What to Eat in Denmark in 2026: The Best Food and Drink

Danish food has been transformed by the New Nordic movement — launched at Noma in 2003 and now fully absorbed into the country's food culture at every level — into something that is both globally influential and deeply local. The smørrebrød (open-faced rye bread sandwich, topped with everything from pickled herring and egg to roast beef with remoulade and crispy onion) is the Danish lunch institution that predates the New Nordic moment and is best at a konditori or specialised smørrebrød restaurant. Flæskesteg (roast pork with crackling, served with red cabbage and boiled potatoes) is the Christmas dish that has become year-round comfort eating. The Danish breakfast culture — rye bread, soft boiled egg, cheese, and a pastry (wienerbrød, which the Danes know invented for them in Vienna) — is one of the quiet pleasures of spending a morning here. Carlsberg and Tuborg are the industrial standard; the Copenhagen craft beer scene (To Øl, Mikkeller) is among the world's most creative. That's where it gets good.