Copenhagen restaurants face tougher fight for diners

Competition for diners is intensifying in Copenhagen as more restaurants open and some struggle to fill their tables, DR reports.

Three large restaurants have opened in recent months around Nina Bangs Plads, a square near the Round Tower, and another restaurant with room for 200 guests is planned. But the growing number of venues does not mean there are enough customers for all of them.

Restaurants in the middle price range are particularly vulnerable, according to Berlingske food and wine critic Søren Frank, who spoke to P1 Orientering. The most expensive gourmet restaurants serve a more limited market, while cheaper wine bars and informal eateries can draw customers with low prices and a relaxed atmosphere.

Restaurants in between face a tougher contest, Frank said. Diners now expect more than good food: quality, price, interior design and concept must work together. The cost of competing can be especially high in central Copenhagen, where many restaurants are targeting the same customers.

The pressure is also showing up in the property market. Commercial property agent Camilla R. Kornerup-Bang, a partner at Kornerup-Bang & Partnere, told P1 Orientering she had received 16 restaurant listings in the past eight to 10 weeks.

Those include not only restaurants that have struggled, but also venues in attractive locations that rarely came onto the market before, including Ravnsborggade, Jægersborggade and Enghave Plads. Kornerup-Bang said properties with the right price, a good location and reasonable rent can still sell relatively quickly, and that demand for attractive premises remains.