Reffen: Copenhagen’s biggest Street Food Area

If you have done your research, you might already know that Copenhagen has a great food and eating culture. It is probably one of the biggest foodie capitals of northern Europe. Hence, if you are into food, experimenting with different specialties and delicacies, then Copenhagen is definitely your place to visit. 

A unique food culture that has been around in Copenhagen for some time now is street food. One of the many recently newly established street food areas is called Reffen. Reffen has been created and opened in May 2018, after the successful development of the nearby Paper Island (street food)- which has been replaced by Reffen. The street food market is located in Copenhagen’s industrial area of Refshaleøen, a popular place for numerous start-up stalls, including food, crafts, and various workshops. The Reffen food area is humongous in space, and measures around 6000 square meters, a relaxed place where you can also enjoy a beautiful view of the Copenhagen harbor.

Reffen Street Food

Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark

Once you are at Reffen, browse around and check out the numerous stalls and exciting food choices which are offered. Some of my favorites are the vegan Asian stall, Ramsløg where you can get Parmesan fries- yum!, or Street Polenta, another Italian specialty stall. The exciting thing about Reffen is its food diversity, so if you never had food from Nepal or Cambodia, food from Jamaica or Central Africa then you need to get a one-way ticket to this food paradise. 

While in Reffen you can taste and enjoy pretty much any food in the world. This place was built to give people the opportunity to experience cultural food difference but also create an eco-friendly food area. The motto of Reffen is “reduce and reuse” where people and food stalls are encouraged to reduce waste, use organic products, compost food, use local produce and recycle everything that can be reused again. 

The eco-friendly and recycling mentality also extends to the food stalls themselves. Most of Reffen is built from recycled material, and the food stalls are made from old ship containers (which are no longer in use). 

Do note that when it comes to payments at Reffen, only cards are accepted no cash. If you have been to Denmark before this should not come as a surprise. You can always get a prepaid card and top it up with money at the entrance of the premises.   

So how do you get to Reffen? I think getting to Reffen, is an adventure in itself. You can take the car, or a canal cruise, which will take you to Refshaleøen, however, I would strongly encourage heading out there by bike. Bike rental in Copenhagen is pretty easy and convenient. From Nyhavn, it will take you about a 15-minute bike ride to reach Reffen, via the famous Copenhagen bike ‘highway.’ It is becoming popular worldwide since it’s not a highway for cars. Go Denmark!