The Best Bars in Copenhagen Right Now

A small, serious cocktail bar on Vesterbrogade that the locals treat as their living room. The menu changes monthly and rotates around foraged Nordic ingredients — expect drinks built on sea buckthorn, ramsons, and cloudberry. Seating for 24 means every stool matters. Go on a Tuesday when the bartenders have time to walk you through the menu properly.

Order: The seasonal tasting menu (4 drinks, DKK 320)

Ruby has been Copenhagen's benchmark cocktail bar for over a decade and earns the reputation every night. The townhouse setting across three floors — exposed brick, leather banquettes, candlelight — sets the tone before the first drink arrives. The classics here are made with the kind of care that makes you question why you ever drank them anywhere else.

Order: Negroni — they make it better than almost anywhere in Scandinavia

Three floors of a 19th-century apothecary building, each with its own atmosphere. The ground floor is lively; the top-floor whisky loft is where you go when the evening has slowed to a good pace. The whisky list covers 300 expressions and the bar team knows every one of them. Arrive early for a seat by the arched windows.

Order: Any single malt from the Highlands section, with one large ice cube

The original Mikkeller bar and still the best one. Twenty taps rotating constantly, with at least four or five experimental brews you will not find anywhere else. The space is small and unpretentious — bare walls, wooden stools, good lighting. This is where Copenhagen's beer professionals drink when they are off the clock.

Order: Ask what landed on tap this week and work through their recommendation

A serious beer bar in a former industrial space that stocks 18 rotating craft taps alongside a bottle list of over 200 references from Danish and international producers. No food, no frills, no background music loud enough to interrupt conversation. The regulars are passionate and knowledgeable — ask them what is worth trying this visit.

Order: A Danish sour from To Ol or a seasonal Mikkeller IPA

Copenhagen's original urban brewpub, operating since 2003, with brewing equipment visible through glass panels behind the bar. The house beers are reliably excellent — the Great Northern Porter has been on every winter menu since they opened. Friday nights fill quickly with neighbourhood regulars who treat this as the start of every weekend.

Order: Great Northern Porter or the seasonal pale ale brewed on site

Tucked down a side street off Norreport with no sign outside, Strom operates as a membership bar that accepts walk-ins on weeknights if there is space. The menu is short — 8 cocktails, each ingredient sourced within 200km of Copenhagen. The space seats 18 and feels like being invited into someone's very well-stocked home.

Order: Whatever the bar manager recommends, no exceptions

An art deco cocktail bar above a restaurant in the city centre that most tourists miss because it requires walking past the main entrance and up a separate staircase. The bar programme is genuinely creative — the team has a molecular gastronomy background and it shows, without the theatrics becoming tiresome. Book for Thursday evenings when the full menu is on.

Order: The clarified milk punch, changed each season

A natural wine bar in Frederiksberg that takes its wine programme as seriously as any cocktail bar in the city takes its spirits. The list covers 200 references from small European producers, many available by the glass. Shared plates are excellent if you want to eat, but the space is equally comfortable as a drinking-only venue.

Order: Ask for the grower Champagne of the week or a Jura white

One of Copenhagen's oldest bar spaces, attached to the Royal Theatre and frequented by the arts crowd since the 1800s. The interior is genuinely historic — original panelling, marble bar, chandeliers that have not changed in 50 years. The cocktail list plays to the setting with well-executed classics and a Danish aquavit programme worth serious attention.

Order: Aquavit sour with Aalborg Taffel and fresh dill