Lidkoeb ★ 4.5
$$$vesterbroMon 18:00-00:00, Tue 16:00-00:00, Wed-Sat 16:00-02:00, closed Sun
Lidkoeb opened in 2012 in a former pharmacy in a Vesterbrogade courtyard, run by Adeline and Rasmus Shepherd-Lomborg of Ruby; three floors stack a ground-floor pub, a cocktail bar and a whisky lounge under the eaves.
Tip: Walk through the courtyard gate; the whisky lounge upstairs runs Friday and Saturday only and takes the brown-spirit drinkers off the cocktail floor.
Centralhjørnet ★ 4.4
$indre-bySun-Thu 12:00-02:00, Fri-Sat 12:00-04:00
Centralhjørnet on Kattesundet has run as a gay bar since 1950 in a tavern that itself dates to 1917, and the room claims the title of the world's oldest continuously operating gay bar with rotating drag shows.
Tip: Open from noon every day; the late drag sets land Friday and Saturday. Cheap beer at the counter; tip the queens.
Oscar Bar Cafe ★ 4.2
$$indre-byMon-Thu and Sun 11:00-00:00, Fri-Sat 11:00-02:00
Oscar on Regnbuepladsen, the Rainbow Square next to City Hall, runs as a non-smoking LGBTQ+ daytime cafe and evening bar with a Friday DJ programme, kitchen running lunch through dinner and a daily happy hour.
Tip: Happy hour daily 16:00-21:00; Friday DJs pull the room from 21:00. Pavement seats across the rainbow plaza in summer.
Café Intime ★ 4.3
$$frederiksbergDaily 16:00-02:00
Café Intime on Allégade in Frederiksberg is a Montmartre-inspired piano bar from the early 1920s, with nightly live piano, jazz sets and drag shows.
Tip: Open daily 16:00 to 02:00; arrive before the evening pianist starts to get a seat near the piano.
Bird ★ 4.6
$$$frederiksbergMon-Thu 15:00-00:00, Fri-Sat 14:00-02:00, Sun 14:00-22:00
Bird on Gammel Kongevej runs as Frederiksberg's reference vinyl bar, a small Nordic-wood room where jazz from the turntable sets the volume, with cocktails poured to match the record on the deck.
Tip: Records are loaded one side at a time at low volume; conversation drops with the needle. Walk-in only, small room.
Brønnum ★ 4.4
$$$indre-byMon-Wed 16:00-00:00, Thu 16:00-01:00, Fri-Sat 16:00-02:00, closed Sun
Brønnum sits in the August Bournonvilles Passage by the Royal Theatre, an old-school cocktail house in a 125-year-old building, six rooms ensuite that grow darker toward the back with a tuned sound system.
Tip: Walk through the rooms from light to dark; the rear salon is the quiet seat. Closed Sundays; weekday nights run earlier than the door suggests.