Good food .... just not worth waiting 1½ hours for.
For the benefit of all the tourists who stop here I am writing this in English. I am Danish and went here during my holiday in Hirtshals this week.
The Good:
- The food is excellent value for the money and all locally made.
- The location right by the fishing harbour and steps to the town centre, is great for evening dining and watching the sunset over the harbour.
- The young people working the outdoor ordering till are very polite and patient.
- There is a box of blankets next to the till window for those cold afternoons.
The Bad:
- On the day we came there was not a long que (8 people) but it still took 30 minutes to reach the front.
- Only after we had ordered did we hear the staff tell a German tourist that there was 30 minutes waiting to get served. O.K. We thought, you can't cook fish properly too fast.
- We heard that they had a problem with the beer pumps so that caused them some problems in the kitchen as the only person who could deal with that appeared to also be the person cooking.
- The wait for 2x Plaice with potatoes (their main dish) grew longer and longer. Customers in front of us started complaining and cancerlling their orders and getting refunds. I guess they had to catch a ferry. We did not, we are local Danes.
- We had to drink our drinks a long time before the food came as we were thirsty. Considering the waiting time, we would have been offered free drinks had we been in the U.S.A., Great Britiain or Germany where the service is generally much better than in Denmark (which pains me to write as a Dane).
- After over 1½ hours wait in which we had time to go and change to warmer clothes in our car, our food finally arrived.
- The Plaice was excellent but not big, and the potatoes and butter sauce were hot for a few minutes before getting cold because it was now much cooler than when we arrived.
- Around us were a lot of unhappy tourists from Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden and a Chinese group. Some had to catch ferries, others had small children who were tired, restless and unhappy. I felt really sorry for them.
- At the same time as serving food outside, they have indoor serving and also take-away orders being picked up. It is unclear which customers get priority and our impression was that the whole ordering system was chaotic.
Room For Improvement and Recommendations:
- Compared to similar harbour fish restaurants I have visited in Denmark (like Gilleleje) the main problem here is that the menu is too ambitious compared to the size and capacity of the kitchen.
- They should stick to serving just 4 of the simplest and fastest dishes outside, and reserve the full meny for the indoor serving and pre-ordered take-away. For example, when the plaice is not very big and costs more than the simpler fillets with chips, it does not feel like good value. just do fish fillets, burgers, fish-cakes and fish sandwiches (Stjerneskud) for the outdoor serving.
- There needs to be a better ordering and pick-up system. Replace paper numbers with electronic buzzers that are handed to each customer so those who don't hear or understand languages so well don't miss their food being called out.
- Either drop having two seperate outdoor counters (one for food, one for drinks and icecream) or make it clearer that you ONLY order food at one, and all drinks are served from the other window.
Final verdict:
I will give this place 3 stars based on 3 points:
- Tasty food
- Friendly service
- Good prices
I won't be back any time soon even though we considered it for our last night in Hirtshals. I just don't want to risk waiting so long again. if you are in a hurry, have hungry children with you or have to catch a ferry - don't come here. If you do have plenty of time and want to taste good Danish seafood for fair prices then this is a good place to visit. Consider ordering in advance and doing a take-away if you are in a nearby camping site or hotel.
I will give this place a second chance the next time I am in Hirtshals on holiday or on business.