Where to drink schnapps before noon and hot-people-watch in Copenhagen

A Little Gems guide.

In the last (aka the first) issue of Little Gems, I told you about my favorite shopping experience in Copenhagen, with a guy named Fleming.

As promised, and because I cannot help myself, here are six more little gems from a city absolutely littered with them: 

Silberbauers Bistro 

Eat if you like: Diner and Roman’s (NYC), All Time (LA)

Good for: Shutting the place down 

My favorite meal of the trip, Silberbauers feels like the cool (but not too cool) spot that locals would probably prefer to keep for themselves. Red-checked tablecloths and family-style portions keep it casual, but the food (modern twists on classic French) is seriously so good. The kind of place where you’ll want to order a bottle and linger.

we were the last ones there

La Banchina 

Go if you like: Barton Springs Pool (Austin)

Good for: Making you resent wherever it is that you live, because it’s not Copenhagen 

I grew up going to Barton Springs Pool in Austin – a place where anyone and everyone can show up and while away an afternoon in the sun, cooling off in the freezing cold water, sipping on discreet beverages. La Banchina is the only place I’ve ever been that has truly reminded me of that energy. It’s a cafe and natural wine bar, attached to a big dock, where you can lie down and read, chit chat, take a dip, and hot-people-watch.

paradise

Barr 

Eat if you like: Destroyer (LA), Tørst (NYC), Place des Fêtes (NYC)

Good for: a first meal in Copenhagen 

The schnitzel at Barr is, without a doubt, one of the best things I have eaten all year. The massive fried cutlet comes out with a sauce that is currently living rent-free in my brain: brown butter, capers, anchovy, and whole lemon segments. I keep thinking about how hard it is for me to achieve brown butter when the only thing I’m doing is browning the butter…but browning it WITH all of those things in the mix? A feat I’m currently working up the courage to try in my own kitchen.

Holding myself accountable to recreating this sauce this fall.

Lille 

Eat if you like: Gjusta (LA), Radio (NYC)

Good for: Finding bliss in an all-bread diet

You have probably heard that the bread in Copenhagen is good. And that there are many, many places to find it. Lille was my favorite carb experience in the city. My order was bread, butter, cheese, and jam; focaccia with ricotta; and a bacon tart.

Essentially my Copenhagen food pyramid in one photo.

Hotel Sanders

Stay if you like: morning candlelight, hygge (in the original sense of the word, before Americans made it cringe)

Good for: mixing pleasure with work

An absolutely lovely hotel that nails the special Copenhagen combination of sexy-cozy. Case in point: the lobby is almost exclusively lit by perfectly-maintained taper candles (I never saw a drip) that burn 24/7. If you happen to be working through your vacation, like I was, this hotel is an excellent place to do so. 

Restaurant Schønnemann

Eat if you like: Keen’s Steakhouse (NYC), daytime at The Grill (NYC), Disneyland (in theory, not reality)

Good for: wet lunch 

At Schønnemann, the suggestion of schnapps with lunch isn’t some tourist-targeted upsell. You look at all the tables around you, and you realize: lunch schnapps is a way of life (and has been, at this particular establishment, since 1877). After walking into this pristine temple of smørrebrød, where the dishes are immaculate and the velvety booths are cushy and the silverware is heavy and the servers have strong, perfect opinions, I never wanted to leave.

I’m going to leave you with this shrimp tower toast, because I don’t think there’s a better sendoff than that.

That’s it for my Copenhagen Coverage (at least for now)! Next time: an impromptu shopping expedition with

Joyce Lee

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