Noma Is The New World's Best Restaurant

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Apr 28th 2010 at 12:02AM

Forget El Bulli and The Fat Duck, there's a new world's best restaurant, Copenhagen's Noma. The two Michelin star-rated restaurant on Copenhagen's docks won first place in the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant awards recently. Young chef René Redzepi is the man behind the new restuarant which eschews molecular gastronomy and serves more down-to-earth fare like radishes in edible dirt. Redzepi is half Danish and half Macedonian and has, according to the Wall Street Journal, five full-time foragers on staff. All employees are expected to participate in harvesting produce. Noma doesn't use olive oil or nonseasonal garlic and all produce is from Denmark and neighboring Nordic countries. He has also use non-traditional ingredients like milk skin, wild beach roses, birch syrup and unripe elderberries. The seven course menu runs around $175 per person.

The awards are decided by regional committees made up of top chefs and food writers. El Bulli, Ferran Adria's restaurant and Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck didn't fall too far, they were ranked second and third.

The top U.S. restaurant, ranked seventh was Chicago's "best restaurant ever" Alinea which is headed by Grant Achatz and it was followed by Daniel in New York in the eighth slot. Other top-ranked U.S. restaurants included Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in Yountville, California in the 32nd slot and his Per Se in the tenth slot. Le Bernardin was 15th. New entries to the list from the U.S. included Wylie Dufresne's WD-50 at 45th and Eleven Madison Park rounding out the top 50 in the last slot.

Tags: copenhagen, denmark, noma, rene redzepi, worlds best restaurant

Filed under: Dining

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Allegro's Jojo Apr 28th 2010 2:29PM

Do the people who decide these "best" restaurant awards ever visit any other cities except Chicago and New York? They are not the only USA cities with great restaurants.

beanspants Apr 28th 2010 5:28PM

Yes. They also visit LA.

Roger Russell Apr 28th 2010 8:49PM

I love these hot shots and their selections. We have a few rather tasty restaurants here in New Orleans and reallly don't give a hoot about their opinions. We know what real food is.

LMart Apr 28th 2010 11:19PM

"Radishes in edible dirt"??? It seems to me that the restaurant business has just gone totally bonkers. What ever happened to just sitting down to a meal that tastes good? It appears that wealthy diners are simply jaded with normally excellent tasting recipes and only appreciate the craziest dishes featuring foams and prepared with liquid nitrogen and 20 different ingredients piled atop what would normally be an excellent piece of meat. I'm seriously glad that I have simple tastes when it comes to food!

Frank Apr 28th 2010 9:03PM

Radishes in edible dirt?? LMAO. The BEST restaurants in the world are in NEW ORLEANS. I'll take a LARGE serving of crawfish etoufee and let others have "radishes in edible dirt"...ROFL

Ralph Zuccaro Apr 28th 2010 9:38PM

AND WHt is your TAB on a great meal there????

DR Tim Apr 28th 2010 11:38PM

THESE SO CALLED FOOD EXPERTS..ARE CONSIDERED EXPERTS EXACTLY WHY????THEIR QUALIFICATIONS????

EDIBLE DIRT AND RADISHES...NOW THAT REALLY MUST MAKE THEM THE BEST...AND MILK SKIN, MMMMMM.

THESE RATINGS, REMIND ME OF EXPERTS ON MODERN ART, WHEN THE PRIZE WINNING ENTRY LOOKS LIKE THE BOTTOM OF A VERY LONG UNCLEANED PARROT CAGE. ITS ALL HYPOCRISY,PHONEY SNOBBERY FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY!!

ohbelin Apr 28th 2010 11:23PM

you want real good food? healthy food? organic (real one) go to ITALY enjoy

c Apr 28th 2010 11:35PM

Very well put.....it's like people who read food reviews in NYC and flock to what's supposed to be the best.
A simple cupcake craze here has been culinarily embarrassing, sugar, like salt is not content or flavor.

Ed Apr 28th 2010 9:36PM

Sounds like a great place with a healthy menu.
http://www.vegancookingtipsandsecrets.com

Sam Apr 28th 2010 9:37PM

Radishes in edible dirt??? Whatever floats your boat ... I suppose ... LMAO! I loved Pellegrino mineral water ... that is until it gave me a kidney stone the size of a walnut and cost me 30 grand in medical bills to get rid of.

snowmassey Apr 28th 2010 9:42PM

To each his own.
I make a great peanutbutter and jelly........................

doreen Apr 28th 2010 10:34PM

I also make a great peanut butter & jelly! Toast the bread, use chunky p-nut butter, & either strawberry or grape jelly (depending what's on the "menu" ) Hey snowmassey? Think we should go in business? :)

snowmassey Apr 29th 2010 8:59AM

doreen
I like to use fresh fruit in season with a little honey with the toasted
bread and chunky peanut butter. Fresh blueberries or strawberries are my faves. But to really kick it up more notches
try cashew butter or almond butter yum yum.

I don't think we could make a living selling PBJ's.

I see people dissing people who would spend 125 bux on a meal, but
some drive rusty old pickup trucks & some drive Rolls Royces.
What ever floats your boat.
Me, I'd rather take the 125 bux and go to my favorite seafood store.
I can buy a lot of crab, shrimp, oysters, lobster, salmon, clams, scallops,
etc with that kind of money and eat like a king for a week.

Dan Stuart Apr 28th 2010 9:52PM

THERE ARE FANTASTIC RESTAURANTS ALL OVER THE GLOBE AND WHO IS TO SAY THAT THEY ARE ANY BETTER OR WORSE THAN ANY OTHER. I HAVE HAD FANTASTIC MEALS IN SOME OF THE WORST DIVES AND I DEFY ANYONE TO SAY AFTER THEY HAVE EATEN THERE THAT IT IS NOT GREAT AND MEMORABLE. GREAT RESTAURANT DINNERES ARE IN THE TASTEBUDS OF THE DINER NOT SOME CRITIC.

Dawn Wood Apr 28th 2010 9:53PM

Come to Portland....got some great restaurants...i don't think one of them serves dirt....

tyler Apr 28th 2010 10:13PM

As others state, who decides whats great. $175 a person should get the place shut down and the owners prosecuted for theivery. These so called elite places with their servings the size of an aspirin tablet are a joke. And animal guts, and other weirdo concoctions?? Why don't people admit that this is crap and not try to show their wonderful taste by touting garbage. The vast majority as in 99 percent, of the world's people would find these menus nauseating and the prices a complete rip off. Its laughable that these places serve the same menu as what carrion birds eat lol .

blitz989 Apr 28th 2010 10:19PM

We have eaten at a lot of place's none of them even come close to stopping at our parents house to eat on a Sunday..hell for any other day...for that matter..

doreen Apr 28th 2010 11:11PM

I don't mind paying a little more, (not $175.00 more) IF the food is good & I leave full! (at least not still hungry) What is the real pisser is when you order, TA DA, your plate comes...you have 3 carrots, 2 green beans, 1 spear of aspargues, 3 oz. of whatever your "main" choice was ..& a lot of decoration on the plate, w/ different colors, in lines or dots. Looks nice, but not that nice.

c Apr 28th 2010 11:21PM

The tasteless rich people I used to cook for would spend $150 on take out the night I didn't cook...and their favorite was my baked chicken parts that I sprinkled with garlic powder s/p and hot paptika. They thought I slaved over it!!! OI VAY!!!!

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