Løjtehus Restaurant started out sadly, but ultimately turned into a real taste of the authentic Danish food scene, and a charming and enjoyable dinner at the end.
TL;DR
Løjtehus Restaurant is located next to Copenhagen Airport, in Tårnby Municipality. Just a 15-25 minutes drive or a 30-40 minutes bus ride from the city center, this family-owned restaurant is the place to come to if you want to enjoy a real authentic Danish restaurant that’s definitely not aiming for tourists.
The Sad Start
I first heard about this place in a Copenhagen Facebook group, where someone was asking for a real authentic Danish restaurant recommendation. When checking their website, the first line already mentioned that the place is for sale after 47 years of being run by the same owners.
Selling a restaurant is never a good sign. But as the Facebook referral seemed trustworthy and it was also mentioned on the website that they “are very happy to continue running Løjtehus until the right people are found”, we decided to try it anyway. If the slightest chance there is for this place to be closed, we need to experience it while we still can.
And here is where the sad feeling began.
The vibe and feel of the website tells a story of a long-gone era, such as the restaurant itself. When I called to book—there’s no online option—an utterly shocked voice, just by the mere fact that someone was reserving a table, also told me a story where that the peak days of the place had been long gone.
We got there just before seven on a November evening, long into the Danish darkness. The terrace was closed, that might have just been because of the weather. But the first room we entered was dark and cold, no lights and no heating, another sign that we couldn’t think of as good.
When we entered the restaurant itself, despite all of this, a friendly atmosphere awaited us. The tables were nicely laid out, live red plants on all of them. The room felt warm not only by the actual heating that worked here, but also how everything was arranged, and because of the heartfelt welcome of our waiter.
But besides us, only two people sat in the entire place, and we were not even sure if they were actual customers or just friends.
We ordered and felt fine as customers. But the bitterness was quietly but constantly pumping in our heart for the place itself. Nice and pleasant setting, warm welcome, very good food that’s the epitome of authentic Danish restaurants, yet essentially empty. It just seemed a question of time that such a positive addition to Danish culture would eventually vanish. And that definitely filled us with sadness.
The Lively Løjtehus Restaurant
Then it began.
Over the next hour the place came to life. This was surprising not only because of our first impressions, but also because most people arrived around 8, despite the restaurant closing at 9 pm.
And fortunately the people who started filling the restaurant just added to the good vibe. A large table of Danish workers hanging out after work. A table with three Asian tourists. More Danes at other tables, spending the evening here. A lonely man speaking in English—could not tell whether a tourist or an expat.
Diversity and regulars: the mix that makes a place feel real—and the reason Denmark feels so easy to love.
What We Ate
Our choices were limited because 2 of us didn’t eat gluten and milk. We tried Peberbøf (pepper beef) without the brown sauce, beef Béarnaise and kids’ grilled beef.
The first two were very good steaks with the choice of fries (called chips UK-style here) or baked potatoes. Juicy, perfect, can’t say anything wrong about them. The kid’s beef was actually a steak haché, minced beef patty cooked as a steak. That one turned out to be a bit dry, maybe because as a kid’s plate it was well cooked. A free self-service salad bar was also part of the dinner.
If you come to Løjtehus Restaurant and can eat gluten and dairy, feel free to experiment more with the local food though. I would definitely try out their fiskefilet (fish fillet), fiskesymfoni (fish platter), Wiener Schnitzel, Beef a la Kit and also the daily specials.
Løjtehus Restaurant Location – How to Get There
Løjtehus Restaurant is located at Løjtegårdsvej 67, 2770 Kastrup, in Tårnby Municipality. The place is actually located next to Copenhagen Airport’s historic Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal.
To get here by bus from the city center, the best option is to take line 5C (the one that’s heading over to the airport), change at Vejlands Allé to line 35, and get off at Løjtegårdsvej. Another option is to take the train or metro line 1 to Ørestad, and change to bus line 32; get off at Løjtegårdsvej or Løjtegårdsskolen.
