Rumor has it that this is the capital’s most authentic Colombian eatery. The small garage-like building housing Guacamaya on Rosenørns Allé feels like a place one might find on a side street in Bogotá.

Inside, Gustavo Eduardo makes traditional Colombian food, and since there isn’t much space to eat on-site, it’s perfect to grab the three vegetarian empanadas for 80 kroner to take away. Inside the crunchy cornmeal dough packets you find a filling of boiled potatoes and melted cheese, and the taste is exceedingly satisfying.

Guacamaya. Rosenørns Allé 58, Frederiksberg

»Possibly the world’s best sandwich,« as Doomsday Deli writes on the menu next to their crispy Beef & Pickle for 120 kroner, and that might be a slight exaggeration. Nonetheless, the Nørrebro café’s take on the North American Reuben is a seriously solid serving.

The brisket is salted and brined for a week before being braised in a spiced broth to buttery perfection. After cooling, the pink meat is sliced ultra-thin, stacked high on sourdough bread, and topped with sauerkraut, pickles, Russian dressing, and Emmental cheese that melts like a shield over the pile when the sandwich is grilled in the panini press before serving. It’s a hefty affair but worth both the calories and the money.

Doomsday Deli. Guldbergsgade 10, Copenhagen N.

Alle Tiders calls itself a cafeteria, but we are far from the back room of childhood sports halls and Molslinjen ferry’s equivalent. Here, the food is genuinely cherished, and their lunch tray for 100 kroner is a prime example that good food can be served at reasonable prices.

The selection of dishes on the shiny metal tray changes daily, but we have, among other things, received servings with slices of deep-fried hokkaido in beignet batter, baked beets with cheese cream, a green salad, a small portion of fermented vegetables, and a solid square of vegetable lasagna to lay the foundation. A tasty, diverse, green, and filling lunch.

Alle Tiders. Onkel Dannys Plads 9, Copenhagen V.

»The city’s best-kept secret, « says the sign outside Jazzed on Grains on Rådmandsgade, and we might change that now, but the little pasta workshop deserves all the positive attention. Every week, chef Simone Schmid crafts new pasta from locally grown grains, and it can, of course, be bought to take home in bags, but also eaten warm on-site.

We have, among other things, had mafaldine made from rye grown and milled by the mill Vild Hvede tossed in creamy peanut butter, soy, pasta water, and topped with grated sheep’s milk cheese. A serious banger in the meeting of east and west. And served with a small salad with radicchio, castelfranco, and orange in a bowl on the side. The price? 95 kroner for the whole lot.

Jazzed on Grains. Rådmandsgade 34, Copenhagen N.

The little breakfast joint Brunch & Bites in the basement on Godthåbsvej doesn’t make much of a fuss, but over the past year, rumors about the place’s homemade pita bread with falafel (38 kroner) have spread on social media, and we can now confirm after testing that you indeed get great value for money.

Expect a lot of food because after being stuffed with fillings, the pita bread ends up in a size category reminiscent of a roughly half-pumped soccer ball for U13 players. Long, flattened falafels are placed on a bed of iceberg lettuce, tomato, broadleaf parsley, and a garlic dressing with character, still lingering in your mouth a few hours after consumption. And what gets this pita bread on this list, the large crown of pink pickled cabbage that cuts through the fats and lifts the experience.

Brunch & Bites. Godthåbsvej 73, Frederiksberg.

Comé Rice Kitchen is in many ways a breakthrough on the Copenhagen food scene because no one else in the city has managed to get Danes to stand in long lines to get their hands on rice balls with filling like them. And there’s a reason behind the craziness and hype because the little shop in Kødbyen takes the Japanese onigiri very seriously.

Carefully selected varieties of sushi rice are thoroughly washed and steamed in spring water before being shaped around fillings and packed in dark green and sea-scented nori. Order the version with tuna tossed in kewpie mayo and the rather cheeky (and hot!) variant with miso and green chili (65 kroner for two).

Comé Rice Kitchen. Flæsketorvet 48, Copenhagen V.

A Greek deli, sandwich bar, and wine shop might not seem like the obvious place to look if you’re hunting for classic Danish open-faced sandwiches, but Petit by Ikos is an exception. The little shop on H.C. Ørsteds Vej makes genuinely good open-faced sandwiches from fresh ingredients placed on thumb-thick chunks of freshly baked dark rye bread.

Especially good is the egg sandwich with herb mayonnaise and shrimp (55 kroner) besides the classic with fish fillet (also 55 kroner), where you can actually sense the fish beneath the breading ... which is more than can be said about many of the city’s other open-faced sandwich shops in this price range.

Petit by Ikos. H.C. Ørsteds Vej 50B, Frederiksberg.

On Ibyen’s editorial team’s internal list of the city’s best burgers, the Iberico variant from Siesta in Kødbyen is highly placed. There’s good reason, it’s not like most others in town.

Here, the burger (125 kroner) comes equipped with a juicy and immensely flavorful patty of Iberico pork, a welcome development on the Copenhagen burger scene. Add two slices of cheddar to the mix for extra richness, pickles for contrast, and a soft brioche bun to hold all the juices, and you have a winner.

Siesta. Høkerboderne 16B, Copenhagen V.

The sidewalk outside Helges Ost is nearly blocked virtually every weekday at lunchtime because it’s no longer a secret that the cheese shop on Værnedamsvej makes one of the city’s best sandwiches. Just check TikTok.

Choose the cold-risen, airy focaccia on Italian flour – »do you want an edge or middle piece? «, what service! – which is spread with pesto and insulated with gouda, lettuce, and cooked ham (59 kroner). If you turn your gaze to the refrigerated display, you can, for an additional charge, add toppings from the vast selection of pickled vegetables, dried sausages, and extra cheeses on display. A kind of pick-your-own adventure for foodies.

Helges Ost. Værnedamsvej 9, Frederiksberg.

It’s not just with K-pop that South Korea has influenced the cultural landscape nearly worldwide in recent years. Gastronomically, the Asian republic is also making waves, so kimchi, bibimbap, and bulgogi are no longer foreign words here.

The latest addition to the lineup of Korean street food hits we now need to get acquainted with is served at Kopan Street. The creation is called hotteok, a kind of soft bun or pancake stuffed with fillings from both the savory and sweet kitchens. The best (also vegan) version – number 1 on the menu, 씨앗 호떡 (I think) for 45 kroner – comes with brown sugar and cinnamon, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Crunchy, sticky, warm, sinful.

Kopan Street. Nørregade 2, Copenhagen K.

With pop classics such as ‘Stupid Man’ and ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ playing from the speakers, the stage is set on Nørre Allé in the premises that housed Café Stadion and later Bredo for several years. Now the place is called Forglemmigej (Forget-me-not), and with one of the city’s best terraces for evening sunbathing, there’s every reason to swing by.

Not least for the ‘weekly dish’ (often around 125 kroner) – an evening meal such as the cheeky fennel à la barigoule, a Provençal classic with white beans and deep flavor in the white wine-steamed fennel, here flavored with lots of lemon and black pepper, sage, and parmesan. The wines are also very fairly priced and start from 45 kroner for a glass.

Forglemmigej. Nørre Allé 27, Copenhagen N