The Nordic Nomad

Copenhagen, Denmark

Cult pastries Copenhageners swear by (and queue for)

The Nordics • Eat & drink • Cult pastries Copenhageners swear by (and queue for)

Queue here for Copenhagen’s cult pastries, then move fast

If you want to know what matters in Copenhagen baking, watch the queues at first light. We’ve stood in line with bakers and café regulars to chase the flaky, sugar-slick things that spark devotion: cardamom knots with smoke and spice, croissants folded with near-architectural precision, custard-filled spandauers and seasonal one-offs that vanish by mid-morning. These aren’t broad bakery reviews but the single items worth crossing town for – Copenhagen standards now firmly part of Denmark’s pastry canon. Expect early opens, cashless counters and sell-outs before lunch. Thread your route through the city’s essential bakeries, order the exact thing they’re known for and keep moving. Follow the lines, follow the scent and leave room for a second round.

Top photography courtesy of Juno the Bakery

Cardamom bun at Juno the Bakery

Low-key chic Juno the Bakery, designed by the folks at design brand Frama, is a must-visit for its superb pastries and sourdough loaves. This Østerbro artisan bakeshop, founded by former Noma pastry chef Emil Glaser, draws customers from all over to try its signature pastry, the cardamom bun. It is fluffy and oozing with cardamom and sugar. What makes it special is that they bake these buns all day long so they’re warm and fresh – plus, the queues that form? That’s part of the experience. If you want one of the best pastries in Copenhagen, this is a top-tier way to start.

Juno the Bakery
Århusgade 48
Copenhagen
Denmark

Photography courtesy of Juno the Bakery

Croissant cube at Andersen & Maillard

If butter, layers and drama had a pastry, it would be the croissant cube at Andersen & Maillard. This is not your simple French croissant. It’s cubed, filled (pistachio is a standout) and topped with crunchy pistachio pieces, creating a thing of beauty that’s both photogenic and delicious. Andersen & Maillard reflects the shared culinary passion of co-owner and coffee maestro Hans Kristian Andersen and former Noma chef Milton Abel. With several branches across Copenhagen, this coffee and pastry mini-emporium shines brightest in its Nordhavn location, designed by local architectural designer Danielle Siggerud, our particular favourite.

Read the full article on Andersen & Maillard.

Andersen & Maillard
Nørrebrogade 62
Copenhagen
Denmark

Photography courtesy of Andersen & Maillard

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Tebirke at Riviera

If you love contrasts – crisp outer layers and soft, creamy insides – you’ll want the tebirke at Riviera. This is a pastry woven into Danish mornings, but Riviera’s version has a gravity that slows you down. The exterior is sharp with poppy seeds, scattering with every bite. Inside, soft folds hold a smear of remonce, buttery and almond-rich without tipping into sweetness. Riviera is precise, elegant and a little subversive. Located on Nansensgade in a restored 1960s bakery, it’s the debut project from Italian chef Chiara Barla, previously of Apotek 57. Frama Studio’s interior strips back the excess birchwood, Encarnado Negrais marble and a central trestle table where time feels less rushed. There’s a softness to the space, but nothing ornamental.

Riviera
Nansensgade 64
Gentofte
Denmark

Photography courtesy of Riviera

Spandauer at Københavns Bageri

Some pastries feel like heritage and the spandauer is one of them. At Københavns Bageri, it’s treated as a centrepiece rather than a relic. The bakery, founded by alumni of Noma, could chase reinvention – but here, fidelity rules. Their spandauer arrives golden, its edges brittle and caramelised, its centre filled with vanilla custard flecked with black seeds. Bite through and the contrast is perfect – a shattering exterior that collapses into smooth cream. For Copenhageners, the Spandauer is shorthand for nostalgia – what grandparents ate with morning coffee, what children first picked from bakery trays. At Københavns Bageri, it feels current again. The shop itself is minimal, almost austere, letting the pastries stand as the attraction.

Københavns Bageri
Flaskehalsen 22
Copenhagen
Denmark

Photography courtesy of Københavns Bageri

Cardamom croissant at Hart Bageri

Hart Bageri built its reputation on bread, but the cardamom croissant has become its icon. A French base meets Nordic spice, recalibrated entirely for Copenhagen tastes. Each croissant is rolled in sugar and cardamom before baking, so the crust caramelises into a crisp shell. Bite in and the crust fractures into caramelised shards, giving way to buttery layers spiced with cardamom. Richard Hart’s bakery has always blurred lines between tradition and reinvention and this croissant captures that ethos. Not reinventing for novelty, but distilling a flavour Copenhageners can’t live without.