We’ve had a stall at Torvehallerne since the beginning. We know which vendors get their deliveries on Tuesday mornings, which counter is worth the wait, and where to sit when the sun finally decides to show up. Here’s our honest guide.
Torvehallerne has been Copenhagen’s food market since 2011 — two glass halls, over 60 stalls, right in the heart of the city at Frederiksborggade. It’s one of those rare places that manages to be both a working food market for locals and a genuine destination worth visiting if you are a foodie or tourist. We’ve been here since close to the beginning, and we still find something new every week.
Here’s what we’d actually tell a friend visiting for the first time.
Albatross og Venner
Albatross og Venner is the bakery at Torvehallerne that does mornings properly. Everything is baked fresh that day, and if you time it right you can watch the bakers working through the open kitchen. Sourdough baguettes, croissants, focaccia, both sweet and savoury — if you want to taste the best of Danish pastries, this is your go-to place. Start here before the market fills up, then make your way to lunch.
The reinventors
Some of our favourite stalls here share something with what we’re trying to do at Rørt: they took food that belonged to ordinary people and asked what it could genuinely become.
Grød
Grød did for porridge what we’re trying to do for smørrebrød. Porridge in Denmark was historically poor people’s food — cheap, filling, nothing glamorous about it. Grød turned it into something worth crossing the city for. Seasonal, inventive, and properly good. It’s the kind of thinking we respect: don’t discard the tradition, just be honest about what it can be.
Hija de Sanchez
Rosio Sánchez left noma — one of the most celebrated restaurant kitchens in the world — to open a taqueria. Not a fine dining taco concept. A taqueria. We have a lot of admiration for that decision, and for the tireless dedication she brings to it. The reasoning resonates with us completely: the taco is to a Mexican what rye bread is to a Dane — the everyday food of ordinary people, deserving of real craft and real respect.
And then there’s us
We’re obviously biased. But here’s what we’d say if we weren’t: Rørt is the smørrebrød stall at Torvehallerne that takes the food seriously without taking itself too seriously.
If you’re starting your day at the market, we’re open from 07:30 on weekdays (08:00 on Sundays) with breakfast specials until 11:00. That means smashed avocado on toasted rye, or egg salad with crispy bacon — both 50 DKK, both worth it, both with coffee to get the day going properly.
For lunch, everything is served on toasted rye — the crunch is the point. The toppings are made from scratch every morning: fresh and seasonal produce sourced as locally as possible. Even the cheese comes from the local Arla Unika, which also holds a stall at Torvehallerne.
We recommend two or three pieces per person. And a small but important note for first-timers: smørrebrød is meant to be eaten by hand. That’s not us being provocative — that’s just how it works. The Danes call it a håndmad, a hand food, and the whole point is that it’s immediate and a little messy. Licking your fingers is not just acceptable, it’s basically required.
Right now on our menu:
Ingrid in Summer — Ingrid pea hummus, roasted onions, pickled onion, cabbage, chimichurri. Named after the pea variety. Fully plant-based.
One Lucky Potato — New Danish potatoes, herb mayo, fried onions, herbs, cress. Fully plant-based.
Ferm Tun — Tuna salad with miso, cabbage, fermented chili sauce, sesame, coriander. Danish smørrebrød with an asian twist.
Torvehallerne – A few practical things
The market is busiest on Saturdays between noon and 2pm — lively and worth experiencing, but not the moment to arrive hungry and impatient. Weekday mornings and early lunches are calmer, and you’ll actually get to talk to the people behind the counters.
One of the underrated things about Torvehallerne is the outdoor space. When Copenhagen decides to produce actual sunshine — which it does, reliably, from late spring through summer — the area outside the halls is one of the better places to be in the city. We have our own outdoor seating right in front of our stall, which makes for a good quick lunch in the sun before heading back out into the city.
Rørt Torvehallerne — Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 Copenhagen K. Open daily 08:00–20:00 (Sunday until 18:00). Breakfast served 07:30–11:00 (Sunday from 08:00).
