Nørrebro, Copenhagen’s Hipster Town. We love it!
Nørrebro is one of those hipster, upcoming districts every city has. If you’re going to Copenhagen anytime soon, and you want to look beyond the city center? We definitely recommend Nørrebro, to the northeast of the city center. Nørrebro is Copenhagen’s upcoming district with a lot of awesome restaurants and cool bars. It’s a true melting pot, causing the cuisine to be diverse and unique. Besides the multicultural aspect, you can also find some relaxing parks (one in particular is very quiet) and tons of hipster restaurants, cool bars and awesome coffee joints. Be sure to read on if you want to know the coolest places in Nørrebro!
Practical information about Nørrebro
Like mentioned before, Nørrebro isn’t located in the heart of the city, but rather northeast of it. The upcoming district thanks its name to a street called Nørrebrogade, which lead to the northern city gate that gave access to Copenhagen. Nørrebro is adjacent to the city center, so the city can easily be explored on foot from the district.
If you’re on the outskirts of the area (like we were) it’s quite a walk, so you might be better off taking the metro, which has plenty of station all over Nørrebro. Just watch out for the large red signs with a huge white ‘M’ on them (or, like a normal person, check Google Maps). The metro gives you the opportunity to reach other cool places in Copenhagen, like the Vestebro district, which is probably just as trendy as Nørrebro. Depending on where you want to go, a one way ticket is about 20 DKK or US$3. A 24 hour metro card costs 80 DKK ( US$12).
If your plan is to visit museums and other attractions, it might be worth buying a Copenhagen City Card which also includes unlimited access to all public transportation in Copenhagen and discount at restaurants.
Discover more: Things to do in Copenhagen
Assistens Kirkegården
Besides being the second largest park of Copenhagen is Assistens Kirkegården also a huge cemetery. Kirkegården literally means ‘graveyard’. Weirdly enough, the park is very lively (no pun intended). Benches with coffee drinking students and locals taking a relaxing afternoon walk through the park. In fact, you’ll have a hard time finding a bench that isn’t taken. A lot of famous Danish are buried here, like the famous fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen. Signs guide you to his grave. So besides park and cemetery is it also a tourist attraction.
Street Art in Nørrebro
As a lot of upcoming districts around the world is street art also an important part of the scenery in Nørrebro. Gorgeous paintings can be found anywhere in the area. Don’t forget to look up once in a while, because the artists do want you to take some effort. One place where street art isn’t hidden is in Bananna Park at the center of Nørrebro. Besides awesome street art, a huge climbing structure was built in the park. Naturally, the structure has been decorated with some cool paintings as well. We pointed out some cool street art on the map at the top of the article (red dots with palette), but it’s best to keep your eye out for more hidden surprises. Below is the street art we’ve discovered in Nørrebro.
Restaurants and bars in Nørrebro
Like mentioned before, Nørrebro is very multicultural. Subsequently this also means a lot of different food:) You can find all kinds of restaurants in the Nørrebro area, such as the only Thai restaurant with a Michelin Star in the world, Kiin Kiin. Don’t worry, not all restaurants are this upscale. On the contrary! Most places don’t feel like restaurants at all, but more like living rooms. Staff is not always easy to distinguish from customers. Most of them can be recognized by their tattoos. These places have one thing in common: Great food and awesome craft beer! Instead of making money, these places are driven by passion for food.
A good thing to know: It’s customary to order at the counter and to pay up front. This was true for all restaurants we’ve visited in Copenhagen but one.
There are also a wide range of tours available to discover the secrets of Nørrebro
Breakfast and lunch at vegan Cafe Blå
We’re not even vegetarian, but we the best dishes we’ve had going out for dinner were at vegan places. So we always look for vegan places when visiting a new city. Luckily Nørrebro has a lot of them, so it wasn’t hard to find a good one.
Cafe Blå is a small restaurant in the south of Nørrebro. It’s a casual place where every fifteen minutes you’re ‘disturbed’ by the staff laughing at someone’s joke and where people come in just to have a talk. We went there to have lunch. We shared their brunch plate with avocado toast, fruit, smoothies, a browny, smørrebrød (a kind of Danish bread) and more. Delicious! Never tried vegan food before? Try it.. You’ll love it!
Ramen to Bíiru: Japanese ramen with good beer
It’s a very tiny place, but they plotted the tables very efficiently. The first thing you see is a sort of vending machine with all the ramen dishes they have on the menu. Once you make a choice the machine ejaculates a receipt with which you go to the counter to order and pay. The apparatus is easy to use, but if you’re struggling it’s also possible to order at the counter. The ramen are very delicious by the way..
Ramen to Bíiru has a collaboration with Mikkeller, Denmark’s most famous craft beer brewery. Next to the ramen machine is a beer machine which works the same way the ramen machine does: choose a beer and pay at the counter. Tip: I ordered a Mikkeller rice beer (which is way better than your average rice beer).
Oysters at Depanneur
Depanneur, which means ‘problem solver’ in French, is a cozy little bar that is mostly known about its oysters. Even though the bar itself is pretty cramped, Depanneur mostly uses its outside area to house most of its guests. At lunch fresh oysters are served on the terrace. Be there quickly because when the oysters arrive, the terrace is crowded with hungry customers. Of course wine and craft beers can’t miss from the menu. Cheers and bon appétit!
Great craft beer and food at BRUS
Copenhagen has a more well known craft breweries, like To Øl. In 2016 BRUS was bought by To Øl, but since the BRUS bar/restaurant/bottle shop/microbrewery was a established name, they decided to keep the name. The indoor seating area is huge, but we were there on a Friday afternoon, so finding a spot was pretty tough. Luckily there was a table all the way in the back that was just vacated for us. Thanks. The place is mostly full of students who come to wind down after a hard week of studying.
At BRUS they have a wide choice in beers from both To Øl and BRUS, but also from other breweries. If you want a bite to eat on the side, that’s also possible. In the same room has the taps, there’s a kitchen that serves proper pub food (but better). We tried the fermented fries with truffle maye, which to us wasn’t the best choice. But at least you can see they make the effort in making some unique food.
Stefanos Pizzabar
Another place that’s bustling every single night is Stefanos Pizzabar. We’ve come across dozens of pizza places in Nørrebro, but none is as busy as Stefano’s. After passing it a few times, we had to go there one of these days. I’m happy we did! The pizza and pasta were awesome! After you order at the counter you get a puck that starts buzzing and ringing when your order is ready. Sometimes they bring your plates, if it’s quiet enough.
Most of the time though, you have to go to the counter with your buzzing puck to collect your order. That’s just the way it goes and no one is complaining. Neither are we. Since there’s often a line in front of the counter, finding a table might not always be as easy. Only downside: they don’t have beer on the menu. For that you’d have to go to the next place…
Mikkeller & Friends craft beers
After you finished your pizza at Stefano’s, it’s time to wash it down with a nice beer. Nextdoor, across the street you’ll find Mikkeller & Friends, a very nice bar that has a wide variety of craft beers. Most of them are Mikkeller, but they also have other beers from other breweries on tap. The bar has a very cozy setup with all kinds of different seating and tiny rooms everywhere. We’ve been to a few Mikkeller bars around Copenhagen, but this one is our favourite.
One thing all craft beer bars have in common though: a helpful, enthusiastic bartender who is always willing to help you make a choice between the dozens of beers on tap. Don’t be afraid to ask for a taste when you can’t decide. Adjacent to Mikkeller & Friends is bar Koelschip. They broke down the wall so you don’t have to go outside to enter Koelschip. This bar is dedicated to Belgian and sour beers.
Batin: “West meets Persia”
This is a direct quote from the enthusiastic owner of Batin. She and her husband run the small place pretty close to our hotel. On the afternoon we arrived we didn’t feel like doing a treasure hunt for a cool restaurant, so we just Google-Mapped for ‘vegan’. Batin was the closest so off we went. The very tiny restaurant is sublevel, so it’s pretty easy to miss.
After a warm welcome, the hostess will explain what your options are and what their ingredients are. The main dish is a vegan hamburger with a kinds of garnish. She explained her goal is to hit all five taste buds with her dishes. I really couldn’t tell if she succeeded, but delicious it was! The food reminded us of our time in Iran.
Norrebro isnt the only place where you can eat the best food. This is where you can read everything about the best bars and restaurants in Copenhagen.
A&O: Affordable and clean hotel in Nørrebro
Even though they still are called “A&O Hostels”, it’s become more of a hotel than a hostel. Even though they still offer the possibility to book a dorm, most of the rooms are private rooms with their own bathroom. Accommodations in Nørrebro are not cheap, so that’s why we chose A&O. We paid 560DKK (around US$83), but prices aren’t fixed as the weekend is more expensive. It was the cheapest to choose from, they have parking available and we had a good experience with A&O around Europe so far. The lobby is nice with things to do for kids, a seating area, a bar and some vending machines. They sure tried to make it homy which worked. Metro stations Skjolds Plads (500m) and Nørrebro Station (1000m) are in walking distance.
- Double room: 560DKK (about US$83)
- Parking: 120DKK (about US$18)
- Bike rental: 130DKK (about US$20)
- Lunch: 45DKK (about US$7)
- Pizza menu: 70DKK (about US$10)
Check here for more accommodations in Nørrebro
Do you have any additions or questions regarding Nørrebro? Let it know in the comments!