During my sister’s visit over the holidays we were treated for dinner at the #3 best restaurant in the world, Noma, conveniently located in Denmark. We are continuing our way through the top 100 list and with this restaurant under my belt, that makes 5 restaurants off the list!

Here’s a little background on Noma curiosity of wikipedia:

Noma is a two Michelin star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi in Copenhagen, Denmark. The name is a portmanteau of the two Danish words “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food). Opened in 2003, the restaurant is known for its reinvention and interpretation of the Nordic Cuisine. The restaurant is located in an old warehouse on the waterfront in the Christianshavn neighborhood of central Copenhagen.

Redzepi was born on 15 December 1977 in Copenhagen, to an immigrant father from the Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, and a Danish mother. 

Needless to say, Daniel was pretty excited about his fellow balkan making a name for himself in the culinary world.

When you first walk into Noma you are greeted with the whole staff, kitchen and all greeting you. It’s such a wonderful welcome that builds you up for the food you are about to receive.

Hands down each dish was so impressively presented and the thought that went behind it was pure art.

So back to Daniel’s comment about calling the food, “earthy”. That is in fact a very good description of the food. A lot of organic foraged foods and lots of vegetarian dishes were served. We were even served ants on a fermented root that looked like bark. This beautiful black leaf is burnt garlic and my favorite was the whole duck on a nest of hay. Later to be brought back to the table with the pieces cut up and the legs still attached. For dessert, we had chocolate covered moss, yes moss…and chocolate covered mushrooms. Definitely not your typical tasting menu.

Although I can appreciate the food for it’s innovative techniques and wonderful thought process, I don’t believe I will be coming back any time soon. This type of food is best for someone with a more refine palate or one that doesn’t mind the occasional bug in their food. My tastebuds were going all over the place which I think was the point, but I missed the luxury of meat and more savory mouthwatering tasty food.

The best part of the evening was the kitchen tour. We were able to see where they made all this amazingly interesting food. We went out to the BBQ, to the outdoor fridges with food fermenting and then led up to the test kitchen. You got to experience how it felt to be a chef in their kitchen which is pretty cool. After this dinner session they were going to close Noma until the Spring where they would introduce a new menu in a new location. They will travel and work in their test kitchens in Australia for 8 weeks before returning to Denmark. Their new restaurant will have what they described as more “approachable” foods. I may take a chance and try it when it opens,… but if there are bugs on the menu, I may pass.