This La Banchina, Copenhagen Review is part of a Copenhagen trip report that will include reviews of luxury hotels and Michelin star dining. La Banchina, while located walking distance from 2-Michelin Star Noma, in its new location in Refshaleøen, is low key and unpretentious: a place to get a great cappuccino with a pastry or bread slathered with homemade jam in the morning, or a cooked to order fish dish with lots of greens for lunch, ideally on a summer weekday.
La Banchina Location and Hours
Located in Refshaleøen, an old industrial area that was once one of the world's largest shipyards but is now transforming into a hip area with office space, restaurants, the Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center and more, you'll find La Banchina at Refshalevej 141A. To get there, take bus 9A; it will take ~20 minutes from central Copenhagen.
May-September, La Banchina is open Monday-Friday 8am-11pm, and Saturdays and Sundays 9am-11pm. It's a tiny spot, where most people sit outdoors on the pier in good weather, and no reservations are taken for the few indoor seats.
October-April, La Banchina is open 8am-4pm on weekdays and 9am-4pm on weekends. And winter evenings Thursday-Sunday, La Banchina offers dinner for up to 16 diners, with reservations taken for seatings 6-9pm.
If you're intrepid enough to try swimming in the colder months, you can warm up afterwards with a visit to the wine barrel sauna, which is heated when the first customer asks for it between 10am-9pm in the colder months and costs 50 kr.
The Scene
La Banchina is low key, but it's where some of Copenhagen's beautiful 20 and 30 somethings come to sunbathe. We were there with our Danish-American friends, and we (the parents) were easily the oldest folks there, while our kids were definitely the youngest.
La Banchina Menu and Food
You don't have to look hard for the breakfast or lunch menu: it's right on the glass:
For lunch, there are also wines by the glass:
Bread with cheese, which you help yourself to, is just under 30 Danish Krone, or about $4.70, as is a kanelsnegl (cinnamon roll), while a giant croissant is 25 kr., or ~$4.
The fresh bread, croissants and cinnamon rolls (we tried all three, and all were fantastic) come from the nearby Il Buco Bakery, worth a visit in its own right for its delicious breads and chocolate rye cookies.
My cappuccino was superb as well, and far better than a cappuccino I'd had at another Copenhagen coffee shop.
For lunch, La Banchina offers both a fish dish, for 110 kr. (~$17) and a vegetarian dish, which was 95 kr. (~$15). We chose the fish dish, an excellent white fish with potatoes, lots of greens, watercress, and a light herb cream sauce. My son isn't always a huge fan of leafy greens, but he happily wolfed down most of this dish, which was superb. I barely managed to get 3-4 bites of it.
We washed this down with some organic blood orange juice from the chilled case, which was bottled, not fresh squeezed, but still quite good.
The Verdict
If you need a vacation from your vacation in Copenhagen, perhaps some time to read a good book over a great coffee and pastry, or savor a simple vegetarian or pescatarian lunch while dangling your feet in the water, head to Banchina. It has a short, simple menu, but the food is fresh and delicious and the setting on the pier is lovely on a sunny, clear day. It's a small space though, so I don't recommend coming on the weekend, when it's far too crowded to be relaxing.
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