Restaurant Schønnemann

Spectacular open sandwiches. Excellent service in an perfect atmosphere for your quintessential Danish smorrebrod experience. Interesting wines and schnapps along with beautiful art and period setting.

During my time in Copenhagen, I tried to eat and drink like a Dane as much as I possibly could. So, rather than hunting down chains and things which were familiar to my British sensibilities, I wanted to immerse myself in the Danish culture wherever the opportunity arose. Armed with some Lonely Planet books, I got pointed towards the delightful Restaurant Schønnemann.
I didn’t book ahead, I just strolled up to the restaurant at the start of the afternoon service and asked whether they had a table available for me. The waiter jovially responded that wouldn’t be a problem and I was quickly seated at a table and presented with the menu and asked if I would like a drink. As I was in Copenhagen, I naturally went for a Carlsberg to start with. I’m not overly fond of lager in general, but I will say that Carlsberg is a LOT nicer in Denmark than it is in the UK. (They also have a larger offering of beers too, not just the regular or Export versions!)
When it came down to the food, I didn’t know quite where to start! Thankfully, when the waiter returned with my beer he was more than happy to help with my selections and suggest that if I was interested in a «traditional Danish lunch» that I should start with herring and then one or two more depending on how full I wished to be.
I took his advice and went for the fried herring, followed by gravad lax. Now, as someone who hasn’t really been much of a seafood eater and who had never had herring before, some of the cold herring options were a little intimidating — I wasn’t even sure I wanted it cooked! That said, once it arrived at the table I must say that the presentation was stunning and I got well and truly stuck in to what was actually one bloody delicious plate of food. The gravad lax was also amazing, and I especially liked the mustardy dill sauce which accompanied it — not that the salmon needed any helping along in terms of flavour. The caraway bread was also great!
Whilst I was lucky enough to stroll up and get a table on the day, I have a feeling that this was an exception rather than the rule as the restaurant filled up really quickly. If you’ve got your heart set on visiting Schønnemann, and let’s face it if you’ve not then you should, you’d probably be wise to try and secure a table ahead of time.
I can’t fault the staff at all, they were all incredibly friendly and helpful despite me jumping in somewhat at the deep end and having no idea what I wanted to order.
In total, the bill for my meal was around DKK400 (or about £40) which for one person may seem quite a lot but believe me it was certainly worth it.

This place is legit, old school and expensive. However, everything is expensive in Copenhagen but this place slightly more so. We came here for lunch and ordered the shrimp pyramid open faced sandwich and a smoked salmon sandwich as well. Both were delicious and it was a great experience.

First of all, a reservation here is required. I showed up about 30 minutes early for my reservation and they had trouble seating me. I also watched them turn several people away who didn’t have reservations.
When you walk in it’s very obvious this is a historic place that has changed very little over the years which I can really appreciate. It feels much more authentic than some of the more touristy spots in the popular areas of Copenhagen, and makes you feel like you’re really getting a taste of a true Danish open-​faced sandwich.
I ordered the fried fillet of plaice (Swedish style). It was very flavorful and filling. I have seen some other reviews where people had multiple sandwiches but I was fine with just the one. These sandwiches are truly a piece of art. While you’ll feel like such a tourist taking photos of your masterpiece, you just won’t be able to help yourself. I really appreciate that this place does something well and in a basic way, and hasn’t changed much over the years. It makes you feel like you’re taking a bite out of a small part of Danish history!

Walking into this place was like walking into a 1970s steakhouse and nothing has changed. This is an old school traditional open faced sandwich place. There were only old Danes and tourists eating here. The restaurant has an old world tavern feel to it. It’s clean, but definitely outdated. We were seated promptly and left to navigate the menu on our own. With over 110 food choices and dozens of snaps on the menu, that is alot to wade through. When our waiter did show up he was annoyed at us for not ordering quick enough. He was also annoyed we didn’t know what pour size we wanted with our snaps. The ordering might have gone smoother if he had made the slightest effort to explain the basics. We got a salmon dish, a duck dish, and a veal dish. The salmon dish was fine. The boiled duck was lacking in flavor and the whole dish was covered in a beet sauce. We ordered a veal pâté, but were served a fried veal liver. The waiter walked away so quickly every time he dropped something off, we didn’t have a chance to correct it. He clearly didn’t care. He also didn’t care when he crashed into our table, spilling both of our snaps. He laughed and walked off. We did see other tables getting better service from other waiters, but this guy was a disaster. If you want old school open faced sandwiches with less than stellar flavor combinations and bad service, thus might be for you. If you want something flavorful, good service in a homey setting, go to Aamanns.

During my meal here, I had MULTIPLE mouthgasms. The fish is exquisite, the smoked duck is superb, the cheese is aromatic and delicious, the schonneman ale is very good, and the service is fantastic. Please eat here for your own benefit! Probably one of the best meals I’ve ever had.

Amazing smørrebrød the best I have tried so far. The way the present it is awesome plus it tastes really good I tried Simons favorit with the special salmon from Daniel Letz I can really recommend it. It is a very busy place so not the place for lunch meetings but quite cozy it has a nice atmosphere.

What can I say? This place met all my expectations and more! I wanted Danish style food and this was the place. My husband ordered the brisket and duck; and I ordered the Salt Herring and Danish meatballs. We also ordered schnapps with our meal. T’was a great lunch. Make sure to make reservations, it’s worth it. Pricey but worth it! I highly recommend this place.

It’s expensive. Let’s get that out of they way. However, once you eat the sandwiches you suddenly stop caring about the price.
This is THE place to sample the traditional open faced Danish sandwiches.
If the service was a tad bit friendlier, this would be an easy 5 star review.

Where Sandwich is Art, Schønnemann (since 1877) serves up the most geniusest of Danish sandwiches. It’s smack loaded with ingredients prolly we all haven’t had. The end result? They’re super delicious, the flavors, classic yet simple. Maybe the salmon looks somewhat familiar, maybe the herring could be something you could try on a dare. Not necessary, go for it. These sandwiches are not only classic, they are supremely tasty and beautifully presented. Had the herring, really nicely marinated and fresh, with a consistency only traditions following strict protocols could produce. The gravlax is perhaps the silkiest salmon preparation I’ve had, the salt dimension so faint; they did this on purpose to prove to the diner its ultimate freshness. I had two sandwiches and I was stuffed. They recommend 3 or 4 (to hit it just right). There is a plethora of other sandwiches that I would love to try next time. Service is stellar and informative. I think I met the owner/​manager and he was warm with a hilarious sense of humor. He laughed when I stopped at 2. And I don’t blame him, you really need to go full boar. So come hungry! Ask your waiter what the Danes do for lunch here and you will discover this amazing tradition in more ways than one.
Down this with an ale (Danish ale rocks deliciousness), a Schnapps, an aqvavit and life breeds contentment.
Ahhhhh, a Danish open sandwich!!! It’s beautifully simple, it’s art. Just love this place for its authenticity, well presented dishes and time-​honored traditions.
Visits: 1
Tip: You can easily miss the Restaurant. It’s facing a small plaza/​playground. Come after 1:30pm when the lunch crowd starts to wane. We waited for 35 minutes with a reservation. The wine list is intensely tempting! But start with the schnapps, the ales and the aqvavits first – they are… Danish. When in Copenhagen, do their thang. You’re welcome.

This is my second time here and the food is just as good as before. A popular Danish restaurant has been around for a long time. Well worth the visit for that Danish cultural immersion.

It is one of the best pyramids of shrimp you will ever enjoy. Have the dill aquavit, love on the combo hard.

Awesome place. Do yourself a favor and get to know your waiter/​waitress and the experience becomes even more unbelievable. If you want a quick, cheap lunch, this isn’t it. How’re if you want to immerse your self in Danish cuisine, then this is the place to go. You’ll need just two things, an appetite and time for the full experience, order the full lunch plate and have a snap with each course, they’ll even do the pairing for you.

I just finished the most expensive half sandwiches I’ve eaten in a long time. Maybe ever. Anyway, this place feels true danish. The food is authentic enough, but that doesn’t mean it’s great food either. I had the herring with a mustard sauce. Ok, they did a good job for herring but I wouldn’t get it again. Tried the beef carpaccio, which was a little salty but good. They did give me a good sized portion. The house beer was really tastey. My wife had a few dishes they weren’t amazing either. But I would give them 4 stars on plate presentation and I did feel the service was good. I feel this is a great place to get the feel for authentic Danish food in an authentic Danish restaurant.

Great place for lunch! Their Smorrebrod sandwiches are fantastic. The only bad thing I can say is there are so many good options it’s hard to decide on just one. The service was great as well. In fact, as I was leaving it started to rain really hard. I paused by the door for a minute to see if it would let up. As I stood there, the waitress’s came by and asked if I needed an umbrella. I told her no since I wouldn’t be back in that area to return it. She gave it to me anyway and told me to keep it. Great food and great service; highly recommended.

Another Danish cultural experience. Its a sandwich place. There are rules. The rules (and the waiter who gives them) are more local color than anything else. The problem is that the food, particuarly the meat, was salty. Very salty. The ham that came with my «Rosenborg» was inedible because of this. Ditto with the lamb we had. The Curried herring ok. I’m giving three stars because its pretty looking and has lots of local flavor. But it really deserves two.

Having previously lived in Copenhagen for many years and also a bit of a food snob, it goes beyond my comprehension that I could fail to be aware of Schønnemann. What a gem! What great food! My oh my!
This is Danish smoerrebroed when it is at the top of it’s game. For you non-​Danes, Danish smoerrebroed resembles tapas, but with dark rye bread and amazing — AMAZING — topping. And generally a lot of seafood, pork and veggies.
I can’t really go into details without excessive drooling, but do yourself a favour and go before it becomes as difficult to get a table here as Noma. I sense the first Michelin star just around the corner.

When asked about where I could get a good traditional Danish dinner in a restaurant no one could come up with a really good suggestion. In fact almost everyone was unilaterally unexcited about it. They say there were a handful of places that make it but they’re pretty mediocre. It’s said that no ones heart is really into it. No progressive chef wants to update it. It seems to be a dying tradition. In fact a survey was found that pizza was actually the most popular household meal for dinner. A few people said that the only way to get a good traditional dinner is to find a Danish grandmother. Well since I dont have a Danish grandmother and I didn’t know anyone well enough to go to their house so I was out of luck.
You know what the Dane’s do love? Traditional Danish lunch. Smørrebrød maybe one of the most beloved foods in the country and Schønnemann’s maybe the most beloved place for it in Copenhagen. Every single Dane I asked about Schønnemann lit up with a smile. You can talk all you want about the New Nordic Cuisine, Copenhagen as the new center of the progressive fine dining world, the worlds most influential food people in Rene Redzepi and Claus Meyer… whatever. The deepest love of Danish cuisine lives at this restaurant.
Folks of all ages and levels of food love, from the most progressive fine dining down to the most casual diner… politicians, bus drivers. It didn’t matter. They all sit side by side enjoying the various open faced sandwiches, salads, tartares, snaps and aquavit. We were given a long list of favorites from many staff members from all the restaurants we ate at. Lucky we got those because the choice of food is staggering. You could eat here pretty much every day for a month and not have the same thing. This also goes for the selection of aquavit and snaps.
Our charming server gave us a few moments to decide what we wanted. We had presented him with a list of written suggestions we had received. He looked at over and nodded in approval. We got four different dishes and our server suggested a traditional beer that they have made for them, and a couple of snaps to go with our dishes. So we ended up with:
–Fried filet of Plaice — mayonnaise, boiled Greenland shrimps, lemon
–Spiced meat roll — on lard, raw onions, aspic, mustard a’part
–Herring Tartar — rough cut sherry herring filets mixed with herbs, capers, onions, egg yolk
–Simon’s Favorite (SImon was in the house that day!) — smoked salmon, creamed spinach, poached egg on butter fried toast
As predicted, everything was excellent. That many enthusiastic people couldn’t have been wrong and Schønnemann definitely delivered. We had but the tip of the iceberg and we wanted to try more, but we had restrain ourselves for fear of not being able to eat later. Believe me it was hard. Not only that we could have just sat and drank all afternoon. The saying is «you need to drink enough snaps to allow the fish to swim in it».
If you are a food lover and are in Copenhagen, Schønnemann is not to be missed. You best make reservations ahead of time though or you’re not getting in. We witnessed three jackasses jump through the door demanding a seat. The server asked if they had reservations and they shook their heads. Asking if they could get a reservation soon, the server replied, «Maybe next Monday» Don’t be pushy! This is one of the most democratic restaurants in all of the city and it’s crowded for a reason. They do love Schønnemann THAT much here.

I recently visited Copenhagen and was taken here to experience Danish cuisine.
I went with the simple marinated herring. It was very good — a very clear and open flavor, and very light. The dark bread comes with two spreading options: butter and lard. I, of course, had to try the lard since I’d never been served that as a spread before. Quite good.
The atmosphere is relaxed and charming (we went at lunch time). There is sand on the floor to keep the floorboards smooth (a kind of constant sandpaper). The staff was polite and, in true Scandinavian fashion, offered great service while respecting privacy.

when someone comes to visit me in denmark, of course they want to try some danish food. while i can’t take them all to noma or relæ, schønnemann’s is a great option. of course they are nowhere in the same league but what is important is that the food is really good here! the servers are friendly, prompt, and actually pretty funny.
i can highly recommend ruth’s christiansø sild, thomas surrib, and restaurantør tartar. be wary of anything with ‘salat’ in the title; it means a mayonnaise– based ‘salad.’ you will not see a single leaf of green besides possibly dill. don’t forget to order a shot of snaps to go with your smørrebrød!