Andersen & Maillard

Roasted ten metres from the bar

Ten metres separate the roaster from the coffee bar in this Copenhagen roastery and bakery, and that distance explains the room. A Loring handles the roasting, a three-group Synesso handles the espresso, and the bakery works in the same space, so the roast, the pull and the bake behave like one programme rather than three departments sharing an address.

The coffee list runs single-origin lots rather than a permanent house blend, with washed and natural coffees rotating through espresso, batch brew and Aeropress as they suit. A Colombia Villa Betulia pink bourbon has come through as a pour-over, which is a fair indication of how the bar treats bright, high-definition coffees: brewed clean, served without much interference, and changed as soon as the lot runs out.

A former bank with the bakery in the room

The Nørrebro shop is the original, opened in 2018 by a barista and a pastry chef, and it occupies a former bank. The old shell matters, because this is not a retail cafe with a shelf of beans at the back: production is visible, the case is being raided in front of you, and there is the low pressure of a working site trying to serve a morning at speed.

The bake starts at three in the morning, which is why the case peaks early and can be thin by late afternoon at this branch, so anyone coming for the pastry should come before that. Seating runs inside and outdoors, but the better habit is to order at the counter, watch the bar work, and then decide whether to stay.

Start with the croissant cube

Order the croissant cube if there is one in the case. The pistachio version puts creamy pistachio ganache inside laminated, buttery layers, and it explains the bakery faster than reading the whole shelf does.

The brunsviger is the more Danish order: the Funen coffee cake rebuilt with croissant dough, baked with extra sugar and cinnamon, and meant to be pulled apart by hand rather than cut politely. For a straighter read on the lamination, take the pain au chocolat or the almond croissant, the latter filled with almond cream and covered with almond flakes. With it, a flat white or a cappuccino gives the Synesso a clear job, but the better question at the till is which single origin is running on batch or Aeropress. In summer the croissants may meet house soft-ice, which is worth knowing before committing to the usual pastry order.