Voted the world’s best restaurant in 2010, 2011 and 2012, Noma offers reinterpretations of traditional Nordic cuisine by drawing on an intricate network of ingredients, from wrangling local produce to flying in fresh horse mussels, deep-sea crabs and langoustines from the Faeroe Islands, halibut, wild salmon, cod, seaweed and curds from Iceland, and lamb, musk ox, berries and the purest drinking water from Greenland. The variety of ingredients is then composed through culinary creativity to reflect the various tastes of the North Atlantic region in new modes of representation.

The range of activity in the Noma kitchen is quite impressive. They smoke, salt, pickle, dry, grill and bake fish and meats on slabs of basalt stone, prepare vinegars from scratch, and distill their own spirits. Everyday ingredients like cereals, hulled grains and legumes are refashioned in surprising preparations. The chefs are especially interested in working with raw ingredients that are often foreign to Nordic fare, but that are local and therefore up to the challenge of enhancing flavors through untraditional garnishes. Wild plants have been known to commandeer plates, foregrounding flavors that can be unexpected, yet delightful.

Indeed, the Noma experience is one of advanced pursuits in the art of cooking. Dinner can quickly become expensive, but considering the effort and freshness involved, you’ll receive more than just a meal. Eating at Noma is an event entirely of its own magnitude.