Restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen Basement Informality
Cafe Valkenborg is a basement bar in Copenhagen's old city at Valkendorfsgade 36 — easy to get into and best treated as a low-key neighbourhood stop rather than a destination cocktail venue. It works well as an unplanned evening drink after dinner at one of Copenhagen's tasting-menu restaurants. If a curated drinks program is the priority, look elsewhere in the city first.
If you're expecting a polished cocktail bar with a curated drinks list and a reservation system, adjust your expectations before arriving at Valkendorfsgade 36. Cafe Valkenborg sits in a basement in Copenhagen's old city, and its appeal is closer to a neighbourhood local than a destination bar. That is not a criticism — it is the most useful thing to know before you book, because the gap between what visitors expect and what they find is wide.
For a special occasion or a first-date venue with serious cocktail ambitions, there are stronger options in the city. But if you are looking for somewhere to settle in for the evening without the pressure of a timed reservation or a dress code, Cafe Valkenborg offers something Copenhagen's higher-profile bars do not always manage: a genuinely unhurried atmosphere.
Specific menu details are not available in our verified data, so we will not invent a drinks list here. What we can say is that the venue's positioning in the basement of a historic Copenhagen address and its reputation as a neighbourhood fixture suggest a drinks program built around approachability rather than technical showmanship. If you are arriving from a dinner at one of Copenhagen's tasting-menu restaurants — Geranium, Koan, or Alchemist , and want somewhere low-key to continue the evening, this is a plausible candidate. It is not where you go to benchmark cocktail technique against Copenhagen's leading bars.
Without confirmed hours in our dataset, we recommend verifying directly before visiting. As a general rule for Copenhagen basement bars, weekday evenings offer the most relaxed experience. Weekend nights can shift the room's energy considerably depending on the crowd, and a venue of this type will feel different at 7 PM than at midnight. If the occasion matters , a celebratory drink, a quiet conversation , aim for early evening on a Thursday or Friday rather than a Saturday night arrival.
Cafe Valkenborg works leading for: Copenhagen locals who want a reliable neighbourhood option, travellers who have already done the tasting-menu circuit and want to decompress, or anyone who finds the reservation-led bar format more exhausting than exciting. It is a lower-stakes choice than the city's destination cocktail venues, which is precisely its value for the right visitor. For a broader look at where to drink in the city, see our full Copenhagen bars guide.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. The address is Valkendorfsgade 36, Kælderen , note the basement entrance. Copenhagen's old city is walkable from most central hotels; for accommodation options nearby, see our full Copenhagen hotels guide. If you are planning a wider Denmark trip, venues worth considering outside the capital include Jordnær in Gentofte, Frederikshøj in Aarhus, and Henne Kirkeby Kro in Henne.
| Venue | Format | Booking Difficulty | Price Tier | Leading For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cafe Valkenborg | Basement bar, neighbourhood | Easy | Not confirmed | Low-key evenings, locals |
| Geranium | Tasting menu restaurant | Hard | €€€€ | Special occasion dining |
| Alchemist | Progressive tasting experience | Very Hard | €€€€ | Theatrical, once-in-a-trip dining |
| Koan | New Nordic Kaiseki | Hard | €€€€ | Precision tasting menus |
Copenhagen rewards visitors who plan the high-end dining in advance and leave room for spontaneous neighbourhood stops. Cafe Valkenborg fits the latter category. For the full picture of what to eat, drink, and do in the city, see our full Copenhagen restaurants guide, Copenhagen wineries guide, and Copenhagen experiences guide. For destination dining elsewhere in Denmark, Frederiksminde in Præstø, Ti Trin Ned in Fredericia, and Dragsholm Slot Gourmet in Hørve are all worth the journey.
We don't have a verified current menu for Cafe Valkenborg, so recommending specific dishes or drinks would mean guessing , and that is not useful to you. What the venue's profile suggests is a drinks-forward neighbourhood bar rather than a kitchen-led destination. Arrive open to the house selections rather than hunting for a signature. If you want a Copenhagen bar where the cocktail program is the explicit draw and the menu is documented, the city's higher-profile cocktail venues are a safer bet for a planned special occasion. Cafe Valkenborg is better approached as a find-on-the-night stop than a pre-planned centrepiece.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cafe Valkenborg | Easy | — | ||
| Geranium | New Nordic, Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Noma | Creative | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Alchemist | Progressive, Creative | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Koan | New Nordic, Kaiseki, Creative | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| a|o|c | New Nordic, Mediterranean Small Plates, Creative | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Cafe Valkenborg and alternatives.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
