The Atlas · Nº 34 ·Denmark

Most Popular Danish Food

Danish food runs on rye bread and butter: the open-faced smørrebrød built plate-high at lunch, a warm wienerbrød on a Sunday, caramelized potatoes beside the Christmas roast. It is cold-climate cooking, big on pork, herring, and baking, with a cold bowl of koldskål when summer finally arrives.

75 dishes ranked·2 in the global top 1,000 ·1,768 diner ratings·Best rank Nº 920

Plate I — The Origins

Fig. 1 Where 75 ranked danish dishes were born. Dish origin

Drag to pan · Double-click or +/− to zoom · Select a marker for its entry

The Signature Dishes

The twelve highest-ranked Danish dishes, by global position.

Brunede kartofler, side dish from Denmark
Plate IISide Dish · Denmark

1 Nº 920 worldwide

Brunede kartofler

Side Dish · Caramelized Potatoes

Caramelized potatoes, small and glossy, rolled in a hot pan of melted sugar and butter until they wear a sweet brown glaze. They belong to the Danish Christmas table, set beside roast pork or duck, and no julefrokost feels complete without them.

★ 4.0|92% positive |17 ratings

Sol over Gudhjem, sandwich from Denmark
Plate IIISandwich · Denmark

2 Nº 939 worldwide

Sol over Gudhjem

Sandwich · Sun over Gudhjem

An open sandwich named sun over Gudhjem, after the Bornholm fishing town: buttered rye piled with smoked herring, radish, onion, and chives, crowned with a raw egg yolk that stands in for the sun. One of the more theatrical members of the smørrebrød family.

★ 4.0|100% positive |11 ratings

Smørrebrød, sandwich type from Denmark

3SmørrebrødNº 1,091

Sandwich type · Also Smorrebrod

The Danish open sandwich, and something close to a national institution: a slice of dense buttered rye built up with cold cuts, fish, cheese, or egg and finished with pickles and herbs. Eaten knife-and-fork at lunch, plain at home or elaborate at a restaurant.

★ 4.0|112 ratings

Danish Pastry, sweet pastry from Denmark

4Danish PastryNº 1,124

Sweet Pastry · Also Wienerbrød

What Danes simply call wienerbrød, Viennese bread: laminated dough folded again and again with butter, baked into flaky spirals and knots and filled with custard, jam, or remonce. The cozy Sunday-morning treat the rest of the world borrowed and renamed.

★ 4.0|191 ratings

Røget ål med røræg, breakfast from Denmark

5Røget ål med rørægNº 1,637

Breakfast · Also Rökt ål med äggröra

Tender smoked eel laid over soft, buttery scrambled eggs, eaten as a rich breakfast or lunch or piled onto rye as smørrebrød. An old coastal pairing shared with Sweden, seasoned simply with herbs and a squeeze of lemon.

★ 3.9|6 ratings

Rejemad, sandwich from Denmark

6RejemadNº 1,761

Sandwich

Denmark's shrimp sandwich, buttered wholegrain bread heaped with tiny hand-peeled fjord shrimp and dressed with lemon, dill, and a little mayonnaise. At its best the shrimp are so small and so many that a single serving can number in the hundreds.

★ 3.9|10 ratings

Hønsekødssuppe, chicken soup from Denmark

7HønsekødssuppeNº 1,925

Chicken Soup

Danish chicken soup: a clear, long-simmered broth with carrots and leeks, floated with little meatballs and flour dumplings. The poached chicken rarely goes to waste, shredded into a creamy follow-on dish called høns i asparges.

★ 3.9|5 ratings

Bøfsandwich, burger from Denmark

8BøfsandwichNº 2,051

Burger

Denmark's own take on the hamburger: a thick beef patty on a soft bun, dressed the Danish way with pickles, soft and crisp onions, rémoulade, and often a ladle of brown gravy over the top. Roadside and grill-bar food, messier and better than it sounds.

★ 3.9|18 ratings

Stjerneskud, sandwich from Denmark

9StjerneskudNº 2,061

Sandwich · Also Shooting Star

The shooting star, one of the grandest smørrebrød: a base of buttered bread layered with both fried and steamed white fish, then shrimp, caviar, and smoked salmon, finished with dill and lemon. A lunch dressed up to look like a celebration.

★ 3.9|32 ratings

Koldskål, sweet soup from Denmark

10KoldskålNº 2,136

Sweet Soup · Also Kærnemælkskoldskål

A cold buttermilk dessert whisked with vanilla, lemon, and a little sugar, poured into a bowl and eaten with a spoon, often over crisp kammerjunker biscuits. It arrives the moment summer does, a pale, tangy Danish answer to the heat.

★ 3.8|22 ratings

Flæskeæggekage, egg dish from Denmark

11FlæskeæggekageNº 2,214

Egg Dish

Bacon and egg cake, cooked flat and thick in a pan from a batter of egg, milk, and flour, then topped with strips of fried bacon and a shower of chives. Farmhouse food, cut into wedges and eaten straight from the pan with rye bread.

★ 3.8|4 ratings

Æbleskiver, pancake from Denmark

12ÆbleskiverNº 2,353

Pancake

Round Danish pancakes cooked in a special dimpled pan so they puff into little spheres, turned with a knitting needle to brown all over. Once filled with apple, they now come plain, dusted with sugar and dipped in jam, and they are pure Christmas-market food.

★ 3.8|36 ratings

The Departments

Every Danish dish in our ranking, grouped the way you'd order them.

The Complete Ledger

All 75 Danish dishes in the world ranking. Every entry, leaf by leaf.

75 entries
  1. 920 Brunede kartofler Side Dish Denmark ★ 4.0
  2. 939 Sol over Gudhjem Sandwich Gudhjem ★ 4.0
  3. 1,091 Smørrebrød Sandwich type Denmark ★ 4.0
  4. 1,124 Danish Pastry Sweet Pastry Denmark ★ 4.0
  5. 1,637 Røget ål med røræg Breakfast Denmark ★ 3.9
  6. 1,761 Rejemad Sandwich Denmark ★ 3.9
  7. 1,925 Hønsekødssuppe Chicken Soup Denmark ★ 3.9
  8. 2,051 Bøfsandwich Burger Denmark ★ 3.9
  9. 2,061 Stjerneskud Sandwich Denmark ★ 3.9
  10. 2,136 Koldskål Sweet Soup Denmark ★ 3.8
  11. 2,214 Flæskeæggekage Egg Dish Denmark ★ 3.8
  12. 2,353 Æbleskiver Pancake Denmark ★ 3.8
  13. 2,386 Juleand Poultry Dish Denmark ★ 3.8
  14. 2,865 Frugtsalat Fruit Salad Denmark ★ 3.8
  15. 2,867 Drømmekage Cake Hjallerup ★ 3.8
  16. 2,905 Flæskestegssandwich Sandwich Denmark ★ 3.8
  17. 3,198 The Captain's Stew (Skipperlabskovs) Stew Denmark ★ 3.8
  18. 3,308 Stegt gås Goose Dish Denmark ★ 3.8
  19. 3,400 Karamelrand Dessert Denmark ★ 3.8
  20. 3,483 Rødkål Side Dish Denmark ★ 3.8
  21. 3,554 Pålægschokolade Chocolate Dessert Denmark ★ 3.7
  22. 3,607 Fiskefilet med remoulade Sandwich Denmark ★ 3.7
  23. 4,298 Æblekage Dessert Denmark ★ 3.7
  24. 4,354 Pariserbøf Beef Dish Denmark ★ 3.7
  25. 4,385 Rødspættefilet Saltwater Fish Dish Denmark ★ 3.7
  26. 4,412 Brunsviger Cake Funen ★ 3.7
  27. 4,634 Påskelam Lamb Dish Denmark ★ 3.7
  28. 4,724 Rhubarb Cake (Rabarberkage) Cake Denmark ★ 3.7
  29. 4,749 Culottesteg Beef Dish Denmark ★ 3.7
  30. 4,847 Mørbradbøffer i flødesovs Casserole Denmark ★ 3.7
  31. 5,322 Koldt Bord Assorted Small Dishes or Ritual Denmark ★ 3.6
  32. 5,339 Risalamande Pudding Denmark ★ 3.6
  33. 5,755 Høns i asparges Savory Pastry Denmark ★ 3.6
  34. 5,814 Brændende kærlighed Meat Dish Denmark ★ 3.6
  35. 5,871 Hjerter i flødesovs Offal Dish Denmark ★ 3.6
  36. 5,880 Curried Herring Spread (Karrysild) Spread Denmark ★ 3.6
  37. 5,934 Andesteg Duck Dish Denmark ★ 3.6
  38. 5,955 Raspberry Bars (Hindbærsnitter) Dessert Denmark ★ 3.6
  39. 6,038 Frikadeller Meatballs Denmark ★ 3.6
  40. 6,106 Jødekager Cookie Denmark ★ 3.6
  41. 6,107 Hakkebøf Ground Meat Dish Denmark ★ 3.6
  42. 6,184 Øllebrød Porridge Denmark ★ 3.6
  43. 6,215 Flødekager Cake Denmark ★ 3.6
  44. 6,258 Tebirkes Sweet Pastry Denmark ★ 3.5
  45. 6,259 Citronfromage Dessert Denmark ★ 3.5
  46. 6,570 Tarteletter Snack Denmark ★ 3.5
  47. 6,634 Rugbrød Rye Bread Denmark ★ 3.5
  48. 6,642 Æbleflæsk Pork Dish Denmark ★ 3.5
  49. 6,848 Krebinetter Ground Meat Dish Denmark ★ 3.5
  50. 6,926 Pølser Hot Dog Denmark ★ 3.5
  51. 7,135 Dyrlægens natmad Sandwich Denmark ★ 3.4
  52. 7,140 Risengrød Rice Dish Denmark ★ 3.4
  53. 7,175 Stegt flæsk Pork Dish Denmark ★ 3.4
  54. 7,248 Kagemand Dessert Denmark ★ 3.4
  55. 7,272 Boller i karry Meatballs Denmark ★ 3.4
  56. 7,324 S Stegt lever Offal Dish Denmark ★ 3.4
  57. 7,336 Pan-Fried Plaice (Stegt rødspætte) Saltwater Fish Dish Denmark ★ 3.4
  58. 7,394 Leverpostej Pâté Copenhagen ★ 3.4
  59. 7,562 Gammeldags kylling Chicken Dish Denmark ★ 3.4
  60. 7,567 Æggekage Egg Dish Denmark ★ 3.3
  61. 7,605 Fiskefrikadeller Saltwater Fish Dish Denmark ★ 3.3
  62. 7,738 Rød pølse Sausage Denmark ★ 3.3
  63. 7,877 Lagkage Cake Denmark ★ 3.3
  64. 7,890 Medisterpølse Sausage Denmark ★ 3.3
  65. 7,924 Flæskesteg Pork Dish Denmark ★ 3.3
  66. 7,933 Millionbøf Stew Denmark ★ 3.3
  67. 7,936 S Skidne Æg Egg Dish Denmark
  68. 8,136 Kammerjunker Cookie Denmark ★ 3.2
  69. 8,138 Stegte sild Saltwater Fish Dish Denmark ★ 3.2
  70. 8,235 Pebernødder Cookie Denmark ★ 3.1
  71. 8,310 Vaniljekranse Cookie Denmark ★ 3.1
  72. 8,604 Gule Ærter Vegetable Soup Denmark ★ 2.8
  73. 8,612 Småkager Cookie Denmark ★ 2.8
  74. 8,976 R Rhubarb and Cucumber Salad (Rabarber og agurkesalat) Salad Denmark
  75. 9,741 O Onsdagssnegl Sweet Pastry Copenhagen
Leaf 1 of 3

Gazetteer

A Regional Tour of Danish Food

Where Denmark's ranked dishes were born, and what to order there.

Questions, Answered

Danish food, frequently asked. Answered from the data.

What is the most popular Danish food?
By ratings it is the Danish Pastry, the buttery laminated wienerbrød that Denmark gave the world, followed by Småkager biscuits and Smørrebrød, the open rye sandwich. Our best-ranked Danish dish is a humbler one: Brunede kartofler, the caramelized potatoes of the Christmas table. All 21 Danish desserts & sweets →
What food is Denmark known for?
Open sandwiches and baking. Smørrebrød, buttered rye under everything from herring to roast beef, is Denmark's most distinctive category, with named classics like Sol over Gudhjem and the seafood-piled Stjerneskud. On the sweet side sit the Danish Pastry and a deep bench of cookies and cakes. All 9 Danish sandwiches & burgers →
What is Denmark's national dish?
The savory everyday icon is Smørrebrød, the open-faced rye sandwich eaten at lunch across the country. For something hot, stegt flæsk, crisp fried pork belly with parsley sauce and potatoes, won a public vote for the title; on our map, the Christmas Brunede kartofler ranks highest of all.
What is the most famous Danish pastry or dessert?
The Danish Pastry, of course, known at home as wienerbrød and abroad simply by the country's name: laminated, buttery, and filled with custard or jam. For a summer sweet, Danes turn to Koldskål, a cold buttermilk dessert eaten by the bowl with crisp little kammerjunker biscuits.
What is Danish smørrebrød?
Smørrebrød is Denmark's open-faced sandwich: a single slice of dense, buttered rye bread piled with a topping and eaten with a knife and fork. The classics are named and near-codified, from Sol over Gudhjem with its egg-yolk sun to the seafood-stacked Stjerneskud and the shrimp-laden Rejemad.