Most tourists who come to Copenhagen wander the pedestrian street Strøget up and down – and just maybe they wander off to nerdy shopping streets, restaurants and cafés. However, Copenhagen is so much more than that – and actually the true Copenhagen is a bit more bohemian chic and laissez-faire than the picture painted at the upstreet shopping district. To experience Copenhagen like a local you need to loosen up a bit and wander off to Christianshavn, Vesterbro or Nørrebro. We did just that the other day and took the 5C bus from Nørreport to Stefansgade where we get off (you can get on the 5C at Copenhagen Central Station too, or take the 350S from Kongens Nytorv to Nørrebros Runddel).
The business mix at Jægersborggade has changed a lot during the years but the houses have not. About 100 years old the street looks quite the same. However it is in recent years that it has really started to blossom with cafés, bars, bakeries, individual shops for clothes, interiors, delicacies. You can actually spend a whole day and night here and not leave this street – as everything you need during a day really is here.
It’s really hot in Copenhagen right now. Here all windows open outwards – adding to a charming effect on the view of the street.
There’s plenty of nice small shops, galleries and vintage stores at Jægersborggade. Just stroll around and have a look, enjoy the charming atmosphere and support the local business owners. There’s not a store chain to be found here.
Plenty of flower shops around, of various kind. This one specializes in produce from the country side with fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables and flowers in the mix.
Our first pitstop to cool down is at ro chokolade – translates to still chocolate as in keeping still and being at peace. ro chokolade is about chocolate that is hand crafted in the store by Rasmus Olsen. No synthetic additives are present in the making here and the chocolate is to die for. In the summer it doubles as an ice cream bar though – and just looking at their ice cream makes us feel at ease.
Jægersborggade has so many nice little shops like this one where colors are lush and you just feel like taking stuff with you home – or just sit down for a while.
Whether it be lunch or just a glass of wine – Manfreds is always a good choice. Plenty of good brunch and lunch dishes as well as great wines. You can buy wine to take home as well, which we really suggest you do. Talk to your waiter for good choices – as well as to find new acquaintances on the wine front. Manfreds has great food so you could just as easily dine here.
What we really love about Jægersborggade are small places like Karamelleriet. Here Tine & Charlotte opened up their business in 2006. Hand crafted caramels done the old way, cooked in-store. It’s like stepping in to childhood as it was a hundred years ago. And the scents! Mm.. we’re just in love with this.
Another great place for some afternoon or early evening wine is the wine bar Antidote. Antidote selects their wines themselves, traveling to the estates and vineyards to try them out themselves, looking the winemaker in the eye and overseeing production. Antidote’s food menu shifts daily depending on what’s good and available from the farmers they get their produce from.
Prices at Antidote will not break the bank or bankrupt your own economy. Here you can sit down and enjoy til evening falls. That’s actually true for alost everything in this street. Fine quality at affordable prices.
And speaking of evening, many shops here are actually open quite late, although not all. A really nice shop that comes to its right in evening light is Flacodesign, showcasing their wonderfully designed lamp fittings. We feel like placing those in our home right away.
One of the first restaurants to be born in the wake of globally acclaimed New Nordic cuisine beacon Noma – was Relae, founded in 2010 and one of the reasons for Jægersborggade becoming a culinary street. The influence of René Redzepi’s Noma is clear, but Relae is not constrained by New Nordic principles, using ingredients from Italy and further afield. Relae has a no-nonsense approach to fine dining serving simple dishes that maximise the flavour of just a few ingredients – all served in a stripped back dining room. Vegetables are centre stage in their dishes with fish and meat as the supporting act. Chef Christian Puglisi and front-of-house head Kim Rossen are actually the creators of Manfreds too. Relae is on the list of the worlds 50 best restaurants and a must for dinner while you’re in the neighborhood.
If fine dining and culinary treats is not your thing you can always revert to Stefansgade where we started. Here the locals get their pizza, pasta and burgers at – always as busy – Stefano’s pizza bar. Stefano’s run several places in the same street and contribute to a really nice street life atmosphere at Stefansgade.
We really enjoy these wonderful blocks in Nørrebro and so should you. You won’t find many tourists in these streets and that’s exactly why you should come here.