Copenhagen Bakery Tour

By Ellen Sleeuw, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

My google maps for Copenhagen currently looks like this:

Whilst some of these are museums, galleries, and places to visit, most of them are cafes and bakeries. Therefore, I thought it only right to share my bakery adventures with you. 

Copenhagen is known for its pastries, but not the so called ‘Danish pastries’ that most often come to mind. Instead, they have a large array of cinnamon buns (kanelsnurre), cardamon buns, Spandauer, Tebirkes, and many more. Another classic snack to have at a bakery or café that I have fallen in love with even more than the pastries, is ‘BMO’ translated to bun with butter and cheese (I know sounds dull, but don’t knock it till you try it!). 

I made it my mission to find the best bakery in Copenhagen, however, I simply cannot rank them, because they are all too good. Therefore, I am just going to recommend some of my favourite places. 

These are all great places to go in your own, but I would also recommend taking a friend, so that you can share and try more!

Meyers Bageri: This was the very first bakery I visited in Copenhagen, I had one of their classic cinnamon buns, and my mind was blown. It was still warm and everything about it was perfect (This is making mem very hungry writing this now!). I always take my visitors to this bakery because I think it’s a perfect representation of Copenhagen and their pastries. They have several locations, but the only one with seating is in Frederiksberg.

Hart Bageri: There are many locations of these around the city. One of my favourite locations is in Island Brygge, where you can pick up a pastry and then go and sits by the harbour on the grass (if the weather permits!). If not, the one located in Refshalevej has more inside seating. They are most well known for their cardamon croissant (pictured below), but they also have an amazing Spandauer (custard pastry). I would say that this bakery is slightly on the pricier side, but well worth one trip. 

Juno the Bakery: Juno are known for their cardamon buns, and I can definitely see why, they are the perfect treat, like a sweet brioche with cardamon running through it. They are also constantly switching up the flavours, from rhubarb to blackcurrant, etc., for their other cream and custard buns in order to use seasonal produce, and nothing ever fails to exceed my expectations. 

Anderson & Maillard: I think that this is my most visited bakery. My favourite location is on Nørrebrogade, where there is outside seating, which is always flooded with sunlight (when the sun eventually comes out) as well as really nice inside seating. They sell bigger plates of food, such as the classic Danish Breakfast plates, but their pastries are all really good. Also they have another shop located near the Rosenborg (king’s) Gardens, and I love to get a takeaway and sit in the park. By far this bakery also sells my favourite BMO in Copenhagen. 

Lille Bakery: This bakery is located in Refshalevej, so a little bit out of the centre, but definitely worth the trip! The building itself looks pretty inconspicuous, but then you enter into this amazing community, where the kitchen is in the middle, and you can smell all of the amazing produce. It is a very popular spot, so I would recommend getting there early, so going Wednesday-Friday. They have a great range of both sweet and savoury, but I would recommend their Blomster Bun, as well as the mushroom roll. 

HANS Coffee: Alongside, Anderson & Maillard, this coffee shop has one of the best BMO. I think I also helps that I have a fond memory of this, because it was the first place my Mum and I went to when I arrived in Copenhagen. We sat in the one located in Christianshavn, which is fairly small, but very cosy, the coffee is also very good. There is also a bigger one located in Gammel Strand. 

Bageriet Brød: I don’t have any pictures of this bakery, nevertheless, it’s another great one, especially their cinnamon bun, which has a flakier constituency rather than the one from Meyers which is more bread-like. Located in Vesterbro, which is a great neighbourhood to explore, full of independent shops, second hand stores, cafes and restaurants. 

Skipper Bageri: I also don’t have any pictures of this bakery, but it’s located on Østerbro, which is another lovely neighbourhood of Copenhagen, not far from the lakes. This bakery is one of the more reasonable ones, but this doesn’t have any impact on the pastries, in fact they are just as good as all of the other ones. It is quite small, but they still have both inside and outside seating for you to enjoy all they have to offer!