Bar review: Sent back to the naughty corner
It had been 12 years since I last reviewed Skammekrogen (the naughty corner) in Vesterbro Torv, a locale best known for Greenlandic drunks and toilets that are always closed, and it’s safe to say that not much has changed in the last decade despite Vesterbro becoming a darling of the hipster movement and a mecca for party-loving tourists thanks to nearby Kødbyen, the city’s trendy meatpacking district.
But don’t let the drunks and the urine stains put you off from visiting a square that has a lovely, local charm and a wide selection of drinking holes that come alive as one on warm evenings. The beauty of this means that you can pay bodega prices, but sit in close proximity to people at swanky cafes. They might look down their noses at you, but you’ve had the last laugh thanks to the price of your drink.
Drinks with Onkel Danny
A pint of lager at Skammekrogen will set you back only 35 kroner (40 kroner after 19:00), a bottle 23 kroner, and a glass of house wine 30 kroner – refreshingly cheap for an establishment that resembles its posh neighbours more than the nearby bodegas of the red light district – particularly in terms of its customers.
Skammekrogen’s regulars are far more sophisticated: over the course of a day, an older crowd of mainly local residents who enjoy talking about local politics and arts – film director Flemming La Cour and Danish poet Dan Turéll were frequent visitors until they died – will give way during the evening to a young, hip clientele who appreciate the cheap prices and comfortable, cosy seating areas at the back.
New owners who took over in 2017 spruced up the interior, introducing a glass top main bar consisting almost entirely of 25 øre coins. Almost, because in this land of die-hard ‘Where’s Wally’ fans, one of the coins is an old five-øre bit inconspicuously hidden to haunt your long winter evening.
Regards to Siegfried
On our last visit we met Siegfried Jürgensen, 52, a proud local who happily told us that “for the last 12 years I have been part of the inventory”.
“Oh … he’s long dead,” confirms a patron finishing off a swift lunchtime pint. But Siegfried’s words remain true of the ethos of the bar and are worth repeating. “With most places it depends on the clientele. And of course, I don’t like the prices in coffee shops,’ he confided.
It was Siegfried who explained that if you accidentally (or intentionally) ring the bell you have to buy a round for the people sitting at the bar. And the bartender happily confirms this is still a tradition that continues to torment tall people with short pockets ordering drinks.
Resonates through its regulars
Decorated with mainly urban landscape portraits of streets, houses, bridges and harbours, there is a real sense of a pub that is comfortable in its surroundings and this really resonates through its regulars.
There is a jukebox and cards, dice, backgammon and chess can be borrowed from the bar. Due to its smallish size many will be satisfied to see that this is a smoking spot with a capital S. They show sport on special sporting occasions, but normally the TV is rarely on. There are always peanuts at the bar and a big bowl will set you back a reasonable 20 kroner.
New since last time is a shield annually handed out to the local area’s crolf champion – a hybrid of golf and croquet that is contested on a course in Saxopark. A quick glance at the winners poignantly reveals the name of the first champion: “Siegfried Jürgensen in 2003”.