike theme but still making you feel like you’re in someone’s strange living room. Coffee is taken seriously here. Another name in the coffee scene in Copenhagen is Risteriet, which not only has an excellent cup of coffee, but also sells high-end equipment for your coffee at home. You can also buy green beans and roast them yourself! They have this shop in Halmtorvet and another one in the city center. Democratic Coffee has also a brewing point here.

Specialty coffee in Amager

In this section I include Amager itself as well as Islands Brygge, Christianshavn and Holmen. I will start with Café Alma, a delight of a café that serves amazing coffee and delicious food, all within a romantic cozy atmosphere. It was a pit stop for me for a while since I was living next door. Very close, also in Islands Brygge, the little but strong ROAST (Also a frequent visit for me) keeps serving coffee made with passion by Andreas and Joe. Not only they have one of the best cups of coffee in town, but they share the retail price of coffee 50-50 with the farmers. They have another coffee shop in the city center. These two establishments are predominantly visited by locals.

The clean cut Islands Brygge establishment of ROAST. Photo credit: ROAST.

The Corner 108 (CLOSED) is the coffee and wine bar of restaurant 108, one of Noma’s children. This is a high-end coffee bar that enjoys experimenting with flavors from coffee beans roasted by Tim Wendelboe in Oslo. The coffee has no pretensions or special presentation, but it is extremely tasty and regularly priced. CUB Coffee Bar has another establishment in Amager as well.

Not specialty but nice coffee and concept

Besides the top-notch specialty coffee spots, there are many establishments that offer a great cup of coffee in a particularly nice space with something special. An example is Sidecar, which is somewhat a mix of things, without committing fully to any. It is a coffee shop, yes, but it is also a brunch buffet, they make smørrebrød, some days it is taken over by japanese street food cooks MaoBao and in the evening they serve cocktails. Laundromat Café has also a special concept. You bring your dirty clothes and leave them in the washing machines, have a cup of coffee or some nice food and wait for your laundry to be done!

Wait for your clothes to be washed with a cup of coffee at Laundromat Café. Photo credit: Laundromat Café.

Next Door Café is decorated in a wonderfully random way. Purple walls covered in framed mirrors, tattooed staff, tables with bills, pictures, stamps… just fun! One of my recurrent cafés in Copenhagen is Bastard Café, a cozy café where you can play any of the thousands of board games that they have stored in the shelf like if it was a library. Some of them are free to use and some you can rent, but it surely makes a fun rainy afternoon playing Settlers of Catan, Pandemic or whichever is your favorite one. They have it.

Play you favourite board games at Bastard Café

Try the delicious coffee at Swedish café Kalaset or enjoy a cozy chat sitting on the vintage furniture of Espresso Huset (Not to be confused with the Espresso House chain that has conquered the city). For a more upbeat atmosphere, sit on the terraces of Café Bopa or Pixie in Østerbro and get ready for a fun night afterwards. You can also spend a quirky afternoon having a cup of coffee in Central Hotel & Café, the world’s smallest hotel (with only one room). It has a unique interior design putting other boutique hotels to shame, and a wonderful cafeteria with good coffee and hearty food.

Have a regular sized coffee at the world’s smalles hotel at Central Hotel & Café. Photo credit: Thomas Høyrup Christensen

Closing statement

There are many places to enjoy a specialty coffee in Copenhagen. Whether it is a cold winter day or a rainy afternoon and you want to warm up or if it’s a sunny day and you take it to go, make sure you sip some of these fantastic coffees.

Make sure you have a look at Feast of Travel’s other top picks for places to eat and drink in Copenhagen. You can also browse by category:

→ Where to eat in Copenhagen: Traditional Danish food

→ Where to eat in Copenhagen: New Nordic cuisine

→ Where to eat in Copenhagen: International food

→ Where to eat in Copenhagen: Breakfast and Brunch

→ Copenhagen nightlife: Pubs, Wine bars and Clubs

Copenhagen has a lot to offer in the kitchen, but also much more! Have a look at our guide of Copenhagen and the day trips you can take while staying in the city:

→ Top 15 things to do in Copenhagen, Denmark

→ Day trips from Copenhagen: Top 9 excursions

If you’re interested in Copenhagen, you’ll probably like this one too:

→ North Jutland: a beginner’s guide to the North of Denmark

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