Last Updated: March 2024, Last Visited: February 2024, Number of Visits: 4

Copenhagen is an absolutely beautiful, dynamic city that I visited with my dad during my university days. I revisited in June 2019 for one of my friends birthdays and loved it just as much, and it is when this post was first written. However, don’t book a trip here on a whim or due to cheap flights without any planning as Copenhagen is oh so expensive and not somewhere to visit for a budget break. However, with a bit of planning (and saving) it is a perfect weekend destination that I would highly recommend! I have always been blown away by the beauty of Scandinavian countries and the city of Copenhagen is no exception.

A word of warning though, despite most countries that I have visited in Scandinavia being great for gluten free and English being widely spoken, I was still extremely jealous of everyone being able to eat the tempting smorrebrod that is one of their national dishes. Basically an open sandwich that the Danish may eat for any meal, it feels like the beautiful sandwiches were are everywhere. Between all the sandwiches and the hot dog stalls on the streets, Copenhagen may not be an ideal location for a newly diagnosed coeliac that can not resist the smell of bread, hot dogs and open sandwiches! 

With an office opening in the outskirts of Copenhagen for where I work, I have also visited twice in the last six months for business and therefore this post was definitely due a 2024 update.

Where to Stay: Tivoli Hotel

Copenhagen isn’t the cheapest city for hotels in the summer, but in the end for our trip in 2019 we decided to stay at the funky looking Tivoli Hotel. Located 0.3km away from Tivoli Gardens it is conveniently located to the amusement park after an evening on the rides! We didn’t eat breakfast here and it was a bit of a walk to where restaurants seem to be located so somewhere more central, or an air b n b may be a better option, but we did love our stay at the hotel – especially evening drinks on the rooftop bar! (Shame about the cranes in all our shots!)

Citizen M Hotel

For work on my first trip in 2023 I stayed in the hotel near the office for convenience but it was pretty isolated and made gluten free dining very stressful. On my last visit I instead stayed more centrally near a Metro station and felt the extra travel was a compromise worth making. For this we stayed at the Citizen M hotel which was reasonably priced and a very clean and modern hotel. It reminded me of a cross between something like the Ibis Styles and The Premier Inn hub and it suited us fine.

Breakfast

H.U.G Bageri – 100% Gluten Free

On my last two trips I have visited H.U.G Bageri to pick up pastries for breakfast and they are so worth the effort.

Every pastry I’ve tried has been amazing and they are one of my favourite pastries in Europe. The staff on both trips have also been so friendly and helpful. They are located near to the Botanical Gardens to make it work in an itinerary but whatever you do you have to make it here!

Landbageriet – Vegan Bakery

I did buy a cinnamon roll from this bakery on my last trip, but honestly on a weekend break unless you’re also vegan or dairy free I would choose to get my pastries from H.U.G as a dedicated gluten free bakery. The gluten free pastries were stored on the top shelf though and they said that they were kept separate but the staff couldn’t explain to me in more detail than that but I have read online that they are made in a separate room to the gluten bakes. I also bought my sister in law, Gemma, a vegan chocolate croissant from here which she really enjoyed the next day at home.

For Emma – 100% Gluten and Lactose Free

I haven’t been to this bakery in Copenhagen, but I did visit their branch in Aarhus. They are meant to be great for bread too but I picked up the tray of gluten free and vegan cinnamon rolls to take home and share with Gemma. These need heating so wouldn’t be an option if you’re staying in a hotel with no kitchen, but you could also take them home – the bakery said that they could be kept for five days.

Grod

Grod, the Worlds first porridge bar, came highly recommended to me on my Instagram for gluten free in Copenhagen and in 2019 we headed straight there on our first morning. However, I would say it is more one for the winter than our hot summer weekend in the city, as I got a steaming hot bowl of gluten free porridge but that seemed a must given that it we were at a porridge bar! The portion was huge, despite being expensive at about £10 for the porridge and a drink but I could pick my toppings and I had peanut butter, freeze dried raspberries and cocoa nibs. They also had an amazing looking chia pudding that may have been more appropriate for the weather. They appear to sell far more options now than just porridge and chia pudding though so definitely confirm what is gluten free and what their cross contact processes are before indulging.

Grod porridge pots are also available in 7-eleven stores in 2019, but now reading this I’m not sure if I saw them on my recent trips so do double check they are still gluten free if you find them.

Paleo – 100% Gluten Free and Paleo

With several branches of the 100% gluten free healthy cafe in touristy locations it is likely to have a time that eating here suits you. I ate at the branch on the top floor of Illum department store in the main shopping area of Central Copenhagen. They had smoothies, protein shakes and breakfast bowls on the menu.

Lunch/Dinner

Restaurant Tight

Restaurant Tight describes itself as a ‘Nordic Kitchen with a southern twist’ and for a fancier meal it came highly recommended. I opted for the crab cakes to start that were on the specials menu and they got us off to a great start, especially when washed down with some epic frozen passionfruit margaritas.

The main was a surprising half rack of ribs and we all loved our dinner here despite being far too full to contemplate dessert. We really must have been full for me to turn down a gluten free chocolate fondant! 

 Nordic Noodle

Visiting the Carlsberg factory to sample a pint of coke at the end may have not been my first choice activity in Copenhagen but unfortunately the Carlsberg factory tour did top everyone else’s list of things to do! However, Nordic Noodle conveniently located right near by saved the day for lunch when we exited the tour hungry! They had rice noodles, lots of toppings and sauce options (including gluten free soya sauce) and they could cook it in a clean wok for you. The portions were generous, but everyone still licked their plates clean showing how good it was. There are also a few locations of Nordic Noodle in the city! 

Paleo – 100% Gluten Free and Paleo

Paleo as well as the breakfast bowls and smoothies has a menu for lunch and dinner, made up of salads, wraps and burgers. I just ordered some sweet potato fries to keep me going as everything was mega expensive but they were amazing!

Osteria Alfredo

With 51 ratings on Find Me Gluten Free giving the restaurant an overall average score of 5 stars, and scoring 5 for safety I really wanted to go here but my colleague didn’t like pizza or pasta! It will have to be one for the list for next time though since it is receiving rave reviews especially for incredible gluten free pizza.

Il Garappolo Blu

The parent restaurant to Osteria Alfredo focusing on pasta, and another must visit when in Copenhagen for Italian food judging by the reviews.

La Galette

Found on Find Me Gluten Free, La Galette sells gluten free buckwheat crepes.

However, they also sell normal crepes that are made with gluten and they are cooked on the same griddle. They will clean it for you if you’re coeliac and request this but there is not a separate one for the gluten free orders so you will need to decide if this is within your comfort level for eating out.

Hard Rock Cafe

My go to restaurant in European cities when I’m struggling to eat. I’ve always found there to be gluten free options on their menu and that their staff are extra friendly and accommodating, and the Copenhagen branch was no exception. When we were struggling to eat out one night, we ended up here eating ribs and drinking cocktails and receiving so much help with the menu and fantastic service.

McDonalds

Always a novelty for those visiting from the UK or USA and in pricy Scandinavia they can also provide a budget meal! I haven’t eaten at McDonalds in Copenhagen but I did eat at the branch in Aarhus after a late night arrival. I could eat the fries and a burger here, but it was absolutely drowning in ketchup!

MAX Burgers

To keep to a budget you may find yourself eating more fast food than normal when in Copenhagen and luckily they have more options for gluten free fast food than the UK does! MAX burgers was located opposed our hotel at Citizen M and had central locations and I have also eaten at another branch outside of the Central touristy area of Copenhagen where restaurant options we limited.

I always order at the counter and ask staff to help me and also to confirm that they take cross contact measures. At the Central location I was able to order a burger, but the fries weren’t safe.

If you’re travelling beyond Copenhagen, or even Denmark then MAX burgers is a chain that I have found across Scandinavia and I have also visited in Sweden and Norway.

After posting about Copenhagen on Instagram, some local followers also said that Burger King and Jagger offer gluten free fast food options.

Dinner

The Olive Bar and Kitchen

This restaurant has amazing reviews on trip advisor and most of the menu is marked gluten free. We actually walked past this restaurant when we were looking for food and my excitement was short lived as they were full and couldn’t take walk ins. Make reservations for this restaurant and it looked lovely for a date night meal when in Copenhagen. Maple Casual Dining that has a couple of excellent reviews on Find Me Gluten Free appears to be a sister restaurant. I had both of these restaurants saved thanks to posts on Instagram by Sally, Gluten_free_traveller44

Bakeries and Treats

H.U.G Bageri – 100% Gluten Free

I have covered the gluten free bakeries already in the breakfast section for pastries, but H.U.G is also worth a visit for some of their other treats and bakes. I have not had anything from this bakery that I haven’t really liked.

Glean – 100% Gluten Free and Vegan

This gluten free and vegan stall sells flødeboller, and I was so happy that they were all gluten free. However, it’s actually more surprising that they are vegan as they are filled with a soft marshmallow, that is made out of aquafaba. With the flavoured marshmallow sitting on top of a marzipan base and covered with chocolate they were so nice and something a little different. I took them home to share with Gemma so we definitely had a feast a gluten free and vegan feast on the Saturday of pastries and flødeboller!

Lakrids by Bülow – 100% Gluten Free and Vegan

When I went into this concession in Illum department store, I was offered some licorice and turned it down. It was only after browsing with friends that I realised it was gluten free – and all of it. I’ve never been so excited! I got the sample after all and proceeded to spend a fortune on licorice as I love it, including pots of red licorice! Since coming home, I have found them being sold on Amazon and from their website they can be ordered to the UK.

Normal Store

There were many branches of ‘Normal’ in Denmark and we finally went in one in Aarhus where I discovered that they sold gluten free licorice and licorice sweets. We didn’t go in one in Copenhagen but hopefully their stock is the same. I also saw this sold at the airport, but they were more expensive. I would definitely try and find these again, even though they are actually imported from the Netherlands!

Copenhagen Airport

The Airport had a couple of branches of Joe and the Juice, which I have eaten at safely in London. However, they had run out of gluten free bread on the day I was there.

I did find some gluten free crisps, sweets, licorice and snacks, and they had a gluten free and vegan salad bowl in one of the stores. I’ve always just stuck to eating some of the food I had with me from home though as I much prefer to eat food I’ve prepared myself or eat at 100% gluten free restaurants on travel days.

Permanently Closed

Blue Tacos

When we visited Blue Taco it heavily promoted gluten free on its website as everything here is gluten free except some breaded fish – so do be a bit careful of cross contamination of other taco toppings if you’re having anything fried (or in case the menu changes). I can’t honestly say they were the best tacos I’ve ever had but they were good and a great casual stop for lunch. 

Despite our tacos not being exceptional – the stand out of the show and the reason I say you MUST visit here were the gluten free churros! It is amazing to find gluten free churros anywhere so I was so so excited to eat these! (Again do double check when you go that nothing except the churros have been in the fryer!)

Vita Boost

Vita Boost was recommended but I didn’t eat here having had porridge at Grom. My friend got a smoothie here though and it notes glutenfrei under the sign for paninis – but apparently it all is if you ask. 

Not Recommended

Dop

I have to admit that whilst wandering the streets of Copenhagen I really wanted a hot dog like everyone else, so went in search of Dop who came recommended online for gluten free hotdogs. I was extremely disappointed to find it was not coeliac safe in my opinion, or theirs, as there were crumbs everywhere! Sometimes you just want to cry with frustration and for me that tends to be when I’ve dragged people around somewhere looking for a specific recommendation to cater for whatever my current gluten free desire is to find it is not safe after all. Argh – never blindly trust recommendations online without checking you are happy with the processes yourself. Dop had crumbs EVERYWHERE! #thefearofcrumbsisreal 

Sightseeing in Copenhagen 

Nyhavn

Nyhavn, translated into English means ‘New Harbour’ and it is the classic postcard shot of Copenhagen that can’t be missed – a fabulous, but busy touristy area for daytime strolling and evening drinks! (Or vice versa?!)

Tivoli Gardens 

We had an absolute blast spending a night at Tivoli in 2019 – an old fashioned amusement park that is one of the oldest in the World, it is an absolute must visit for Copenhagen! I would definitely plan a visit around this park being open.

Carlsburg Tour – this looks to have permanently closed

Botanical Gardens – conveniently located for eating pastries from H.U.G or Landbagieret

Bus Tour / Little Mermaid

We took a sightseeing bus tour to see the sights of Copenhagen, and to get a better feel for the city and see the Little Mermaid, which is actually quite small close up!

Day trip to Malmo

By train, in 40 minutes from Copenhagen Central Station you can be in Malmo, Sweden. I personally wouldn’t choose to visit on a short weekend trip as there is plenty to see and do in Copenhagen so we didn’t visit this time. However, on the trip with my dad that was longer we did get the train over for the day so is an option if you are there for a few days! They appear to have the dedicated gluten free options of Glutenfritt i Malmö and Holy Greens.

I didn’t have a lot of recommendations for Copenhagen but I managed completely fine for two nights in the city with friends. I ate at places based on recommendations but in other Scandinavian countries I have always been pleasantly surprised with the knowledge of coeliac in restaurants and the fluent English that people can normally speak to help you.

As I have since returned to the city I would say Copenhagen is doable with some planning but just turning up at restaurants like we tried one night for work as we hadn’t planned where we would be I found pretty stressful. They aren’t as many restaurants it feels, especially all together to choose from and many were booked up or very expensive. My colleague also didn’t like fish, pizza or pasta to add to the requirements! Copenhagen is a city I would visit with more of a plan and reservations for the best places to make it far less stressful and easier to keep to a budget. On this night we ended up at one of my go to restaurants when travelling – The Hard Rock, and whilst not traditional local food it is always fairly easy to find a safe meal on their menu.

Other tips for Copenhagen

* Buy a wristband for rides and enjoy yourself at Tivoli. I know I’ve mentioned it already but we did really love it here.

* Another tip that I can’t say enough – be prepared for it to be expensive!

* I couldn’t tell you the name of the company but we also took a boat sightseeing trip around the canals!

* We visited in the summer and it was beautiful but I imagine it would also be magical at Christmas too. I love European city breaks timed for the Christmas markets (check out some of my other guides for European cities that should also be great Christmas Market destinations such as Helsinki, Prague and Vienna – they were also all amazing for gluten free options!) I wouldn’t recommend visiting in February, when I returned for work as the Christmas Markets had finished but Tivoli was closed.

*I did eat several snack bars on my trips that I’d taken with me for convenience so as always I’d recommend having some in your bag! Just in case you think I’m always mega organised eating my way around the world – sometimes I just don’t have the energy or desire to find somewhere that is safe for gluten free and just eat the snacks in my bag (even when the others are eating sandwiches for breakfast!)

For more links and tips on Copenhagen and Denmark, my post on Instagram has some further recommendations from locals who have commented on the post (double check for cross contamination processes for any of these) and see my extensive gluten free guide to Europe! 

I hope you have an amazing time in Copenhagen and love it as much as I did. Please comment below if you do find anywhere that sells coeliac safe smorrebord so I can visit on a return trip!

Happy Gluten Free Travels!

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