The former best restaurant in the world is reopening this week as a wine and burger bar 'open to everyone'
- Noma in Copenhagen is reopening as a wine and burger bar this week.
- The two Michelin-starred restaurant, named the best in the world four times, announced its first phase of reopening post coronavirus lockdown.
- Its menu will consist of a cheeseburger and veggie burger plus various wines and beers, available to have in the restaurant's garden or to take away.
- Crucially, there'll be no reservations, and at 125 krone ($18) for a takeout burger, prices are markedly cheaper than the usual Noma experience, which costs between 2,250 and 2,400 krone ($353 to $377) without drinks.
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The former best restaurant in the world is reopening as a wine and burger bar.
Two Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen was, like all restaurants in Denmark, forced to close in March as part of the country's lockdown due to the coronavirus.
However, as restrictions are relaxed, the world-renowned restaurant has announced it will reopen this week, only in a new fashion.
On Thursday, May 21 at 1 p.m., Noma's first phase of reopening will occur with the launch of an outdoor burger and wine bar.
"What crazy and uncertain times," Noma co-owner René Redzepi wrote on Instagram.
"Copenhagen is about to reopen its restaurants. And so will Noma. However before we reopen Noma as we know it. We will transform into a no reservation, drop-in only, wine and burger bar.
"We feel in the first phase of the reopening that we want to be open for all. We need to heal, so let's have a glass and a burger, you're all invited."
The simple menu is a stark change from Noma's usual offerings, where diners eat dishes such as nasturtium flower tart with sea buckthorn jelly, walnut "tofu" served with a sauce made from sunflower seeds and crisp rose petals, and a pancake made from moldy barley wrapped around an ice cream of plum seeds, as Insider's Will Martin reported.
Now, the restaurant will welcome diners to its garden overlooking a lake in Christiania in the Danish capital.
"In this first phase of reopening, we would like to offer something that we all know and love: wine and burgers," a statement from Noma sent to Insider reads.
"We are so excited to have the chance to welcome new faces to our space, take advantage of our beautiful outdoor area, and greet everyone with open arms."
The limited menu will consist of two burgers: one cheeseburger and one veggie.
"Both are juicy and packed with umami, with a little bit of magic from our fermentation cellar, served on a freshly baked potato bun developed by our friends at Gasoline Grill," an announcement on the restaurant's website said.
Wines will be available by the glass and by the bottle, and there will also be beer by the bottle.
However, prices are unsurprisingly a little higher that your average street food burger bar.
Both burgers cost 125 krone ($18) to take away or 150 krone ($22) to eat in, wine starts from 95 krone ($14) by the glass and 425 krone ($62) by the bottle, and beers start at 50 krone ($7) per bottle.
But considering a meal at Noma normally costs between 2,250 and 2,400 krone ($353 to $377) without drinks, the new bar is a much more affordable way to try it.
"Come as you are, there are no reservations, we are open for everyone," the website says.
Given the restaurant usually has a long waiting list for reservations, this could be the time to sample Noma's cooking spontaneously — if you're prepared for the possibility of queuing.
Both burgers and drinks are available to take away or enjoy in, with orders only being placed at the door.
As Noma returns to life as a wine bar, the restaurant will be gearing up to reopen in full.
"The team will need some additional time to prepare for the restaurant's reopening. 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," the statement said.
There's no official reopening date yet, with the restaurant explaining that it needs to ensure all the health and safety regulations set out by the Danish government are followed.
What's more, the restaurant has its own strict protocols including frequent sanitization of hands and all surfaces, reorganization of the team to minimize contact and touch points, plus hand sanitizer made readily available in toilets and guest areas.
Noma's wine bar will be open from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday to Sunday, and although you can't reserve, if you're ordering 10 or more burgers you can preorder by 10 a.m. on the day by emailing burger@noma.dk.
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