Cardamom buns, a fluffy and fragrant Viennese delicacy, are a staple of Danish (and Swedish) cuisine. When visiting the country, you must definitely try them to have a taste of happy life. But even if cardamom buns are super delicious in every form, I strongly recommend you to grab one of superior quality. In this article I help you with that, finding the best cardamom buns in Copenhagen.
There are basically two main roads you can follow. Specialty bakeries sell much better buns, but they usually have only one or2 locations in the city, and they are not open all day. On the other hand, there are more big chains with several locations open all day every day where you can also get fresh cardamom buns, even if not the best ones.
Extra tip: If you only manage to buy mediocre cardamom buns, place them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to enjoy a much better and softer experience.
Table of Contents
Here are all the locations where we tasted cardamom buns in Copenhagen. At the last section you can also find our evaluation as for who is selling the best cardamom buns in the city. Just for your information, these delicacies are called Kardemommesnurrer in Danish.
- Espresso House
- Lidl
- Andersen Bakery
- Juno The Bakery
- Who is selling the best cardamom buns in Copenhagen?
Espresso House Cardamom Buns
Espresso House have many locations basically everywhere in the city, so they provide one of the easiest way to buy a cardamom bun in Copenhagen.
However, they are definitely not the best. Espresso House cardamom buns were a bit stale on the outside, altough I tasted them in the evening. Soft in the middle, but more like a bland bread dough than that of a fluffy sweet delicacy that you would expect from a cardamom bun. My other problem is that they had very little cardamom flavour, only some sprinkled on the top.
With so many locations throughout Copenhagen, Espresso House cardamom buns are definitely the easiest to come by if you are looking to buy this delicacy in Copenhagen. Great for a quick first taste if you’ve never tried them, but at best mediocre quality and flavour.
Lidl Cardamom Buns
You might not expect Lidl, a discount grocery store, appear in the list of places selling cardamom buns in Copenhagen. I’m not even suggesting that they are selling the best ones.
But let let me point out something interesting here.
You can actually buy the cheapest cardamom buns in Lidl. Just for comparison, as of writing this article, you will pay around DKK 30-35 for one cardamom bun at any other location that’s listed here. Even with a discount at Espresso House when buying 2, you’ll still pay 25 per piece. But in Lidl one cardamom bun costs only DKK 14.
So they are not the best, but definitely worth to buy and try. Besides, Lidl have many locations around the city, one even just a few blocks from the main railway station. If you’ve never tasted cardamom buns before, this could be your first place.
I actually like the Lidl ones much better than those of Espresso House. They are quite different, much less taller, with a crunchy crusty outside and a much softer, kind of creamy inside.
In fact the dough of Lidl cardamom buns has much less of a bread-like consistency, but instead that of a soft Danish pastry. I mean what else should it be like?
I’m not saying that Lidl sells the best cardamom buns in Copenhagen. But if you factor in the price, it’s definitely worth to at least give them a try.
Andersen Bakery Cardamom Buns
Andersen Bakery is one of the most famous bakeries in Copenhagen. What about their cardamom buns?
I actually tried these tasty delicacies in the order they appear in this article. And have to tell you that Andersen’s cardamom buns are a delight compared to the previous ones.
They have a very dense dough, but that’s actually good for this pastry. These come with a much more intense cardamom flavour, you can see the seeds all over the inside.
Interestingly, Andersen’s cardamom buns are not as expensive as you would expect at one of the best bakeries in the city. One cardamom bun is only 32 DKK, actually cheaper than the Espresso House ones.
What’s more intriguing is that this is definitely no industrial cardamom bun. Every pastry looks completely different, you can tell that they are real hand made stuff.
Juno The Bakery
I have to tell you it’s kind of difficult to get to this place. It’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, closes at 6PM every day, 3PM on Sundays, and it’s not in the city center.
But I’ve heard and read so many excellent reviews about everything they sell, especially their cardamom buns, that I had to try it.
Oh man, this is definitely the best I ever tasted. I have arrived at the bakery half an hour before closing, they were already cleaning the place. There was not many items left to sell, but fortunately a very large tray of cardamom buns was still sitting on the counter. So I had the privilege of trying these delicacies here at Juno, definitely the best bakery in Copenhagen.
It was so soft, so pillowy and light as a whole yet dense like a very good yeast dough, that it just blew my mind. I actually bought two, ate the first one right on the street and had to hold back myself from eating the second one so that I could take a picture of it for you.
You can definitely feel the cardamom taste all over this bun. The best thing is that the whole bun is unbelievably soft, but still having a pleasant crunchy top. But unlike the other ones on this list, Juno’s cardamom buns weren’t crunchy because of the somewhat over-baked dough, but the caramelised cardamom sugar on top. It’s like a pastry version of a creme brulée; pillowy soft inside with a crunchy top. I don’t know how they do it, but they definitely took cardamom bun creation to a whole new level of never before seen perfection.
Their cardamom buns are somewhat smaller that all the other ones on this list, but interestingly they are the cheapest after Lidl. They cost DKK 30 at the time of publishing.
Who Is Selling The Best Cardamom Buns in Copenhagen?
There is no doubt that my best cardamom bun experience in Copenhagen was at Juno the bakery. They are so soft, so tasty, with a perfectly caramelised cardamom sugar layer on top, that if you are in the city and looking for the best cardamom buns in Copenhagen, you definitely have to come here and try them.
Århusgade 48, 2100 København, Denmark
Thorshavnsgade 26, 2300 København S, Denmark
Ørestads Blvd. 49A, 2300 København, Denmark
Vesterbrogade 25, 1620 København, Denmark