Exploring Copenhagen’s Culinary Wonders: Smørrebrød & More. Copenhagen has become one of my favorite cities to visit. Paul Ellington, our friend and neighbor, is a native Danish Viking, and his childhood pal, Sebastian, who is local to Copenhagen, has become a good friend over the years. Copenhagen has become a global center of culinary innovation and excellence, with restaurants such as Noma, Geranium, and Alchemist. However, it is also home to some excellent down-home food. Hot dog stands are spread throughout the city, and there is a fantastic BBQ beer bar, Warpigs, in the old meatpacking district. The famous burger joint, Gasoline Grill, Beast, and many Gyro joints are also located here.
However, there is also the native cuisine called Smørrebrød, which are traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches, a staple of Scandinavian cuisine. The word literally translates to “butter bread” (smør for butter, brød for bread). They are often made with seafood and meat on top – herring, shrimp, fish, chicken, and beef are standard toppings. They offer several sandwiches with a variety of steak tartares on top, each with varying degrees of doneness.
Restaurant Schonnemann is the granddaddy of them all, open since 1877. In addition to the famous Smørrebrød, they are also known for their Snaps or Aquavit, a Scandinavian digestif. Paul has raved about this restaurant and insisted we dine there. It is so good that we’ve gone on every visit to Copenhagen.
Schonnemann’s is an institution, and it is tough to get a table. They book out six months in advance for Christmas. The waiters have worked their entire career at the restaurant. Michael and Michael have been our two servers on every visit. To avoid confusion, the younger one goes by Mike when the older Michael is also working, but he goes by Michael when he is solo. It took us three visits to sort out this complication. The photos are from a collective three trips.
Now for the Smørrebrød!
After the meal, Michael presented us with more Akvavit. He knew Paul was Danish and learned I was Norwegian. Paul was getting a little froggy after about 6 shots, and piped up, stating that the Danes were the Kings of the Vikings, and reminded us that Denmark once owned Norway. Michael offered Paul more shots, suggesting that the Norwegian was the weaker of the two Vikings. I was having none of this, so Paul and I continued to enjoy more Aquavit. We stopped counting after a dozen. I won.
