Thanks to easing Covid-19 restrictions in Denmark, Copenhagen’s Michelin-starred Noma, often hailed as one of the world’s best restaurants, is reopening next week – but with some big changes. Instead of extravagant £300 20-course meals and tables that require pre-paid reservations months in advance, Noma will temporarily switch gears and become a no-reservations-required ‘come as you are’ outdoor burger and wine bar.
"We feel in the first phase of the reopening that we want to be open for all", Noma’s chef and co-owner Rene Redzepi wrote on Instagram. "We need to heal, so let’s have a glass and a burger, you’re all invited".
The restaurant will be open from 1 pm to 9 pm Thursday to Sunday and will serve two burgers in collaboration with Gasoline Grill, a much-loved burger joint that was started in a former petrol station. The burgers, including a vegetarian option, will be "packed with umami, with a little bit of magic from our fermentation cellar, served on a freshly baked potato bun", according to a statement posted on Noma’s website.
The owners promise that normal Noma will be back at the second stage of reopening, though the date of this hasn’t been announced yet. "In order to open Noma, the restaurant as we know it, we will need some extra time to get the machine up and running again", the statement said. "Being closed for so long means that it will take weeks for our team to get the kitchen back to the levels we were at before closing".
One of the first European countries to announce a lockdown, Denmark is now leading the continent’s reopening and was the first country in the EU to reopen schools and small businesses. Museums, amusement parks and cinemas are expected to reopen on 8 June, and nightclubs, music venues and gyms will likely be closed until at least August.
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