What is this place?
Exactly the kind of place all Copenhageners would have been excited about roughly eight years ago. Here in 2025, the concept feels a bit... passé. Or maybe the genre still has something to offer?
For several years now, it has felt like stepping back in time when and if you ventured through the doors of Nørrebro Bycenter, and as such, the timing is perfect for the center to launch its own indoor food market. Excuse me, streeeet foooood market.
With the skyrocketing rent prices in the capital, including commercial leases, it makes sense for restaurateurs to share the costs of the bricks. And maybe it’s good to have some eateries where we can connect with each other a bit?
The area outside the center, which has hosted a fleet of food trucks for a couple of years, now has the company of 10 new indoor stalls. And I actually think the shopping center largely succeeds with the project.
What’s the atmosphere like?
So, is it cozy? Mjah, it’s a bit hard to shake the warehouse vibe with food stalls, but the center folks have done their best to create some warmth in the space.
There are fine carpenter-made furniture, handcrafted tables with intricate designs on the surface, toilets at Frederiksberg Centret level (luxury!), and a rather lovely, enormous mural by Bjørn Magnussen.
There were surprisingly many people on the two ordinary weekdays when I visited for lunch: many parents with strollers, quite a few tourists, many retirees, and at least 30-40 young people from nearby schools buying lunch deals from the various stalls and booths.
What should I order?
If it’s really cold, start at Catmandu, which makes Nepalese street food classics.
The stall’s jhol momo (85 kr.) was served in a large cardboard bowl with eight dumplings swimming in a piping hot and aromatic soup. Packed with spices; creaminess from nut butter; fogged glasses from the steam and plenty of chili to warm the body up. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was tasty.
At Hermanos Tacos (four for 119 kr.), you should especially go for the vegetarian version with beans, onions, and grilled red bell pepper, which, with prominent cumin and plenty of cilantro, was far more interesting than the somewhat bland meat versions.
A few meters away, Franks Toast serves a totally solid, yes, toast (69 kr.) with a long cheese pull and quality ham. Eating it felt like being back in the handball hall, if the handball hall were in a parallel dimension where people actually cared about the quality of hall food.
But the absolute best meal during my visits came from the Caribbean stall right in front of the entrance.
Here, the food market’s best lunch deal is served (55 kr. including a can of cola): a small bowl with spicy rice and beans, pink cabbage slaw, fresh lime and parsley, and a decent portion of sliced, tender chicken thigh in a dark brown and fruity chili sauce. A fresh, spicy, warm, and satisfying meal at a totally reasonable price.
What should I skip?
The vegan bao from Kung Fu was a disappointment, especially because the steamed rice flour bun was stuck to the wrapping paper — it simply fell apart when I tried to pry it free. It felt like wasted 49 kroner (by the way, way too expensive for a single mediocre bao).
Why 4 hearts?
We really travel around the world, and the breadth of the selection is impressive. The quality is also somewhat variable. There are many good lunch deals, but if you’re having dinner, it quickly adds up. Here, I’d like to see more dishes — and not just snacks — under 100 kroner.
If I were a tourist in the city, I wouldn’t exactly plan my route around the capital based on the shopping center’s new food market, but I can easily see myself swinging by for lunch again. Especially for the bowl of rice and chicken.
read next
