The Hall is Restaurant Næsbyhoved Skov’s largest event room, perfect for weddings and other big celebrations.
Restaurant of the Month, Denmark
A place to celebrate life’s big and small events For more than a hundred years Restaurant Næsbyhoved Skov has been the place to dine, celebrate and get together for all of Funen. The restaurant, which is beautifully located by the Odense Canal, has been brought back to its glory days by gourmet chef Morten Hansen, who has combined the venue’s traditional charm and beautiful nature with modern cuisine and refreshed interiors. By Signe Hansen | Photos: Restaurant Næsbyhoved Skov
In 1994, Morten Hansen, then a young trainee chef at Restaurant Næsbyhoved Skov, was dreaming about one day realising the full potential of the slightly timeworn but beautiful old establishment. Many might have nurtured the same dream but, 20 years on, the gourmet chef is doing exactly that. “Back in my trainee days, Restaurant Næsbyhoved Skov was a traditional party venue serving a very classic ‘soup, roast and ice cream’ menu, but the location right next to the forest 82 | Issue 90 | July 2016
and water is amazing, so I always thought it had potential for something great. I dreamt about coming back and updating it to become the city’s best events and wedding venue, but I never really thought it would be possible because it is such a big place; it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I just feel incredibly lucky and privileged,” says the chef. In the time after his traineeship at Restaurant Næsbyhoved Skov, Hansen built up a solid reputation in the food world,
working in well-known establishments and, for the last ten years, running his own gourmet restaurant in Odense.
Tradition and change Restaurant Næsbyhoved Skov has been owned and, up until 2013 when Hansen took over, run by four generations of the same family since its establishment in 1896. It is a venue highly revered by people from all over Funen, who have celebrated life’s big events on its premises for generations. Hence, when Hansen took over the management, he was faced with both high expectations and concerns. “The first year, I had daily comments from people who worried that I would ruin the place, make it too fancy and out of reach for ordinary people,” explains Hansen. “But after a year or
