Who doesn’t know the feeling of being a bit homesick? Yes, no matter how lovely Copenhagen is, sometimes I just miss some good old German stuff. Sometimes I ask my mom to send me a care package of things I can’t buy here. This usually includes Gemüsebrühe (German vegetable stock), because the Danish “bouillon” just doesn’t taste the same to me. Other things include a curry-lentil sandwich spread (I’m planning to try to make my own though, so if and when I succeed, I’ll post the recipe) and German Remoulade, which is significantly different from the Danish remoulade not only by pronounciation!
Anyway, in the recent weeks I’ve been led to discover two German-inspired places in the hip Frederiksberg/ Vesterbro border area:
The first spot is Berlin Bar, self-described as “Copenhagen’s German beer bar”, with over 140 different German bottled beers and more on tap. Located on Gammel Kongevej, it’s a cozy dimly-lit, no-frills sort of dive bar - the type of spot you end up in late in the night, since you probably started out somewhere more fancy. The walls are decorated with German plaques, posters, signs, soccer scarfs etc. and behind the counter you can see part of the selection, which includes regional specialty brews as well as some well-known brands. They get major plus points for mixing me a “Berliner Weisse mit Schuss” (i.e. wheat beer with raspberry syrup). Some minus points for not having my home-town beer Krombacher (even though it’s one of the most popular and most sold beers in all of Germany!).
The second place is located on Vesterbrogade, right on the border between Frederiksberg and Vesterbro. It’s called Von Fressen and the owners proudly produce a lot of what they sell themselves, including for example the Ginger Ale. I went there for dinner and cocktails. The menu is very German-inspired, including classics like Wienerschnitzel (I saw one being served to some other guests, and it looked very good!). They also do brunch, which sounds quite nice as well from the menu alone.
As a pre-dinner drink, I chose a cocktail called “dasein” (impossible to translate), which had gin, cucumber, sours and ginger - definitely recommended, but only if you like ginger, because there’s a LOT in there! They have some signature cocktails which have names like Schopenhauer or Karl Marx, which are also very tasty. During happy hour, there’s a 2 for 80DKK offer which is a steal. I think happy hour starts at 6pm, if I’m not mistaken.
For dinner, I chose one of their burgers. Mine had goat’s cheese on it and was simply delicious. All burgers can be selected on rye bread or a bun, with classic beef, chicken or falafel. Choose the potatoes as a side, they are baked golden brown and melt in your mouth. They also come with a very nice dipping sauce.
All in all, Von Fressen is certainly a hip place, and not on the cheap end of the scale, however, not on the super expensive end either. I would also simply go there for a coffee and maybe sample one of their desserts. There were of course also cakes and cookies available, café-style.
So if you’re a German in Copenhagen, next time you get homesick, grab a Wienerschnitzel or an “Opa’s morgenmad” (grandpa’s breakfast) at Café Von Fressen and then head a couple of streets over to Berlin Bar to drown your sorrows in one of their many, many beers - Prost!
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