Copenhagen just got a brand new izakaya, and it is hiding inside the city's most famous food market. This is Kiko, tucked into Hal 2 of Torvehallerne, where Danish produce meets Japanese technique and the sake bar pours until it overflows.
Torvehallerne is the busiest food market in the City, right by Nørreport, and Kiko sits in Hal 2 with its own take on the izakaya idea. Danish produce, Japanese hands, and a proper sake bar at the center of it all. The room has that easy after-work energy, the kind of spot you settle into for one more pour and one more small plate. It is a sake-led izakaya done with local ingredients, and it works.
We started with hiramasa sashimi in a tomato broth. Silky and bright, and you do not waste a drop: finish it straight from the bowl. Next came Rømø oysters with elderflower and sake granita, ice cold on top and briny underneath.
Then a next-level Japanese potato salad. Bacon jam and katsuobushi, all mixed together so you get that bacon jam in every single bite. After that, charcoal-grilled trout in a truffle ponzu. Smoky, tender, perfectly balanced, with a piece of pickled ginger between every bite to reset the palate.
The kitchen has an ace up its sleeve: their own mushroom farm. The mushrooms arrive grilled and glazed, a meaty bite sitting on a rich savory emulsion. Then the one you order twice, the pork katsu sando. Sixteen hours of slow-cooked pork, crispy on the outside, packed into soft milk bread with a smoky, spicy relish. Comfort food done the Japanese way.
The sake bar here is serious. When they pour, they pour until it overflows, which is the old sign of generosity. Every course got its own sake and we kept going deeper into the list. Kanpai. After the meal, stay for the izakaya vibes with some plum sake and maybe a Japanese whiskey.
Kiko is built for a slow evening of small plates and good drinks, so bring people who like to share and order across the whole menu. It sits right in the middle of Torvehallerne by Nørreport, so it is easy to reach and easy to make a night of. Book ahead if you want the seats at the sake bar. This visit was sponsored.
Danish ingredients, Japanese technique, and a sake list that does not hold back. Kiko is one of the most exciting openings in Copenhagen right now, and we are already planning the next round.
But now… the real question is… where do we go next?
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