Eiffel Bar

Copenhagen, Denmark

Field Note

There are few things this review loves more than a dive bar with an almost absurdly ornate name, the kind of contrast that only makes the rustic nature of the drinking inside all the sweeter. Not only did the founders of Eiffel Bar give it a deliciously Perisian name, but the exterior is as faux-fancy as it gets, from the gold on black lettering to the line drawing of the Eiffel Tower. The space outside screams expensive night club, but the vibe inside Eiffel Bar is about as dive bar as Copenhagen gets.

Adding to Eiffel Bar’s aura is its Christiana neighborhood location in the shadow of Freetown Christiana, the autonomous district within Copenhagen. Though all association with the term Christiana flows straight to Freetown, the neighborhood that surrounds it features a host of great drinking options, Eiffel Bar being one of them, especially as the hours drift on.

The blazing red sign above the door leaves no mistake to the dive bar’s location, especially helpful given the bar’s location down a bit of a side street off of a more heavily trafficked street. And if the red sign weren’t enough, a downtown shop-style window shows off a handful of ornamental plates against a blue background, like some kind of dive bar diorama to leave no doubt about its location. Yellow neon lights ring the front window, illuminating the faint view of drinking within through opaque colored glass tiles.

The vibe inside doesn’t necessarily recreate a club but it does scream “nightlife” in the way that guidebooks sometimes over dramatically describe bars in urban areas. Walking in on a Saturday night, it was loud, it was packed, it was ringed with smoke and it was anything but a neighborhood dive bar hosting a band of locals. Eiffel Bar is a verified destination beyond its dive bar tendencies, showing that a dive bar doesn’t need to be unpopular to be classified as such.

The glossy look of Eiffel Bar’s exterior extends within, where mirrored walls feature white stenciled drawings of hot air balloons, lampposts and, you guessed it, the Eiffel Tower. Be warned, many of Copenhagen’s dive bars descend into clouds of cigarette smoke, but Eiffel Bar’s compact layout greatly accentuates the smoke-filled feeling, creating clouds the drift from room to room. Across the two rooms within Eiffel Bar, the space is packed with as much seating as possible, the dive bar’s effort to maximize the limited space inside. Permanent bench seating mixes with low tables that serve as the sources for all of that cigarette smoke as the night wears on.

Opposite to the dive bar’s mirrored walls, a bar runs the length of the front room creating a focal point of drinking, especially late at night when the dive bar is packed. Chalkboards above the bar mimic French coffee bar menus except, of course, with alcohol as the star of Eiffel Bar’s offerings. The mimicry continues with multi-colored awnings that extend from the interior walls and similarly colored panels the hang from the ceiling.

As Eiffel Bar unfolds, it becomes clear that there’s more here than a fancy name attached to a very much not fancy dive bar. The color palette, the awnings, the colored glass windows, the mirrored walls and stenciling, this is a tribute to Paris paired with the universal appreciation for drinking. Throw in a dash of the Christiana Copenhagen location below a blazing red sign and it’s no mystery that Saturday night fills up Eiffel Bar’s small footprint.