Address: 8th Floor, Papirøen 25
Website: victorycph.dk
Ved Stranden 10
This beautiful and understated specialist wine bar is located in a historic house on the cobbles by one of the city’s main canals, where tables regularly spill out into the street on a sunny day. You’ll be welcomed by the team and served at your table by your own sommelier, who can find you exactly what you’re looking for, as long as that is wine. While they don’t generally serve food, bar snacks including olives, almonds and croque monsieurs are on offer, with great value occasional meals on the last Monday of the month, styled as a kind of staff meal (check the website for details). Wine tastings take place on a Wednesday from 5pm and are friendly and super popular, taking the shape of a blind tasting between four bottles, for around 150kr (£17). At all other times, just swing by – they don’t take reservations – and enjoy the super chic Scandi-style bar space, all pine floors, blackboards, tall windows and stylish Danish lighting. It’s a very welcoming space and by gosh, they know their wine.
Address: Ved Stranden 10
Website: vedstranden10.dk
Pompette
One of the city’s original natural wine bars, Pompette is small and unpretentious, with wines sold by the glass and by the bottle. It’s in the Nørrebro neighbourhood and is a kind of local hangout, with tables on the pavement and steps leading down into the basement bar. Owners Martin and Jesper have a generous approach to drinking in this city, which can get pricey: they say that they will always offer a simple selection of one red, white and orange/natural wine sold by the glass in their bar for 50 kr (£5.77). It’s not the only reason to drink here, but it’s a good one to get started. Pair your wine with some charcuterie or cheese and you’re all set. The bar is in a great part of Nørrebo, close to several casual dining spots and many other bars.
Address: Møllegade 3, Nørrebro
Website: etteetteette.dk/pompette
Apollo Bar
Frederik Bille Brahe’s cooking and eating style has become the epitome of casual dining in Copenhagen in recent years, particularly with the expansion of his brunch-style café Atelier September in spots all over the city. But this is where it all began, the cafe-bar in the historical art institution Kunsthal Charlottenborg, steps from Nyhavn’s colourful harbour. By day, it’s the kind of place where you meet your friends in the afternoon, drink Aperol Spritz – or signature drink, Apollo Spritz, which features Campari, Vermouth and Cava – in the sunny courtyard under umbrellas, and lose track of time, ending up ordering sharing plates from the cafe as the evening draws in. In the winter, when the courtyard is closed, the cafe-bar is a low-key, intimate location for a date, with a beautiful, artsy back room whose historic white walls have stories to tell. No reservations are taken for the bar; you may have to queue for a seat during the summer.
