Best Burgers in Copenhagen: Kødbyen to Reffen

The best burgers in Copenhagen are spread across Vesterbro, especially Kødbyen, the Meatpacking District behind the Central Station, Nørrebro, the inner city around Nørreport, and Refshaleøen, the former shipyard island that hosts the Reffen street food market. Christianshavn, across the harbour from the centre, completes the circuit.

Much of Copenhagen’s casual eating now happens in spaces once built for meat and ships. Kødbyen’s buildings went up between 1901 and 1934 to process the city’s meat; since the early 2000s they have filled with restaurants, bars and galleries, while some meat wholesalers still work there. Reffen, which calls itself Northern Europe’s largest street food market, gathers dozens of stalls in shipping containers on Refshaleøen, with its main season running from spring to the end of summer. Before the burger, the Danish street snack was the hot dog from a pølsevogn, the sausage wagon, and it remains the local benchmark for fast food.

Burgers in Copenhagen: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Vesterbro and Kødbyen, Nørrebro, Indre By around Nørreport, Christianshavn and Refshaleøen.
• Street food: Reffen on Refshaleøen, with more than 30 food stalls, open daily in its main season.
• Local benchmark: the pølsevogn hot dog, Denmark’s original fast food.
• Getting around: bike lanes and the metro connect every area; a harbour bus serves Refshaleøen.
• Currency: Danish krone (DKK); cards are accepted almost everywhere.

Every guide we publish on Copenhagen is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. To compare with other capitals, browse our burger restaurant guides by city.