While my wife Jun and I planned to do some fine dining during our trip in Copenhagen (ending up with Noma and then Alchemist), we also wanted to make sure we have more casual dining experience, especially in the seafood department. One restaurant that kept coming up on my search for restaurants to check out in the city (and also appeared in one of our favorite food TV shows Somebody Feed Phil) was Kødbyens Fiskebar. It was slightly off the center of the city in an old meatpacking district and took some efforts for us to get there via train on a rainy day, but we ended up having a very leisurely lunch exploring delicious seafood dishes from around the region.

After starting with a few oysters (they were just OK, and I was surprised to find most of the four different types we tried were from France), we shared a number of small hot dishes which showcased the restaurant’s emphasis on fresh ingredients and solid execution. The grilled scallop from Norway with plum seed and onion flower kicked off our lunch on the right note, and Jun was very fond of the beetroot with radicchio that offered pleasantly crunchy texture. It’s hard to mess up steamed blue mussels, but based on the way we quickly finished a rather large bowl with herbs and double cream, the restaurant’s version here (the mussels were steamed in apple cider) was a hit. My favorite dish during our lunch was the thinly sliced squid in chicken dashi. The texture of the squid was spot on and worked beautifully with the aromatic broth; I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a dish like this at a seafood fine dining restaurant.

We didn’t need to make a reservation, but the restaurant quickly filled up with a mix of tourists and locals throughout the lunch; it might be a smart idea to book a table in advance if you are looking for prime time dinner seats. The wine list at the restaurant was another pleasant surprise, offering seafood-friendly glass and bottle options from around Europe (including Denmark!). I highly recommend Kødbyens Fiskebar for a very solid seafood-centric meal in Copenhagen. Who says you only need to do fine dining in Copenhagen? You can find plenty of joy and satisfaction from fresh, no-frills seafood offerings.   

Address: Flæsketorvet 100, 1711 Copenhagen, Denmark

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)

Website: https://www.fiskebaren.dk/

Reservation via Website