Khmer Cuisine

Step down into the unassuming basement on Store Kongensgade and you’ll find Khmer Cuisine, a quietly transformative refuge from Copenhagen’s new Nordic cool. The space feels more like a family living room than a typical city restaurant: simple wooden tables pressed together in close quarters, amber lights flickering over framed photos of distant temples. The lack of pretense is palpable—this is not the place for performative service or culinary pyrotechnics. Here, it’s the food that commands attention. Khmer Cuisine holds a special place in the city’s multicultural mosaic—a rare outpost of Cambodian tradition amid Copenhagen’s sleek international scene. Locals and expats alike find themselves drawn to the menu’s unfamiliar contours: aromatic coconut soups laced with lemongrass, turmeric pancakes folded around crisp greens, fish curries steamed in banana leaves. These are flavors seldom encountered elsewhere in Denmark, making each visit feel like an act of discovery. There’s a quiet pride in being let into this world; the owner often emerges from the kitchen to share a story behind a dish or offer recommendations to those curious enough to ask. The mood shifts with the clientele—early evenings bring neighborhood regulars seeking comfort and nostalgia, while weekends see adventurous eaters and Southeast Asian diaspora families reconnecting with home through taste. If you come expecting fine-dining polish, you may be thrown by the relaxed service and close-set tables. But linger here long enough and you’ll witness something rare: food as cultural bridge, inviting Denmark to meet Cambodia not just across a table but within a single spoonful.