Fish Hut, Hornbaek

As part of an early Autumn holiday in Denmark we visited one of the famous fish-huts of the coastal towns and villages along the Northern Zealand coast – an outstandingly beautiful area known to many as the Danish Riviera.

Lonely Planet recommended the Fish Hut in Hornbaek and so we took the very slow train round the coast from Helsingør to Hornbaek and walked down to the harbour.

The fish and chips came with mayonnaise and a salad (I say salad when what I really mean is a lettuce leaf, a slice of cucumber and a cherry tomato) all for the equivalent of about £6. This is very cheap for Denmark, very cheap indeed.

I didn’t know what the fish was but it was fresh, as you’d hope, and it tasted OK, but was certainly nothing to write home about. Maybe nothing to write a blog about either.

The batter was a thick greasy nonsense with a slightly sweet taste and was highly reminiscent of a Findus Fish and Chips ready meal from the 1970s.

We found out through accidental detective work near the bins that the chips were fried in soya oil and were definitely just from a frozen packet. A superior frozen thin chip but as they’d be smothered in rock salt it was difficult to truly enjoy their taste.

The lemon was impossible to squeeze as it was too small and had actually been stuffed into the blob of mayonnaise. The mayo itself was OK but just lacked oomph.

The meal was washed down with a very average bottle of white wine – the Torre Mayor variety.

What makes the whole thing stand out is the view. You sit outside on metal chairs at metal tables overlooking the stunning little harbour. You order your food at a hatch, you are given a metal disc and when your disc vibrates it’s time to go and get the food. It was a shame there was cloud cover, which was moving very, very slowly and we sat and waited for the sunshine.

We left before it arrived.

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