Rene Redzepi’s masterful Noma, arguably the most famous restaurant in the world, has been known to occasionally travel outside of its home of Copenhagen every now and then. The bucketlist dining experience has hosted extravagent and ambitious pop up restaurants in destinations such as Tulum and Sydney in the past few years, and now it seems Japan’s former capital is next up with Redzepi announcing plans to shift the entire restaurant – including all 70 employees and their families – to Kyoto. The Noma Kyoto pop up will take the form of a 10-week residency at the city’s trendy Ace Hotel from March 15 to May 20 – perfectly timed for Aussies who are heading over for Cherry Blossom season now that unrestricted international travel to Japan is once again allowed.
From 2006 to 2016, Noma was consistently featured in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and once again popped up on the same round-up last year. Redzepi rarely takes his signature concept overseas, but when he does bookings are almost impossible to come by and a seat for the lauded dining experience is typically priced quite high.
For the Noma Kyoto pop-up, the Michelin three-star Copenhagen restuarant will be shut down so the entire focus is on the experience in Japan. Redzepi and his team will serve up lunch and dinner services four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday) during the residency, with a tasting menu and beverage pairing priced at around €775 (~$1,210) – excluding the 10% service charge.
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Reportedly, Noma team members have already been researching Kyoto extensively and have already started foraging for produce to use in the one-off menu. Plans for the pop-up have been in place for the past two years, reiterating the amount of thought and detail that has gone into curating this dining experience. Undoubtedly Japan’s produce will be the star of the show here, given Sydney’s Noma pop-up was famously anchored by Redzepi’s fascination with Australian ingredients, leading to creations like chicken stock skin with crocodile fat and raw marron with magpie goose ragu.
“I believe Kyoto to be the birthplace of the western tasting menu and it remains one of the most important cities through which to understand the fine dining scene today,” said Redzepi in a statement.
“Much of my own journey and inspiration can be boiled down to a handful of important moments, and going to Japan and Kyoto for the first time is one of them. We have always wanted to return and explore this region as a team.”
Considering Redzepi’s first Noma pop up was held in Tokyo in 2015, this should be a nice little full-circle moment for the dining concept. Which means it will be treated with a sense of occasion that should elevate the dining experience quite nicely. For gourmands and epicurean travellers, this is obviously something that shouldn’t be brushed over and while the price is steep, the once-in-a-lifetime experience is worth it for anyone who truly appreciates fine cuisine.
All reservations for Noma Kyoto will open on November 7. If you’re planning to be in Kyoto during Japan’s most visually spectacular season then you’ll need luck in your side if you’re going to lock in a booking.
Ace Hotel Kyoto will also be offering seatings at Noma Kyoto as part of an accommodation package, so you might want to check that out as well.
