Food & Wine USA – September 2019

SEPTEMBER 2019 WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS 43

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building, formerly a warehouse. All

activity in the kitchen stops as every

cook and waiter in the place turns

to welcome you.

In the late spring when I visited,

seafood was still the restaurant’s

focus. (In summer the focus is veg-

etables; in the autumn, game meat.)

One fat scallop in its shell, naked

aside from its bright-orange roe, set

the tone for the evening. It tasted

of pure fresh ocean sweetness and

salinity—the soul of the sea.

Multiple types of clams are served

in their shells, one carpeted with

purslane, one daubed with fresh

cream, and one dotted with slivers of

preserved hazelnut. One shrimp dish

shows off the sweet, delicate nature of

the raw meat, another—gray shrimp

cooked with sea lettuce—wrings all

NOMA IS STILL GOOD. It’s as good as

everyone says it is. It’s better.

While this truth may not be shock-

ing, some of the reasons why Noma

is so magnificent came as a surprise.

Despite the fact that René Redzepi’s

restaurant has been examined from

almost every angle, in multiple books,

articles, documentaries, and televi-

sion shows, going there still feels like

a wondrous discovery.

Arriving for a meal at Noma 2.0,

you begin with a drink in one of

many greenhouses set amongst

gardens overlooking the water. You

walk along the waterfront toward a

fire pit and then enter the long main

the funk out of the crustacean, em-

phasizing its opposite potential.

So yes, the food is stunning. And

while I may not have eaten many

meals on this journey that were quite

as accomplished as what Redzepi and

crew are delivering, I did eat quite a

few that came close. But nowhere else

came near to what Noma achieves in

another very important area: hospital-

ity. I’m loath to call it service; this is

something much deeper. I have never

experienced the possibility of extend-

ed and meaningful connection with

the people cooking and serving my

food the way I did at Noma. You will

eat things here that will haunt you for

years to come. But Noma’s greatest

achievement may lie in something

not edible at all: its deep and palpable

h u m a n i t y.

NOMA

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

HIGHLY COMMENDED

It’s hard to pick the most thrilling

thing about Mugaritz in Spain,

but for me it was the history of

Spanish winemaking delivered

through vintage Cavas, sherries,

and lots of engaging banter. No

other wine program I experienced

was so generous with seriously

rare wines, or left me feeling quite

so delightfully enlightened.

Noma’s custom-
designed dining room.
right: Starfish with
cardamom toffee and
saffron; fried cod skin
and chocolate.
PHOTOGRAPHY (FROM LEFT): IRINA BOERSMA, DITTE ISAGER