RestaurantCopenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark
Kanalens Frokoststue: Smørrebrød Done Properly
A Copenhagen lunch room that still follows the rules
$$$Mon-Sat 11:30-16:00
Rye bread, cold beer and a schnapps if you dare: our favourite place to learn the order, and the etiquette, of the Danish open sandwich.
The verdict
Smørrebrød is a lunch dish, and the best places to eat it close by four in the afternoon. Kanalens Frokoststue is one of those: a low-ceilinged basement room a few steps from Nyhavn, with checked tablecloths, a printed menu you tick with a pencil and a counter of open sandwiches built to order.
The rye bread is dense, sour and baked in-house. Toppings are generous without tipping into excess: pickled herring three ways, warm fried plaice with remoulade, roast pork with crackling and red cabbage, and a beef tartare under a tangle of crisp potato and horseradish. The chicken salad with bacon and celeriac is a Copenhagen classic and it is excellent here.
Service is brisk and kind, and the staff will happily explain the order of eating to first-timers. Prices are fair for the neighbourhood, especially compared with the canal-side terraces outside.
Eat in this order
- Herring first, with a cold aquavit if you are so inclined
- Then other fish: plaice, shrimp, smoked eel
- Then meat: roast pork, tartare, liver pâté
- Finish with cheese, and a coffee upstairs in the light
At the table
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Olivia OwnerAuthor
Northwind ToursPublisher
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