Reffen Street Food

For over a century, Refshaleøen was home to the Burmeister & Wain shipyard, one of the largest in Europe, churning out everything from cargo vessels to diesel engines. When the shipyard closed in 1996, the island sat derelict for two decades — a dusty peninsula of abandoned warehouses and rusting workshops on Copenhagen's eastern harbour. Then in 2018, Reffen opened, and the island got a second life as the largest street food market in Northern Europe.

Built primarily from repurposed shipping containers arranged across a 12,000-square-metre waterfront site, Reffen has the raw, industrial aesthetic you would expect from a place built on a former shipyard. Around 35 food stalls and 10 bars serve everything from Korean bibimbap to Argentinian empanadas, all run by independent entrepreneurs who had to pitch their concept to be accepted. The diversity of the food reflects Copenhagen itself — a city that is far more multicultural than its hygge-and-minimalism image suggests.

The old B&W machine hall has been transformed into Werkstatt, Reffen's largest indoor venue, hosting concerts, exhibitions, flea markets, and club nights. Four creative workshops offer everything from pottery classes to metalworking. There is an on-site brewery. The whole operation runs from April to October, closing for the Danish winter, which gives it a festival energy that permanent venues rarely achieve.

What makes Reffen work is the location. Sitting on the water with views back toward the city skyline, the Copenhagen Opera House visible across the harbour, it feels genuinely separated from the polished tourist centre. Getting here requires a bike ride or a harbour bus, which filters out the casual crowds and attracts people who actually want to be there. On a summer evening, with the sun low over the water and a dozen different cuisines competing for your attention, Reffen is Copenhagen at its most relaxed and cosmopolitan.