The restaurant that helped spark the new Nordic cuisine movement has reopened in Copenhagen, Denmark, after a yearlong hiatus. Noma, which first opened in 2003 under the direction of chef Réne Redzepi, was named the No. 1 restaurant on Restaurant magazine’s “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 — it came in at No. 2 and No. 3 in 2013 and 2015, respectively — but it closed at the end of 2016 to change locations and overhaul its menu.
Noma’s pickled and smoked quail eggs (Photo: cyclonebill)
Noma 2.0 opened in mid-February in a former warehouse at Refshalevej 96 in Copenhagen’s Christianshavn neighborhood, only a few blocks from its original location at Greenlandic Trading Square.
Noma’s Réne Redzepi, the chef behind Copenhagen’s “new Nordic cuisine” restaurant (Photo: Ecemaml)
Redzepi has kitchen experience at acclaimed restaurants elBulli in Roses, Catalunya, Spain, and The French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley. He created Noma with entrepreneur and Melting Pot Foundation founder Claus Meyer as a culinary experiment in which every ingredient — many foraged — would come from Scandinavia. Those ingredients would then be used in innovative ways to create twists in the region’s varied culinary traditions.
Noma gained two Michelin stars in 2008, and elevated Redzepi and Meyer to the ranks of the world’s most influential culinary minds. In 2010, the restaurant surprisingly was crowned the world’s best restaurant in place of elBulli, which had held the title the previous four consecutive years.
Noma 2.0 opened Feb. 16 and offers a new menu that focuses on dishes comprising seasonal ingredients. Fish dominates the winter menu, as it is the optimal time for harvesting in the Baltic Sea and nearby waters. The spring and summer menus offer vegetarian and vegan dishes, while autumn focuses on game and foraged ingredients.
“Summer in Scandinavia is on its way,” states the relaunched website. “We will be exploring the plant kingdom and everything that is edible; cooking with everything that is above ground, near the water and in the trees.
Grilled leeks with ashes, hazelnut yoghurt and caramelized chicken gravy (Photo: cyclonebill)
“We will forage for the freshest ingredients in every lake, river, stream, meadow and woodland; work closely with our collaborators to harvest their best crops; and grow some produce of our own on our urban farm.”
During the hiatus, Noma materialized as a pop-up restaurant in Tulum, Mexico, and got a very popular reception. Redzepi created Noma pop-ups in in Tokyo in 2015 and Sydney the following year.
Noma 2.0 has been booked fully for the for months, so prospective diners should make reservations far in advance. The prix fixe menu is $372 (2,250 DKK, including 25 percent value-added tax).
