Copenhagen's Noma, which has often been called the best restaurant in the world, serves local food, but not like a West Hollywood cafe serving $17 salads. Noma's teams of foragers scour the ample Danish countryside for scores of obscure herbs, greens, and berries to go with those horse mussels and musk ox slivers. The result is some magical, artistic, place-specific fare we wish we had the money to enjoy. The idea of Noma existing somewhere besides Scandinavia wouldn't make sense. The restaurant is inseparable from its setting.

Until 2015. For two months in the beginning of next year, Noma chef Rene Redzepi will be moving his restaurant to Tokyo's Kikunoi, one of three famous kaiseki establishments owned by Japanese celebrity chef Yoshihiro Murata.
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Noma will be a restaurant-in-residence, as Redzepi and his collaborators apply their wiles to Japan's most perfect winter produce. While Redzepi plans to move his entire staff to Tokyo, Noma will leave the aronia berries behind and let the products of the temporary setting guide the menu.

Apparently, Redzepi has been pondering this move for five years. He vows to share more specific information in June. If you want updates, there's a mailing list on Noma's site

See also: The World's 50 Best Restaurants List: Noma, Again (and Again)


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