where to – copenhagen
embracing the hygge + lunar new year rice cakes
hej hej,
from a very chilly los angeles, where i'm embracing all things hygge. if you need a refresher on hygge, it's pretty much the danish culture around feeling cozy. anyway the new yorker describes it better than i can. i went to copenhagen for the first time ~ten years ago with my best friends and instantly fell for its sleek minimal design and hygge cafes. while planning my trip back last year, i was worried it wouldn’t have the same magic, but let me tell you, it absolutely still hits. savory porridge, little natural wine bars by candlelight, dining on mountains of seafood overlooking the water. coffee shop culture with their sesame cookies and perfectly designed cafes (i get a crush on each and every menu), all while biking everywhere. the fonts, my god, the fonts are beautiful – a designer’s wet dream. it’s in my top five (fave cities) easilyyy.
i spent far too long researching the spots to go in cph over the years, and i must say it was well worth it. paid subscribers, scroll to the bottom for your (more in depth) cph guide on where to eat, drink, be hygge, etc. everyone else, here’s the highlights:
a day in copenhagen:
cross the pond via norwegian air, stay at a kindred or airbnb in nørrebro, coffee + sesame cookie at coffee collective, walk thru superkilen’s squiggly line park along the way, brunch at quintessential cph cafe atelier september. rent a bike and head to the island of refshaleøen for a glass of natural wine + sauna at la banchina (where you can hop in the water or, if it’s march and freezing, watch the crazy locals take a dip), feast on (mountains of) seafood at fiskebaren in meatpacking, then head back to nørrebro for cozy natural wine bar pompette (there’s no shame in returning every night, as we discovered!), and if still hungry, grab a late night kebab (+ fries with all the sauces) at kebabistan on your way home.
for a longer visit, hit up kafeteria for coffee + (another!) sesame cookie, visit one of grød’s many locations for (sweet or savory!) porridge, sonny for a healthy-ish brunch, torvehallerne food hall’s location of hija de sanchez for tacos (tacos in copenhagen?... yes, just trust), slurp for ramen (vegan ramen too!), take a look at nyhavn’s waterfront postcard-y row of colorful houses, reffen for a waterfront outdoor street food experience (also on the island of refshaleøen), prolog coffee for an additional caffeine fix, bar vivant for more natty hygge-ness, if you didn’t already crush one while at pompette, order a spicy fried tofu sandwich + fries from its sister poulette, mikkeller baghaven for local beer + hot tubs (seasonal though), and if you have an afternoon to train up the coast to louisiana museum.
hygge at home:
if you can’t get to copenhagen anytime soon and want a little hygge in your life, make home cozy. first + foremost, you’ve got to get yourself little egg cups for a very european soft boiled egg breakfast. once a week (or so), i make soft boiled eggs, cradled by beankim’s matte speckled ceramic egg cups. cracking the shells with our tiny euro spoons and scooping the soft warm golden yolk really makes you slow down and eat *mindfully.*
you can even slow down your coffee ritual — while i love our moccamaster for a quick drip, i’ve been really digging my mokapot to make a latte(ish). if you didn’t save room in your suitcase for beans, you can still get cph’s finest from coffee collective via la’s dayglow. just be sure to grind your coffee beans into a finer espresso-like grind, if you go for the mokapot route. the gurgling sound it makes when your coffee’s ready is oddly so satisfying.
making stove-top (sweet or savory!) porridge, is like giving your insides a warm hug. if you make yours with cinnamon, cardamom and jam, your home will smell like your favorite cafe (free incense!). for my savory girlies, i still daydream about west~bourne’s sunset grains savory porridge. still need some recipe inspo? cph’s own grød has a cookbook on porridge for any time of day.
set yourself up for a hygge eve by making your own little wine bar. have a few bottles on display (i’m a sucker for a floating shelf) and a pair of cute glasses (like my little wine tasting glass). burning incense (palo santo!) and spinning a record go a long way too. we recently converted our hay design lamp to a red light with $6 colored gels and it adds a whole damn viiibe.
we’ve all seen a drippy white taper candle stick lodged in a wine bottle by now… caked by wax, growing by the drip… every self-respecting copenhagen cafe + wine bar has these guys flickering so why not add it to your home’s newly hygge corner. chug a bottle (twist my arm), buy some taper candles and get dripping. bryan had to shave down our bottled candle a bit to lodge it in properly, but once you light it and get the wax building, you’re good. i’ll warn you though: you may feel a strong urge to have people over for candle lit sips + records the following weekend 🙃
after seeing anatomy of a fall (top three of the year for me!) and how strong the sweater game was, i was reminded the importance of a good chunky sweater. turtleneck’s a bonus but an oversized fisherman's crewneck does the trick too.
and for when you do manage to leave your oh so cozy house, biking (or walking will do!) to/from your cafe, errands, day drinks, etc. will make you feel that much more like a dane.
where to dane cosplay:
if you’re in la, go hang out at (hygge-but-la) spots like canyon coffee with records echoing off its blonde wood walls, and el prado with the overpowering incense and moody lighting. just a few hours away from la is solvang, a little danish/scandinavian oasis. cph's la cabra has a location over in new york, so you can sip your latte with a cardamom bun and (almost) forget you’re in the east village.
lunar new year at woon:
woon is easily one of my most frequented haunts in la, probably because on wednesday (www!) their wine is $10/glass and $10 off bottles. their natural wine program, curated by emily of pinkies up, is always top notch, especially when paired with the chewy veggie noodles (top bites in la). we had woon cater our wedding dinner and the noodles were a little too popular with our guests (we literally ran out…). but for lunar new year, woon does a special menu, and their stir fried rice cakes (representing lucky coins) were just as insane this year. plus emily’s pouring a magnum ($8/glass!) of this crunchy (in a good way!) italian rosato. woon’s lny specials are avail till feb 11th so go get your rice cakes this wkend. + hit up chinatown for more lunar new year festivities.
oslo — the aquarius
my furry son is six years young. if you see this grey moppet trotting along sunset blvd, give him a big bday squeeze <3
now playing:
true blue by boygenius — play this when you’re nestled under a cozy blanket in your newly hygge corner, rocking your big ol’ chunky sweater, sipping natty in red-hued (waxy bottled) candle light and you’ll get it… and speaking of boygenius… rip?
happy lunar new year and stay warm + hygge my friends xx d