It is hard to imagine a restaurant that places so much attention to the meticulous details that turn an ordinary dinner into a work of art and to the emotional gastronomic concept inherent of fine cuisine as does noma in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen.
Winning the coveted prize of Best Restaurant in the World for three consecutive years is a well-deserved reward for the tireless efforts and methodical work of a young chef named Rene Redzepi, a man who has reinvented and redefined Nordic cuisine. This year, noma was selected the world’s second best restaurant by Restaurant Magazine‘s San Pellegrino list.
René Redzepi, co-owner of noma, was born, in 1977, to an Albanian father who immigrated to Denmark from the Republic of Macedonia, and a Danish mother. His extensive background includes working in some of the best restaurants in the world, including El Bulli in Spain and The French Laundry, in the United States
“In an effort to shape our way of cooking, we look to our landscape and delve into our ingredients and culture, hoping to rediscover our history and shape our future”, says the young chef. His words define noma’s philosophy and culinary concept because respect for the land and local products is an unavoidable commitment in his kitchen.
The restaurant’s menu consists of around twenty dishes that may change with the seasons. They are unique and personal elaborations conceived as works of art, where Redzepi unleashes his creativity, reflecting the rich Danish heritage through a series of surprising effects that play a very important role.
René Redzepi.
He prepares small dishes that can sometimes be unusual but reflective of a titanic effort to combine aesthetic beauty and originality, both in textures, as in cooking methods and flavors. His creations are made with purely Nordic products: currants, prawns, lobsters, mahogany clams, monkfish liver, trout roe, quail, sea urchins, wild duck, and löjrom, known as Nordic caviar.
Dinner at noma represents an unforgettable sensory experience that may include, for example, an appetizer of chips made from cod skin, Greenland prawns with milk snow, a musk ox tartare garnished with shamrocks or North Sea lobster infused with Gammel Dansk (a national spirit). This passionate, exuberant and overwhelming gastronomic tour inspires a joyful zest for life.
The restaurant is located in an old hangar in the port area of the Danish capital, from which you can enjoy views of the famous Nyhavn channel. It boasts typical Nordic minimalist decor: white walls, wooden beams, gray tones, spacious tables and comfortable and functional furniture. With a capacity of no more than 45 guests, you must be very patient, knowing that several months may pass before they can get a reservation.
To solve this problem, one of Redzepi´s recent proposals is the shared table. Depending on the configuration of the restaurant on any particular day, the shared table can sit between 4 and 16 guests. In some cases, the table will be in the main dining room, and in others, it can be upstairs in the restaurant´s private dining room. The prices of this experiment are the same as in the main dining room, but in this case, guests are offered a package that includes an appetizer, the noma menu, drinks (wine or fresh juices), water and coffee.
The restaurant has just renewed its kitchen. Now, it is larger and more airy, and can accommodate a large number of professionals, students and scholars from around the world whose dearest wish is to work with Redzepi. Copenhagen’s fabled restaurant is run with great ability and talent. Redzepi, its young chef, still has many years ahead.
Thanks to his proven creativity and immense talent for innovation, we are certain he will give us plenty of reasons to keep commenting on his creative proposals.
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