Enghave Kaffe

Kontra coffee in a room full of helmets

The espresso is Kontra Coffee, the milk comes from Thise mejeri, and there are motorcycle helmets on the walls. Enghave Kaffe opened in early May 2013 by Enghave Plads in Copenhagen’s Vesterbro, started by an owner steeped in old-school chopper culture, and the launch day had 1950s and 1960s choppers running through the streets outside. That streak still runs through the place: not a generic counter but a lived-in local room built on motorcycles, conversation and regulars. Coffee rests on the Kontra roasts, food on pastries and breads baked through the day.

An English pub outside, a living room inside

From the street it could be an old English pub. Inside it feels closer to someone’s living room, with firewood stacked under the tables and warm colours across the room. That is most of the appeal, and it explains how people use the place: coffee, something baked, and a long conversation. Service at the counter goes by flavour rather than by drink name, so saying you want something light but chocolatey gets you further than reading the board, and the espresso comes off a DC Pro machine.

Order by flavour, not by name

Start with coffee. For milk drinks the anchors are Kontra espresso and Thise milk; for black coffee there is filter, batch brew and pour over. The clearest named order is Kontra’s After Dinner roast, the one handed to anyone asking for something light but chocolatey, and it works as a model for how to order here: describe the direction you want and let the counter steer you between espresso and filter. For food, the pastries and breads are baked through the day, so what is out in the afternoon is not what was out first thing. A Kontra espresso or a pour over with whatever is fresh at the counter is the whole visit, and the room does the rest.