In the charming harbor town of Gilleleje, Adamsens Deli naturally feels like the place you should try—at least the first time.
We were still wandering around the harbor a little uncertainly, looking for somewhere to satisfy our hunger. I’m sure you can find great food in many places here, and in Denmark you usually don’t get too disappointed when it comes to food. But when we saw the colorful pictures at Adamsens Deli—one beautiful fish dish after another—the inspiration came immediately.
This was definitely where we needed to eat.
And we didn’t regret it at all.
Then there’s the atmosphere. This is a real, literally seaside fish shack. Don’t imagine a fancy restaurant here: Adamsens Deli is self-service, but the quality of the food easily reaches restaurant level. You can have lunch on the huge benches right next to the fishing boats, and in the sparkling Scandinavian sunshine, for a moment, you might even feel like you’re somewhere in the Mediterranean.
The Selection
Adamsens Deli is basically a modern Danish fish shack. And the menu matches that perfectly. Every dish is fish- or seafood-based, and in true Danish fashion, almost everything comes with some kind of baked good in one form or another.
You’ll find simple mayo-based salads served with a bun—made with fish, shrimp, and basically every good thing that comes from the sea. There’s also classic fish&chips, Danish fish cakes (fiskefrikadeller), breaded squid, shrimp and fish, plus a seafood platter. When we visited, there was even a club sandwich with smoked salmon on the menu.
You order at the counter, get a buzzer, and then wait at any of the tables in the harbor until your food is freshly prepared. And the good news is good in several ways: the place is always busy. First, whatever you order is ready literally within minutes. Second, because of that turnover, you can be almost sure that you’re always getting fresh food.
What We Ate
We really went for it and ordered two larger plates—larger both in price and size—that could partly even be called local specialties.
One of them was one of the most famous Danish sandwich creations, the stjerneskud (literally translated as shooting star), which was reportedly created and named for the visit of Yuri Gagarin, the first astronaut, to Denmark.
It only reveals its sandwich identity if you look a little more closely and find the bread hidden beneath the huge mountain of toppings. Stjerneskud is basically a classic smørrebrød on steroids: on a small slice of bread, you get a huge fried fish, a mountain of shrimp, caviar, and mayonnaise. The classic asparagus was missing here, but honestly, I didn’t mind.
In two words: heavenly experience.
I think if you haven’t had one in Denmark yet—or haven’t had a truly good one—this is one of the first things you should try here.
Our other choice was the seafood platter (skaldyrsplatte in Danish), which simply spoke for itself. It was a huge shrimp-lobster-shellfish platter that took almost an hour to eat, and I can only say good things about it.
Since it was late spring, both dishes were served with fresh pea shoots, which made not only the presentation but also the whole food experience even more special.
Adamsens Deli Gilleleje
Adamsens Deli is located in Gilleleje Harbor. On the interactive map below, you’ll find this great little eatery and the other sights of the fishing village.
