Copenhagen's agave story starts in Norrebro, where The Barking Dog has poured mezcal under a proud AGAVEPOWER banner since 2013. The Financial Times ranked it the seventh best tequila bar in the world back in 2016, and the room still carries that weight.
Add Rosio Sanchez, the former Noma pastry chef whose taquerias brought serious Mexican cooking to the city, and Copenhagen earns a real agave list. Expect 120 to 150 DKK per cocktail. Work through these three, then keep going with our guide to the best cocktail bars in Copenhagen.
Where Copenhagen Keeps Its Agave
"A mezcal section most capitals would envy, hiding inside a Norrebro pub with a dog on the sign."
Why Agave Costs So Much in Denmark
Danish spirits taxation hits imported small batch mezcal hard, and no one ships it to Scandinavia in volume. Lists stay short, bottles rotate, and the interesting pours disappear for months at a time.
The upside is curation. Nothing on The Barking Dog's shelf is filler, because filler does not survive the import math. When a bartender there recommends a bottle, drink it that week.
How to Order Mezcal in Copenhagen
Start with a cocktail to read the room, then go neat. The Pica Pica at The Barking Dog tells you in one glass whether you want a second hour there, and you will.
Ask questions before ordering. Copenhagen's agave community is small enough that the staff at all three venues know where the city's open bottles sit at any given month. For the wider scene, our Copenhagen bar guide and the city's cocktail bars carry the full map, with the Copenhagen hub covering every neighborhood.
The Two Neighborhood Crawl
Copenhagen makes this easy because the agave map covers exactly two districts. Norrebro holds The Barking Dog among the city's best casual cocktail rooms, and Vesterbro holds the Sanchez operation near the Meatpacking District's converted warehouses.
The walk between them crosses the lakes and takes about twenty five minutes, which Copenhageners consider a short stroll and visitors consider a scenic one. Bikes cut it to ten. Start in Vesterbro with tacos while the kitchen is fresh, then finish in Norrebro where The Barking Dog pours latest.
Build in a detour. Both neighborhoods rank among Europe's best drinking districts in their own right, and the city's wine bars and brewpubs will compete hard for your attention between agave stops.
When to Go
Winter is the secret season. The Barking Dog's low lit room works best when Copenhagen turns dark at 4pm, and the bar stays mercifully uncrowded on weeknights between November and March.
Summer brings outdoor seats and a different bar entirely. Either way, arrive before 9pm on weekends. The room is small, the locals are loyal, and the staff hold standing room only so long.
The Verdict
The Barking Dog is the destination and one of Europe's great agave rooms. Hija de Sanchez Cantina wins the food pairing, and La Neta wins the quick stop. Drink mezcal before the natural wine bars pull you away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Copenhagen bar has the best mezcal selection?
The Barking Dog in Norrebro. It has poured agave under its AGAVEPOWER banner since 2013, the Financial Times once ranked it the seventh best tequila bar in the world, and it appears on the World's 50 Best Discovery list.
How much does a mezcal cocktail cost in Copenhagen?
Plan on 120 to 150 DKK per cocktail at the city's better rooms. Danish spirits taxation keeps neat pours of anything beyond entry level espadin noticeably higher.
Is there a Mexican food and mezcal pairing in Copenhagen?
Yes. Hija de Sanchez Cantina in Vesterbro pairs tacos from former Noma chef Rosio Sanchez with a focused agave list, and La Neta runs a faster taqueria format in the city center.
