Pub Vignettes #12
Episode #12: Bodegas, snaps and cigarette tourism (Copenhagen, Denmark)
It’s snaps not schnapps. Cultural faux pas prevented, you may now drink freely in Denmark. We’re an inclusive bodega, barman tells me. Middle aged biker smoking a cigarillo next to me nods in agreement. Some places don’t like foreigners, but we love the cigarette tourists. Another firm nod from the Marlboro Angel to my left. Velvet curtains, dark woods, brass fittings. You’re not going to go with white linens if your business model is to let people smoke indoors, I suppose.
Haabet Bodega Bar, Amagerbrogade 10, 2tv, 2300 København, Denmark
What’s special about those eggs? Nothing, they’re just eggs. Should I try one? Probably not. Smalltalk with bartender completed; win some, lose some. Through the smog and perennial dusk to the gingham-draped war room table at the back. New York jazz plays. Smoke and the low hum of afternoon drunk rise to the ceiling. Trenchcoated pensioner perches on a clearly familiar barstool, unfurls his broadsheet Politiken with a nod to the owner. Brown bottle of strong lager and a glass of snaps wordlessly arrive. A minute later so does a pre-peeled hardboiled egg and a stubby plastic pepper mill. I brush past our man en route to daylight and fresh air, soundtracked by a lighter’s clack and an almost imperceptible hhmmm of contentment as teeth meet egg.
Bo-Bi, Klareboderne 14, 1115 Indre By, Denmark
Morning menu. 10am til lunchtime is the Danish bargain hunter’s core drinking slot: snaps and a bottled Tuborg for less than an egg McMuffin. Night shifts must be popular over here. Country’n’Western themed facade does its job repelling the uninitiated. Billiards, darts and Oregon Trail themed fruit machines: the thinking man’s triathlon. Draft beer pours from fonts untouched by modernity, a regular brings in a platter of “leftover” cheese rolls to leave on the bar. The lack of questions from the barman about where these rolls were leftover from felt legitimising enough, dinner sorted.
Diligencen, Korsgade 8, 2200 København, Denmark
Pub Vignettes is a monthly(ish) collection of impressions of the world’s more interesting drinking spots.
For those who’ve followed along for more than a decade via the now-retired Beermack site, welcome back. For those newer to this parish, welcome.