Joined in 2023 
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An abbreviation of the Danish words “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food), Noma opened in central Copenhagen in 2003 before shutting down in 2016. After three visits to Noma i’ve noticed a few recurring themes to how the team likes the structure it’s menu. For one, the first dish and the last dish normally have something in common. At our first visit during the vegetable season it was a potato soup served in a flower pot for our first dish and a cake shaped like a flower pot. For the seafood season it was a raw scallop to begin and a chocolate seafood cod to end, and finally for the game and forest it was reindeer brain custard to begin and a reindeer caramel to end. They also like to have a milk dish to start the desserts instead of a cheese course, which we’ve had berries and cream, sheep’s milk with dried berries, and buttermilk and scoby. There are also some ingredients that Noma likes to showcase - there is normally some sort of insect dish (grasshoppers, ants, etc), there is also the most delicious small pine cone somewhere in the meal, and they like to use quince instead of lemon to help flavor a dish or two. The Noma fermentation lab is always very involved in the dishes, whether it’s overt or not. There are garums, sauces, juices and whole dishes that the fermentation team works on and show up through out the meal. Eat This:
That being said we enjoyed every tasty, monumental moment. Braised pumpkin leaves wrapped around super savory pumpkin during our meal at Noma. Forced to close repeatedly for more than six months during the pandemic, it transformed into a burger and wine bar for a month in the summer of 2020. Once again, I was disappointed by the desserts, which have been the weakest link in all the seasons. Hopefully, this will improve next year, as I think it simply hasn’t been the main focus of the test kitchen. The chocolate-covered reindeer moss is just a revival of an old Noma classic, but fits well with the seasonal theme, of course. In 2025, our restaurant is transforming into a giant lab, a pioneering test kitchen dedicated to the work of food innovation and the development of new flavours, one that will share the fruits of our efforts more widely than ever before.”Founded in 2004 when Claus Meyer tapped René Redzepi to join his food revolution (the restaurant’s name is literally short in Danish for Nordic Food), Noma originally sourced all of its product from the Nordic region. The restaurant upped its approach after relocating to its current space in 2018 and now exclusively sources its product from the Copenhagen region. Sommelier Ava Mees List carefully curated a list of biological wines produced in countries like France and Georgia as well as in Denmark. It’s a list as unique as the menu – one that many diners opt to skip, instead choosing to ride the sommelier’s choices in a substantial (both in price and selection) wine pairing. Measuring an impressive 190cm in height, this stately reindeer stands as a magnificent centrepiece, commanding attention and spreading joy to all who behold it, making it perfect for any festive display. Additionally, the convenient assembly process allows the reindeer to be effortlessly pieced together in 4 parts, ensuring a hassle-free setup experience. Caviar and cream in some variation is another Noma signature, which comes in a brilliant version for the game and forest season. The caviar is from the Danish producer Rossini, so high quality, and served with a dollop of the lightest whipped cream you can imagine (with tiny sprinkles of salt on top, I believe). The two ingredients are paired with a cold pheasant broth, which has formed a jelly in the bottom of the bowl. I loved this one!
But even though it will become a test kitchen, diners will still be able to snag the occasional meal, with Noma promising to organise pop-up restaurants from time to time, in Copenhagen and abroad. The Copenhagen restaurant literally received the auspicious culinary designation the day before our 2021 Game and Forest dinner. For us, eating at Noma was an outsized event in which the experience was almost bigger than the meal itself. Much of our time will be spent on exploring new projects and developing many more ideas and products.” Not being huge fans of wine pairings and a bit scared by this one’s price tag, we initially opted for a bottle. At the last minute we changed our minds, figuring, “Hey, we’re eating at the best restaurant in the world. Let’s do it!”Weeks after eating at the legendary restaurant, after our lives had returned to their normal rhythm, we couldn’t stop glancing into each other’s eyes, wistfully realizing that we had eaten at the best restaurant in the world. We’d then announce “we ate as Noma!” as a reminder and private badge of glory. We’ve pondered this question in the past decade after taking the jump from casual food lovers to obsessed epicureans. We don’t have a clear answer. Instead, it’s more of a guttural feeling – a ‘we know it when we taste it’ kind of thing. His dedication to truly local ingredients – no lemons, no olive oil, no nutmeg or cinnamon in the northern climes of Denmark, so no place for them on the menu – shaped a whole generation of chefs who care about where their food comes from. It’s also responsible for the menu trope “all food is sourced locally where possible” and usually means that Kenyan green beans and Peruvian asparagus will feature. Finally, in an intentional nod toward our ossified first course, a piece of reindeer skeleton appeared. But this time it was a narrow, long bone filled with sweet, honey-like reindeer marrow, dotted with freeze dried blueberries and topped with a lovely yet subtle confetti of flowers.
Next up are sweetbreads of reindeer wrapped in reindeer moss – a bushy lichen that serves as pasture for reindeer in Scandinavia. The soft and fatty sweetbread goes well with the crunchiness of the moss, and we are instructed to dip this in the leftovers of the egg yolk sauce (thank goodness I saved some). The egg yolk sauce with ants Reindeer sweetbread in reindeer moss Reindeer tongue with pine on a skewer This elegant LED Jewelled Reindeer Figure is a perfect statement piece to light up your Christmas display. It's a beautiful choice for any space, whether as a standalone piece or as a centrepiece of your outdoor Christmas decorations and as such this stunning reindeer light figure is sure to put a smile on you and your neighbours face. Details like the raised foot, impressive antlers and cute little tail add to the charm of this great display. With a beautiful 300 LEDs, this eye-catching jewelled stag shines a brilliant white, spreading Christmas cheer all through the night. The free-standing figure is beautifully illuminated with 48 white LEDs throughout the main part of the body and an additional 8, one in each of the string lights. He reaches 54cm in height so you can use this as part of an outdoor display or inside.But, in some ways, Noma is an anomaly with food that takes its cues from molecular gastronomy as much as from ecology. We have immense appreciation and understanding for what Noma offers and appreciate the fact that more than a few people won’t understand it.
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