These Asian Restaurants Are Redefining Nordic Cuisine in Copenhagen

At Goldfinch restaurant, the table is crowded with steamer baskets and plates loaded with scallop and sesame toasts; tiny, crispy shrimp with garlic and chile; and pork wontons dressed with black vinegar, chile oil, and cilantro. A pillowy black leather booth curves around the table itself, which looks out onto a room with jet-black ceilings, gilded wallpaper, and cherry red barstools. It’s easy to take in this scene and imagine yourself in Hong Kong or Singapore — until you’re jolted back to Copenhagen by the room’s Danish-speaking diners.

Being at a high-end restaurant in Copenhagen without a foraged berry or a piece of sourdough served with fancy butter in sight actually feels refreshing. And while an elevated Cantonese restaurant wouldn’t appear out of the ordinary in most modern metropolises, in Denmark’s capital — famed for its hyperlocal, seasonal New Nordic cuisine — it is. That’s exactly why Australian-born chef Will King-Smith and his Canadian Chinese partner, Megan Leung, opened Goldfinch. “There was a huge hole in the market for diversity,” says King-Smith.

King-Smith came to Copenhagen in 2010, around the time Noma was first ranked No. 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, an event that stirred intrigue among chefs abroad. “It had just started to get interesting; something was bubbling,” says King-Smith. He worked his way up to become head chef at Geranium, one of the city’s only three-Michelin-starred restaurants. For years, he primed and prepped his share of cod, celeriac, and fermented cabbage, but eventually, he wanted to do his own thing. Today, he does just that at Goldfinch, incorporating some of Leung’s mother’s family recipes into the menu, including her much-loved XO sauce.

It’s not an uncommon trajectory in Copenhagen: Starry-eyed chefs arrive in the city to work in the kitchens of some of the world’s best restaurants, like Noma, Geranium, Relæ, and Jordnær. Once they’ve sharpened their skills, they decide to stay. Some branch out and open their own places. But what’s new is that more recently, instead of hewing to New Nordic cuisine, those chefs have been taking the skills that they’ve honed in these high-end kitchens and leaning into their own cultures and heritages. In doing so, they’re cultivating a more expansive and diverse culinary scene. It’s a movement that’s taking place at the same time that Noma, the pioneer of New Nordic cuisine, is winding down. (The restaurant plans to discontinue traditional service after its spring 2025 season.) And it is putting Copenhagen on the map in an entirely new way.

Youra Kim trained in French cooking techniques but began to recognize the power of her Korean heritage during her internship at Noma, when she began cooking a Korean-style staff meal. “When I got praise from René Redzepi, it was a game changer,” says Kim. “That’s when I started thinking about my own cuisine.” In 2021, Kim opened Propaganda Kitchen and Wine. There, inviting dishes of beef tartare with pear and bitter leaves and crispy gochujang-smothered ribs with kimchi draw a late-night crowd that spills out from the restaurant and into Kim’s neighboring wine shop and bar, where they down sesame Negronis and shots of shochu. While the menu is undeniably Korean, dishes are accented with Nordic ingredients such as black currants and hazelnut milk, a nod to her time at Noma. “I mix it up with Korean and Nordic tastes,” she says.

At Gaijin, a Japanese-leaning restaurant with a tasting menu of sashimi, seasonal yakitori, and soba noodles in delicate broths, chef Edward Lee has capitalized on his experience as assistant head chef at the two-Michelin-starred Jordnær. “The skill of Nordic preservation that I learned, and the careful sourcing of produce from Jordnær, I now apply to Gaijin,” says Lee, who was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Australia.

Similarly, Jonathan Tam, the Canadian-born chef and owner of Jatak, is using the skills he obtained as chef de partie at Noma as well as head chef at Relæ to experiment with Cantonese and Vietnamese flavors while using Danish produce. “I wanted Jatak to be a place where I could learn and develop,” says Tam, who opened Jatak in 2022. “As a more experienced chef, I began to realize the Cantonese and Vietnamese food I grew up with was delicious, interesting, and seasonal.” Tam and his team use local fig leaves and woodruff (a wild herb) to emulate pandan, and they collaborate with Copenhagen-based Nordic Koji to develop new miso flavors. Their efforts have won them a Michelin star. “There is a progression of the New Nordic philosophy, which can be told through my own culture and upbringing,” Tam says.

The dish that perhaps best represents this movement’s careful blending of cultures, ingredients, and techniques is one served at Kristian Baumann’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Koan, which began as a pop-up in 2020. The former Noma and Relæ chef was born in Korea and adopted and raised in Denmark, and he has been traveling back to the country of his birth over the past seven years, returning with recipes, ideas, ingredients, and even ceramics. His tasting menu at Koan is infused with Danish and Korean flavors and concepts; the staple Danish bread course of sourdough and butter is reimagined as Korean kkwabaegi, a twisted, savory doughnut, which Baumann sprinkles with pine salt and serves with salted double cream. Crispy and golden on the outside and warm and pillowy within, it’s best eaten with your hands so you can more easily mop up the rich cream. “It’s a memory of the kkwabaegi that my wife and I would eat as a street food snack in Korea,” says Baumann.

Baumann sees restaurants like his as a natural trajectory for Copenhagen’s food scene. “Danes are more open-minded. They want to explore; they want to try new things,” he says. “The diversity that we have always craved is now happening.”

Where to eat, drink, and stay in Copenhagen

Gaijin

The sharp tasting menu of Japanese dishes from former Jordnær chef Edward Lee features plates of sashimi and soba that are elegant and elevated. The vibe is fun and easygoing.

Goldfinch

This Cantonese restaurant serves up traditional dishes such as char siu pork neck and scallop toasts in a sleek, modern space.

Jatak

Former Relæ chef Jonathan Tam uses Danish ingredients to explore Vietnamese and Cantonese flavors. The best seat is at the long wooden bar, where diners watch the chefs work.

Koan

Expect nori noodles, caviar, and barbecued lobster tail at this Korean-inspired restaurant from Kristian Baumann, a Korean-born, Danish-raised chef.

Propaganda Kitchen and Wine

Look for unfussy plates of Korean fried chicken with gochujang glaze served alongside natural wines in a simple dining room. It has a neighboring wine shop and bar.

Pompette

This neighborhood wine bar and bottle shop in the city’s multicultural Nørrebro neighborhood pours glasses of funky orange wine and bubbles.

Ved Stranden 10

This is a great place to sip natural wines on the edge of the bustling canal or inside the cozy dining room.

Audo Residence

Owned by Danish design brand Audo (and located in their HQ), Audo Residence is a hotel for design lovers. The minimalist rooms are decked out with the brand’s pieces, like textured tub chairs and slick marble tables. Located in the newer suburb of Nordhavn, it’s also a few minutes’ walk from one of the best swimming spots in the harbor. Rooms from $288

Nobis Hotel

The Swedish hotel brand picked a stately building for its first foray into Denmark: the former home of the Royal Danish Academy of Music. Inside, it’s all soft light and marble, with light blue walls and tan leather sofas. Rooms from $448

Nimb Hotel

Set on the edge of Tivoli Gardens, Nimb has direct access to the historic theme park and its excellent eateries such as Gasoline Grill, a classic Copenhagen burger joint. The hotel is calm and relaxed with moody rooms, large terraces, and a rooftop pool with views over the city. Rooms from $659