I Ate At The Best Restaurant In The World

I Ate At The Best Restaurant In The World

I recently had the chance to dine at noma a Danish restaurant that’s been  voted as the world’s best five times in this video we’ll be taking a look at   the experience I had at this  three-Michelin-star restaurant and what I was able to squeeze into a short  weekend getaway to Copenhagen to eat there

Plus once we’ve gotten through my 17-course meal we’ll take a look at the current state of noma including the latest updates on rumors of  the restaurant closing in the near future noma is certainly a big part of why  people want to visit Copenhagen these days

It’s had a global impact on luxury dining and  is now strongly connected to the city’s identity but still the majority of visitors to  the seaside city never dine at noma and it’s often looked at as a kind of exclusive  thing to do that’s reserved mostly for the rich

I mean getting a reservation  is not for the light-hearted and the price tag for a meal nears  the $1,000 mark with drinks included but although noma may have in many ways led  the city down the current path that it’s on there are many other great restaurants and  experiences to partake in in Copenhagen

I’d describe the city as calm quiet and collected but with a tiny bit of edge on it too things are generally on  the pricier side for Europe and you’ll find a lot of the same things  you’ll find in other Scandinavian countries   such as open-face sandwiches and little elf dolls

There is great public transportation and the  driverless metro will take you around town cars are nearly replaced by bikes there too many even consider it the most  bike friendly city in all of Europe but the Dutch don’t necessarily agree with that and I’m not going to take sides against the Dutch

They might ban me from eating their cookies and that would be terrible Copenhagen is also a city with  a lot of culture to explore there are many museums in Copenhagen to check out and though I was limited on time I was  able to make it to the David Collection

Which has an intense collection  of Middle Eastern art and since it’s named after me you  know they’re doing something right I was visiting in July so  I got full-on Danish summer which is kind of comparable to spring  or fall in Virginia where I was raised

But it’s probably the best time of year  to enjoy the outdoors in Copenhagen and it’s a city with a lot  of nice parks and green space being right on the Baltic Sea there are plenty  of places to enjoy sunny days by the water and right in the center of  everything there’s Tivoli

The world’s third oldest theme park  that opened up way back in August 1843 but since my trip in total amounted to about 48  hours I had to skip the traditional Tivoli visit I mean you just can’t eat like I  did and then go on a roller coaster

Well you could but I know better so let’s get into the meal that I had at  noma on my trip during vegetable season 2023 and to get started there’s something that  needs some clarification because if you’re   like me the name vegetable season  might seem a little bit confusing

As in it doesn’t mean vegetarian or vegan so let me just clarify how the kind  folks over boma explained it to me some of the dishes served during vegetable  season may not be vegetarian or vegan but they can be adapted to dietary  requirements if requested beforehand

So the focus of the menu is  on vegetables hence the name but as goes with the general philosophy over  at noma there are no set rules to be followed but rather the promise of a high  quality and unique dining experience

I showed up around 30 minutes early just as  anyone shelling out about a month’s rent should this gave me the chance to  have a nice look around the   gardens and sample of fermented  beverage that the staff gave me but soon enough I was invited in to be seated

Each guest gets the choice of pairing  their meal with either wine or juice and having done some research  on the restaurant’s reputation   for having a great selection of natural wines I selected the wine pairing and each guest gets  a nice printed menu that I’ve kept as a souvenir

The wine pairing also turned out to  include two rice wines or sake that   came back from Kyoto with the noma team just a  few months before my visit to noma in Copenhagen noma had operated a seasonal popup in Kyoto, Japan and their time in Japan really  showed in the experience that I had

I coincidentally was in Kyoto at  the same time as their residents   but I couldn’t even manage to  get my hands on a reservation so while I was a bit surprised to  see Japanese rice wines on the menu

I was also kind of happy to get to try some  of the sake that had been featured in Kyoto this Japanese influence also came  out in many of the menu items too though and though to date this has been my  only trip to Noma the inclusion of so much  

Japanese cine and products felt like it changed  the identity of the restaurant a little bit but the sommelier did frequent my table often and   provided tons of insight that  enriched my dining experience and the overall personable approach to service at   noma was really enjoyable for  this 17-course eating marathon

You can feel and see that they’ve got  the best of the best working there but there’s an extra welcoming element  to the service that’s just really nice and with noma’s most recent announcements  it seems that the days of it being a  

Restaurant focused solely on locally  sourced uisine may be coming to an end but first let’s take a look at what Noma served up   and then after that we can explore  what the new boma might end up being the first course was mushroom sashimi

And when the course showed up  I knew that there was going   to be a heavy Japanese influence on this meal but the so-called Sashimi was a  really nice light start to the meal the texture was somewhat similar to tuna Sashimi but there was still this nice mushroom body

And the sauce consisting of hazelnut milk  and elderflower really rounded out the flavor months later I can still recall  the richness of that sauce the next two dishes were brought out together the elderflower miso crisp with golden  beets was a nice savory blend of flavors  

And again Japanese Cuisine was very  present with the Miso part of the dish the mallow rose on the right though fine didn’t really accompany the  elderflower miso crisp so well for me though the berry inside the  flour was full of flavor

I was told not to eat any of the green  stuff though which was kind of a bummer and next up was the ramson and koji cake which was  brought out at the same time as the pine skewer

The ramson and koji cake dish was probably the  most interesting dish in terms of flavor thus far the koji inside of the ramson  leaf reminded me a lot of tempeh really with only a slight difference in texture   due to it being made out of fermented  barley rather than fermented soy beans

And the pine skewer was  well I wouldn’t call it bad I kind of like it’s kind of  like eating an olive though it tasted basically like a  solidified version of Greek retsina which is a type of white  wine that is made with pine

I feel like pine is really  an adapted taste for many   but then again it was exactly this  kind of dish that drew me to Noma so though I was intrigued by the dishes up until  then it was the flower soup that really got me

The second I saw it it became my new favorite dish and it consisted of a bunch bunch  of different flowers grown at noma   in a broth of tomato water which I  believe had a touch of ginger in it though all the ingredients were incredibly light

The flavor was intense and packed a tangy kit I’m nearly drooling thinking about this one and after a quick bathroom break in one  of the nicer restaurant bathrooms around it was time for some peas and pumpkin seeds the outside part is a white currant fruit leather  

Which matched the inside of peas  and pumpkin seed puree pretty well I was instructed to eat each one in one  bite but I think I might have preferred   this dish a little bit more without  the sticky texture of the fruit leather or perhaps just in smaller  bites I guess I’ll never know

But the next dish was a really cool experience you’d see the words mountain  pepper written out and think okay typical pepper grown in the mountains but as I started to eat my mouth grew numb and a staff member verified that  I was in fact eating sansho pepper

And constantly adding a whole another  level of flavor to the whole thing was   this tea-infused cheese sauce  that surrounded the eggplant this one was a winner for me then came the millet and young garlic which  for me was lacking a bit in terms of flavor

I am an overall fan of garlic  in all shapes and forms but the young garlic felt more like it  could have been served as an optional   condiment and may be replaced with  some other dimension of flavor I believe the millet was smoked

Though I have to point out that  the amount of information given   for each dish did vary a lot  if you didn’t ask yourself and well I was working on my fifth or maybe sixth  glass of wine so I didn’t think to ask about it

The next dish was called  nordic yuba with beach greens this dish also had a serious mix of flavors  with the foam you see coming from yuba starch there was a constant battle of spiciness from the   shishito peppers and a sweet  tartness from the gooseberries

And among all the ingredients there  the so-called soy milk skin brought   everything together for me as the place of balance amidst what without it could have  tasted like uncontrolled chaos and then some quail egg tempura was brought out this one was good and packed some heat  which was mixed well with smokiness

It kind of reminded me of mixing a  preserved egg with Sichuan peppers and it was a really nice way to follow up to  that flavorful Yuba dish that came before it but the next dish I did find a  little bit boring in comparison

I’m honestly not sure if some of the  ingredients were sourced from Japan or not but regardless it just was  not a very interesting dish there was a bit of flavor from the green tea and   I’m sure I’d enjoy eating this green  rice on its own in another setting

But there was nothing that really matched what  you’d expect from noma in this dish for me however the next dish I got was today’s  crudite which was intriguing given the   name is usually reserved for  appetizers to my knowledge

Improperly timed appetizer or not this dish  might have been my favorite of the whole meal or perhaps it’s a tie with the next one take the best of local fruits and vegetables and  sit them upon a kind of smoky buttery concoction and you’ve got a delicious punch of fresh flavor

But then came the king  oyster mushroom with truffle and I don’t know to what extent the wine is  influencing my judgment and taste buds here but that grilled mushroom with black truffles  beats out any filet mignon in my opinion

The meal was going well up to this point but I  never really got to the point of feeling full this mushroom dish however blew me away and the earthy mushroom matched truffle powerful black pepper and a smokiness akin to the greatest smoked fish

Made for the most satisfying thing I  could have imagined eating at that moment but after that I was a bit sad because  there were only desserts left to explore the first dessert was a selection of  tangy berries served in woodruff cream I’d never had woodruff cream before but it kind of  

Amounted to an overall sweet and earthy  canvas for each nerry to be tasted upon then came the molded onigiri which was  almost like eating a frozen French cheese this one came with the option to be served vegan but I had it with the milk-based ice cream

The creaminess of the ice cream  matched really well with the   black current leather that had been stuck to it and I’ve got to say I also enjoyed  the presentation on this one it was kind of just a fun take on those onigiri  rice balls that you can buy anywhere in Japan

And last but not least was the magnolia flour until then I just never considered eating   a magnolia leaf but there  it was and it sure was good it came beautifully presented with saffron   and Mexican chocolate sprinkled  atop and it had flavor to match

And at the end of the meal along with the Magnolia  flower they served a nice single-origin coffee I found it really nice to see so much  attention paid to coffee in a restaurant and upon finishing my time dining at noma I was  handed a gift bottle of their experimental dashi

Which has added sake and mushroom  which is not standard in most dashis but I cannot avoid the fact that I was not full  after sitting there and eating for about 3 hours so upon recommendation I headed  over to Popl Burger to have a burger

I guess they’re actually kind of known for  fermented stuff that they put on burgers but while the burger was  definitely good enough to eat I have to say they have nothing on  the local burger chain Gasoline Grill so I’d probably reconsider  my post-noma meal next time

All in all my meal cost me 6,150 Danish Krone which was $908.65 at the time that I paid for it that is a serious financial commitment I mean at more than much of the world  pays for a month’s rent this was by   far the most expensive dining  experience I’ve ever paid for

And there was a fee automatically applied when  I paid with my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card this does seem to have become standard across  Denmark for any card not issued in Denmark but this is a really customer-unfriendly  thing for banks to do anywhere

And of course when we’re talking about a  larger sum of money it’s even more annoying and I’d assume that most of  noma’s clientele aren’t that   likely to hold a Danish credit card or debit card so I don’t know an easy solution  seems to be if noo would just have  

You select your preferred drinks  package at the time of booking and pay it all through their online portal but okay small inconveniences aside was it worth it? for me the answer was yes even though I wouldn’t say I was  100% satisfied with my experience

I mean I was still very satisfied  and I enjoyed it thoroughly I mean it goes down for me as one  of my top dining experiences ever but the focus on locally sourced cuisine  seems to have been partially erased with   the restaurant or restaurant management’s  new obsession with Japanese Cuisine

Don’t get me wrong I do  really love Japanese Cuisine but it felt a little bit out of  place sometimes at noma in Denmark I mean the whole idea of Noma is  based on seasonal local ingredients it’s the central reason for  the restaurant’s rise to fame

But if you’re interested in  dining at nomein the future there   is a bit of of uncertainty to what your  experience will look like in my opinion I mean if and if you get a table you can  assume that it will be a world-class experience that’s for sure

But noma has done some back and forth in saying  that it will close its doors in the past years while at the time of my meal at noma  the restaurant’s official line was   that it would close down for good at  the end of the winter 23/24 season

At least in its current format known as Noma 2.0 yet in the aftermath of its success as  a kaiseke popup in Kyoto Japan in 2023 the most recent information that  the restaurant has shared is that   it will be continuing as Noma 2.0 for another year

So in defense of noma I do think it’s been clearly   stated that there aren’t any plans  to entirely close the restaurant but rather transform it into something new but I definitely don’t think this  could be a publicity stunt given   that the restaurant is one of  the most popular in the world

And the demand definitely  outweighs what they can offer I mean it took me years of trying  to book to actually get a table there are basically two ways to  get a table if you’re lucky you   might find someone that can’t  attend their own reservation

Or needs to fill an extra seat  on Reddit or somewhere like that but for most of the tables you need to book  at the exact moment that they’re opened up and you might have done this for something  else I don’t know Beyonce tickets

But the website gets really slow and  sometimes you just can’t even get a table that happened to me twice but depending on how much value you place on  the experience I think it could be worth it but still regarding noma’s future  I would love to see management give  

Out a little bit more clear information  about what exactly their plans are well and basically if we can expect noma in  restaurant form to exist for years to come or not but if you like this video then give it a like and   subscribe to my channel for  a ton of other travel videos

And maybe just maybe I’ll catch  you at noma sometime in the future oh yeah and if anybody’s got a great idea on what  to do with this dashi drop a comment below

Today we’re traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark to eat at noma. This three-Michelin-star restaurant has been voted the best restaurant in the world five times.

Many people travel to Copenhagen just to eat at noma, but I couldn’t miss out on exploring the beautiful seaside city a bit during my short visit. And since I traveled to Denmark during summer, I had sunny Danish skies and could properly enjoy the outdoors.

So we’ll see everything I had during my 17-course meal at the world’s best restaurant, how it cost about what I pay for rent each month, and the hamburger ate after. Plus with recent announcements of plans to close or drastically change this innovative restaurant, time may be running out to eat there.

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00:00 Intro
00:23 Copenhagen
02:14 noma
04:29 What I ate
10:37 How much I paid
11:37 The future of noma
12:49 Getting a table

#travelfood #travelfoodie #copenhagen #travel #luxurylife #food