HOS

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

The Story Behind HOS

On 1 February 2019, Michelle Hemme and Jakob Spolum opened Restaurant HOS – the name a contraction of their surnames – on Kongensgade in central Odense. The two are anything but newcomers: Spolum previously served as head chef at Ruths Hotel, where Hemme worked as restaurant manager. That shared experience shows in every detail of how the place is run.

The Room

Step inside and you find exposed brick walls decorated with vintage Wiinblad plates, solid Danish furniture classics, and an open kitchen with a counter bar at its natural centre. The atmosphere is warm without being studied – good music, a staff that clearly enjoys its work, and a sense, as the White Guide put it when awarding HOS its Masters level recognition, of being "in good hands."

What's on the Plate

At lunch, the focus is modern smørrebrød – the team's own take on the classic Danish open sandwich, served on well-malted homemade rye bread. The White Guide's reviewers singled out a pickled and pan-fried mackerel fillet with lemon mayonnaise and sweet summer tomatoes, and a deeply satisfying tartelet packed with crisp-fried veal sweetbreads, pickled white asparagus, fried morels and a chicken cream sauce worth scraping from the plate. A mushroom toast layered with chanterelles, king oyster mushrooms, pickled black trumpets and a siphon-foamed mushroom sauce rounds out a lunch menu that also includes warm dishes, cheese and desserts.

In the evenings, Wednesday through Saturday, Spolum's kitchen shifts to a fixed menu of three to six courses with snacks and petit fours – modern and seasonal, with a Danish-French sensibility and a firm commitment to local produce and organic ingredients. Everything is made from scratch; salting and pickling happen at peak freshness so the kitchen can use ingredients when they are at their absolute best.

The Wine

Michelle Hemme, owner and sommelier, has built a wine list with a declared fondness for Burgundy and classic European producers. The philosophy is straightforward: wines she loves, matched to Spolum's cooking, at prices that the White Guide described as "almost touching." On Friday and Saturday evenings, two wine pairings are offered – a regular menu featuring a new generation of winemakers with classic expression, and a prestige menu for those who want aged bottles and well-known labels. Homemade schnapps, seasonal house-pressed juice and local beer on tap complete the picture.

Recognition

White Guide's Masters level award – among the highest distinctions in Nordic restaurant criticism – confirms what Odense diners have known since 2019: Hemme and Spolum have added something genuinely distinctive to the city's restaurant scene.