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Cheap Eats Copenhagen 2026: 25+ Best Meals Under 100 DKK

The best cheap eats Copenhagen has under 100 DKK — ramen, falafel, durum, pizza, sausage carts and the supermarket counters locals swear by.

10 min read
Customers gather at Jeanettes Pølser in Copenhagen as pedestrians and a cyclist pass the red-and-white hot-dog wagon.
Højbro Plads vid Strøget i København med Pølsevogn - Jeanettes Pølser. Photo: News Øresund - Johan Wessman © News Øresund - Johan Wessman (CC BY 3.0) Detta verk av News Øresund är licensierat under en Creative Commons Erkännande 3.0 Unported-licens (CC BY 3.0). Bilden får fritt publiceras under förutsättning att källa anges. .The picture can be used freely under the prerequisite that the source is given. News Øresund, Malmö, Sweden News Øresund är en oberoende regional nyhetsbyrå som är en del av det oberoende dansk-svenska kunskapscentrat Øresundsinstituttet. www.newsoresund.org www.oresundsinstituttet.org
Customers at a lit street-food stall at night
Kebabs, falafel, ramen, pizza, supermarket hot counters and the red sausage cart — Copenhagen’s whole under-100-DKK food economy.

Copenhagen has a fearsome reputation for prices, and it’s mostly deserved — but it hides a whole second food economy where you can eat genuinely well for 50–100 DKK. The best cheap eats Copenhagen has run from the red sausage carts that have been on the streets since 1921, to Lebanese falafel houses in Nørrebro, Vietnamese pho in Vesterbro, Bib Gourmand ramen at Slurp, and — the locals’ real secret — supermarket hot counters at 35–65 DKK a plate. This guide covers 25-plus of them, with prices, addresses and an honest take on what each does best.

Eating cheaply is just one way into the city’s food scene; our guide to where to eat in Copenhagen covers the whole spectrum, from carts to Michelin stars.

Cheap eats at a glance

Type Best example Price (DKK)
Pølsevogn (hot dog cart) DØP, Steff Houlberg 35-50
Falafel pita Falafel House (Nørrebro) 60-85
Durum kebab Mirza Kebab, Habibi 65-95
Pizza slice Mother (Vesterbro) 50-95 slice
Pizza whole Bæst, Gorms 95-145
Ramen Slurp Ramen Joint 85-115
Pho/Asian Pho 3 Brothers 75-110
Sandwich Hart Bageri, Mirabelle 65-95
Supermarket hot lunch Netto, Føtex 35-65
Reffen street food Various stalls 85-155
Tivoli Food Hall 15 stalls 95-155
Counter-café brunch Granola, Mirabelle 80-145

The pølsevogn — the original cheap eat

Customers wait beside the menu at Emmis Place, a red-and-white hot-dog wagon on Copenhagen’s Kongens Nytorv.
At Emmis Place on Kongens Nytorv, the illustrated menu hangs beside the wagon’s serving hatch.

The pølsevogn — literally “sausage cart” — is where Copenhagen street food began, back on 18 January 1921, when the first six licensed wagons rolled onto the city’s streets. The red-painted carts are still dotted around town, and the ritual hasn’t changed: a rød pølse (bright-red boiled sausage) in a bun with mustard, ketchup, crispy fried onions, remoulade and pickled cucumber, for 35–50 DKK. It’s not haute cuisine, but it’s a genuine slice of the city, and it’s the cheapest hot meal you’ll find outside a supermarket.

The ones worth seeking out: DØP (Den Økologiske Pølsemand, the organic one) tucked beside Rundetårn, the Steff Houlberg carts around the city, and the long-running Lille Strandstræde cart near Nyhavn, run by the same family for over 60 years.

If you have never ordered at one, the two words to know are ristet, for the grilled sausage in a bun, and med det hele, for the lot: ketchup, mustard, remoulade, raw onion, crispy onion and pickled cucumber. Our full guide to Danish hot dogs covers the rest of the menu board, the history of the wagons and where to eat one.

The best cheap restaurants

Slurp Ramen Joint — Bib Gourmand ramen at 95 DKK

Night view of a small ramen shopfront on Nansensgade in Copenhagen, its open kitchen lit through two windows with pink neon and a dog sign beside them
The lit, open-kitchen shopfront of Slurp Ramen Joint on Nansensgade, photographed on a December evening in 2017.

Pound for pound, Slurp (Nansensgade 90, Indre By) is the best-value meal in the city. It carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand, yet a full bowl is 95 DKK, with four bases — tonkotsu, shoyu, miso and a vegetarian option. The catch is the queue, which can hit 30 minutes at peak; go slightly off-hours and you’ll walk straight in.

Falafel House, Nørrebro — the falafel benchmark

Falafel balls beside stuffed pita pockets and flatbreads
Falafel House, Hummus Bar and Habibi all do proper Lebanese falafel for 60–85 DKK — and it’s a reliable vegetarian fallback.

Falafel House (Nørrebrogade 218) has been family-run for over 20 years and sets the Lebanese standard here. A falafel pita is 70 DKK, a full plate with hummus, salads and pickles 95 DKK, and they’re open until 23:00 — a dependable late dinner when the budget’s tight. It’s also one of the easiest vegetarian meals in the city.

Mirza Kebab, Vesterbro — late-night durum

A halved chicken and cheese wrap on a wooden board
A durum — kebab rolled in lavash — is the classic cheap Copenhagen dinner at 65–95 DKK. Mirza and Habibi are the picks.

The durum — kebab meat, salad and yoghurt sauce rolled tight in lavash — is the city’s default cheap dinner, and Mirza Kebab (Vesterbrogade 35) does one of the best. Chicken or lamb runs 75 DKK, and it’s open until 3am at weekends, which is exactly when you’ll want it.

Mother, Vesterbro — wood-fired pizza

Hands taking slices of thin-crust pizza from a white plate
Mother’s slice menu starts at 50 DKK; a whole wood-fired Neapolitan pie runs 95–145 DKK, in the buzzy Meatpacking District.

Mother (Halmtorvet 19, Vesterbro) is the pizza institution — proper wood-fired Neapolitan pies at 95–145 DKK, with a lunchtime slice menu from 50 DKK. It sits in Kødbyen, the old Meatpacking District, so pair it with a craft beer next door at War Pigs and you’ve got a cheap, lively night out.

Pho 3 Brothers — the best cheap bowl of pho

Pho 3 Brothers (Borgmestervangen, Nørrebro) makes the best cheap bowl of beef pho in the city at 95 DKK — a rich 12-hour broth, plenty of noodles and a fistful of herbs. Copenhagen’s family-run Vietnamese places are quietly some of the most consistent value going.

Reffen — open-air street food

Reffen, out on Refshaleøen, is the city’s flagship open-air street food market: about 35 food stalls covering a wide range of cuisines, with food served 11:30–20:30 and bars open 11:00–21:30. It runs from mid-March to the end of September, plus an October autumn season, with mains at 85–155 DKK. Take the 991 harbour bus from Nyhavn (about 15 minutes) — it’s a lovely ride and cheaper than a taxi. Our Copenhagen street food guide goes stall by stall.

Tivoli Food Hall — indoor and central

Inside Tivoli Gardens, the Food Hall gathers 15 food stalls under one roof — smørrebrød, sushi, falafel, ramen, pizza, burgers — with mains at 95–155 DKK. You do need Tivoli entry (200 DKK for adults), so it makes most sense on a day you’re visiting the park anyway. See our Tivoli visitor guide.

The supermarket hot counter — the local secret

This is the tip nobody tells tourists. Danish supermarket hot-food counters serve genuine home cooking — the kind of “varm mad” locals grab on the way home from work — for astonishingly little. If you’re travelling on the tightest budget, it’s the single biggest saving available in an expensive city.

  • Netto: the cheapest. Frikadeller (Danish meatballs) with potatoes 35 DKK, schnitzel 65 DKK.
  • Føtex: a bigger spread — salads 45 DKK, full hot meals 55–75 DKK.
  • Irma: the premium, organic option, 70–95 DKK and noticeably better.
  • 7-Eleven: open 24/7, with hot dogs at 35 DKK and sandwiches 50–65 DKK — a quick fix, not a feast.

A day of eating for under 200 DKK

To show how it adds up, here’s a realistic day that keeps you fed and happy without blowing the budget. Start with a bakery breakfast: a kanelsnegl (cinnamon roll) and filter coffee for around 55 DKK — or hit Sankt Peders Bageri on a Wednesday, when their famous onsdagssnegl is about 25 DKK. For lunch, grab a supermarket hot plate of frikadeller and potatoes at Netto for 35 DKK, and drink the tap water, which is excellent and free.

Come dinner, splurge — relatively speaking — on a 95 DKK bowl at Slurp or a 75 DKK durum at Mirza. That’s roughly 165–185 DKK for three meals, versus the 600–1,000 DKK a day you’d spend on sit-down lunches and dinners. Do it for a few days and pair it with our free things to do guide, and Copenhagen suddenly stops feeling so punishing on the wallet.

Cheap eats by cuisine

Two baristas behind a cafe counter with a till and an espresso machine
Counter-service cafés like Granola and Mirabelle do filling brunches and lunches for 80–145 DKK.

Asian

  • Slurp Ramen Joint: Bib Gourmand ramen, 85–115 DKK.
  • Pho 3 Brothers: pho, 95 DKK.
  • Tao Burger (multiple): Taiwanese-Japanese, 75–110 DKK.
  • Yokama: casual sushi, 95–155 DKK.
  • Sticks’n’Sushi (multiple): a step up, from 145 DKK.

Middle Eastern & North African

  • Falafel House (Nørrebro): 70 DKK.
  • Hummus Bar (Vesterbro): 75 DKK.
  • Habibi (multiple): 85 DKK.
  • Marrakech (Vesterbro): Moroccan tagine, 95 DKK.

Italian

  • Mother (Vesterbro): pizza, 50 DKK a slice to 145 whole.
  • Bæst (Nørrebro): pizza and craft beer, 105–145 DKK.
  • Gorms Pizza (multiple): dependable mid-range, 85–125 DKK.
  • L’Altro (Indre By): lunch pasta, 95–145 DKK.

Danish traditional

  • Sankt Peders Bageri (Wednesdays): the famous cinnamon snegl, 25 DKK.
  • DØP by Rundetårn: organic sausage, 45 DKK.
  • Hallernes Smørrebrød (Torvehallerne): open sandwiches, 75–145 DKK.
  • Café Halvvejen (Krystalgade): old-school smørrebrød, 75–135 DKK.

Mexican

  • Hija de Sanchez (Torvehallerne / Vesterbro): tacos, 80–110 DKK.
  • La Banchina: Mexican-Nordic, 95–150 DKK.
  • Sanchez Cantina (Vesterbro): full sit-down, 145 DKK and up.

Tips for eating cheaply

Baguette sandwiches and croissants in paper cones on a bakery counter
Bakeries like Mirabelle and Hart do sandwiches and salads at 65–95 DKK alongside the pastries.
  1. Raid the supermarkets. Netto and Føtex hot counters at 35–65 DKK are the best-kept secret in town.
  2. Eat lunch out, dinner in. Most cheap spots are casual lunch places — buy dinner ingredients and you’ll save 100-plus DKK a day.
  3. Drink the tap water. Copenhagen’s is among the cleanest in Europe, and it’s free everywhere.
  4. Take the harbour bus to Reffen — 24 DKK on an ordinary two-zone ticket, far cheaper than a taxi.
  5. Skip Nyhavn for budget meals. The view carries a tax; walk two minutes inland for the same food at half the price.
  6. Look for happy hours. Many bars cut drinks 30–50% between about 5 and 7pm.
  7. Cards work everywhere, even at the sausage carts, so you don’t need cash.
  8. Bring a thermos. Supermarket coffee is 18 DKK against 45–65 at a café.

Frequently asked questions

How cheaply can you eat in Copenhagen?

You can eat for 35–50 DKK at a supermarket counter or sausage cart, while sit-down cheap eats start around 65–95 DKK. On a disciplined budget, three meals a day come to 200–300 DKK — against 600–1,000 DKK if you sit down for lunch and dinner.

What’s the cheapest meal?

A rød pølse from a cart or Netto frikadeller, both around 35 DKK. The 7-Eleven hot dog, at about 30 DKK, is the nearest thing to a sub-30 meal.

Is there affordable fine dining?

Relatively, yes. Michelin Bib Gourmand places — Slurp, Geist, Pluto, Brace, Mêlée — offer four or five courses from 600–800 DKK, well below the starred restaurants. Our Michelin restaurants guide lays them out.

Are the supermarkets really that cheap?

Yes. Netto and Føtex hot counters do genuinely good Danish home cooking for 35–65 DKK, and locals eat from them daily. It’s the biggest saving available to a budget traveller here.

How late can I eat cheaply?

Most casual places close by 22:00–23:00. For later, there’s Mirza Kebab (3am at weekends), 7-Eleven (24/7) and the 24-hour McDonald’s on Vesterbrogade.

Do I tip?

No — service is included in Danish prices. Round up a few kroner if you like, but the carts and counters don’t expect anything.

Where do locals actually eat cheaply?

Supermarket counters most of all, plus sausage carts for a snack, kebab shops late at night, pizzerias midweek and Reffen as a weekend treat. They largely steer clear of the tourist restaurants in Indre By.

Can I do Copenhagen on a tight budget?

With a bit of planning, yes. Budget 200–300 DKK a day for food, add a 7-day transport pass and lean on free sights, and a five-day trip can run 1,500–2,500 DKK excluding your bed. Pair this with our hostels guide to keep accommodation down too.

Several of the cheapest meals in the city are also the most traditional: a ristet hotdog from a pølsevogn, a flæskestegssandwich with crackling and red cabbage, a warm frikadelle on rye. We explain what each one is in our guide to traditional Danish food.

Final thoughts

The best cheap eats Copenhagen offers are plentiful, varied and genuinely good — which surprises most people who arrive braced for the prices. Go to Slurp for Bib Gourmand ramen at 95 DKK, Falafel House for the Lebanese standard, Mother for wood-fired pizza, Mirza for a late durum, a red cart for the 1921 original, and the supermarket counter for the locals’ secret. Budget 200–300 DKK a day, eat lunch out and dinner in, skip Nyhavn for anything cheap, and you’ll eat well in one of Europe’s priciest cities without flinching every time the bill lands.

Last updated: July 2026. Photo credits: images courtesy of copenhagentourism.org.

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