The Copenhagen Report

by Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)


is there an ice cream shortage in Copenhagen?

On pretty much any hot and sunny day in Copenhagen (in fact, it doesn't really need to be that hot, just sunny), at certain hours of the day you'll find queues like it was a supermarket twenty-five years ago in Eastern Europe suffering a food shortage.

Alas, it's not a shortage of food that drives the crowds toward Paradis in Copenhagen, rather it's a shortage of comparably tasty ice cream to be found anywhere else in the city. Italian style ice cream. Really f#%*ing tasty ice cream.*

How good would I say Paradis ice cream is?

Well, in the office where I've been working the past couple months Ben and Jerry's, one of the most popular American style ice creams, is stocked in the freezer for staff to help themselves to. There's a lot of it and many flavours all there for the taking. And it's free. It's also rather tasty. But it's just not tasty in the way Paradis ice cream is.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream has that artificial sweet kind of taste that Americans (and lover's of American products) go for. So even though I can eat all the Ben and Jerry's I want at work, I instead find myself occasionally opting to pay a few kroner for a hit of Paradis after lunch - it's just around the corner, after all. Because Paradis sells their own homemade Italian style ice cream and, even for free, Ben and Jerry's is no match for that.

At this point, there are several Paradis outlets around Copenhagen - basically one in each part of the city. The first that opened was in Nørrebro at Sankt Hans Torv a few years back, the next a couple years ago in Vesterbro and Amager, the latest ones just opened last month in the centre (on Købmagergade near Nørreport Station) and in Østerbro.

On a sunny summer day, lengthy queues can be found at all of them. And for good reason.


Paradis ice cream lovers...


learning about the joys of Paradis ice cream

*Note: the author has not received any favours from Paradis in relation to the promotion of Paradis ice cream on this blog. However, he would welcome such favours - for example, free Paradis ice cream for the next year - and does feel they would be an appropriate compensation for his wholehearted and unconditional endorsement of the Paradis brand and associated products. He can be contacted via email, address above.