DIS Blog
Budget friendly cafés and communities in Copenhagen
Published
August 30, 2022
Copenhagen
Study Abroad Tips
Copenhagen has many places throughout the city that are friendly to your wallet and present opportunities for meeting locals and other students.
Read our recommendations for the many cafés and communities in Copenhagen below.
Volunteer-driven cafés
Café MellemRummet
A non-profit café in Nørrebro, run by volunteers. Community space with friendly prices. The environment is dynamic, as they hold different events, so it could be a place to meet new people and socialize with strangers.
One Bowl
A space in Nørrebro where you can eat and pay what you can for the meal. You can also volunteer here.
Studenterhuset
Copenhagen’s Student Union, located a five-minute walk from DIS, where you can volunteer, meet new people, attend events, and enjoy student-friendly prices on drinks and snacks. As a DIS student, you already have a membership to Studenterhuset!
Budget friendly cafés
The following cafés are very popular among Danish students.
Minas Kaffebar
Mina’s Coffee Bar is a budget-friendly café that sells hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, pastries, sweets and drinks. It has a small indoor seating but most visitors sit outside at tables on the pavement.
Zaggis
Low price café that sells barista coffee, sandwiches and sweets, they have a few seatings and make to go coffee as well. Located by Dronning Louises Bridge.
Communities
Absalon
A former church that transformed into a community center, where you can study or just hang out. Located in Vesterbro, they host events like dances, yoga, trivia nights, and crafts. They also have fællesspisning served at 6 p.m. sharp every day – a concept where you sit at a long table with strangers and, in this case, eat dinner for only 50 DKK (Sunday – Thursday) and 100 DKK (Friday and Saturday). The price includes dessert!
To guarantee a spot, you can book tickets online (where you can also see the menu for the week).
Send Flere Krydderier – Communal dining
“Send more spices” is a project which emerged from the NGO Diversity Works and is a socioeconomic business and cafe that takes extraordinary social responsibility. Send Flere Krydderier was created with the aim of creating jobs for minority ethnic women. They make communal dinners in Nørrebro on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The menu is inspired by spices and cuisines from around the world. You can find their menu the day before on their Facebook page.
Clothing and other goods
Flea markets and secondhand stores
Flea markets, or loppemarkeder, are particularly common in Copenhagen. Search using this word on Facebook and you can easily find an upcoming event where they sell clothes and other goods.
If you want to find secondhand stores, search and genbrugsbutik – Red Cross (Blå Kors) and Blue Cross (Kirkens Korshær) are very popular second hand stores for clothes, where all profit goes to social projects, in Denmark and abroad.Flea markets, or loppemarkeder, are particularly common in Copenhagen. Search using this word on Facebook and you can easily find an upcoming event where they sell clothes and other goods.
If you want to find secondhand stores, search and genbrugsbutik – Red Cross (Blå Kors) and Blue Cross (Kirkens Korshær) are very popular second hand stores for clothes, where all profit goes to social projects, in Denmark and abroad.
Further budgeting resources
Kathrina, University of Richmond, shares her tips for exploring Copenhagen on a budget. Find out her favorite places for food, sightseeing, and coffee:
Sustainability is a key aspect in Danish fashion. Secondhand shopping is a major way of life in Copenhagen, and the reuse of trendy items and the recycling of fabrics adds a lot of creativity to the Danish fashion scene. Join Juliana, Anna and Kenzie while they explore Vera’s Flea market in Copenhagen: