Caffe Katia - possibly the most pleasant restaurant in Denmark?

Imagine a restaurant, that don't look like much from the outside.

But once you get inside, you look around and think: whose livingroom did I just walk into? You see bookshelves with books, magazines and newspapers. You see cards and board games. The pictures on the wall is not one specific style, but obviously an expression of the owners personal taste. In a corner you see a couple of wicker chairs with blankets slung over, and a small table in between.

At a table sits a man with a themos of tea and a newspaper. He looks like he's been there a while.

You manage to take in all these impressions in the short amount of time before the owner, Katia, comes to meet you and greet you. A small, dark woman with a big, friendly smile. Or maybe it is the nice young man that works in there - well taught as he is, he greets you as warmly as she does.

We discovered this place over easter, while we were working on this house. One day we needed to grab some lunch, and decided to walt into town. We ended up at Katias, and as we had little time that day, we agreed to go back some time where we had more time on our hands to take in the experience.

You pick your table of choise, and then your menu arrives. Not overly big, this menu, with a heavy touch of Italy. But there is not a pizza, hamburger or french fry to be found on there, instead you find delicious pasta-, meat- or fish-dishes. And of course, antipasti, salads and soups.

While waiting for the food to come this night, we chattede, leafing through books from the shelves. Bruno told us all about insects, and Bodil was engulfed by a book on Winnie the Pooh and the Philosophers.

I'd ordered a pepper steak, and had a large, tender, perfectly cooked steak. Aromatic soft sauce, fried potatoes and the loveliest veggies: broccoli, asparagus with bacon around, large pieces of grilled peppers ... I was happy that I'd ordered extra veggies.
Bruno had a fish dish and he was purring his way through it. The kids chose lasagna, and their eyes were almost spinning in their heads with pure joy.

Several times during the course of the meal, the staff came by to ask if everything was allright. And it REALLY was...

It was fun that we could here the chef singing in the kitchen, and Katia was singing along as she worked.

Bruno and I skipped dessert - I had a piece of chocolate cake in the way, I think. The kids had ice cream desserts, we just had coffee. I had the loveliest Caffe Latte with hazelnut syrup - that was dessert enough for me...

We went home very pleased. Agreeing that the high quality of the food and the unique feel of the place was something, we'd like to try again.

A small piece of Southern Europe - right in the middle of Fredericia!