We had a trip booked to Denmark and Germany in 2020 but because of COVID had to cancel it and the trip we had planned never happened. Copenhagen was overall high on our list because we had never been to Scandinavia before and it is known for good food and drink, but the main reason was to check off a bucket list restaurant – Noma. Noma was opened in 2003, and has since been widely recognized as the best restaurant in the world, having been actually named the best restaurant in the world by the Michelin Guide in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2021 (It is not possible for restaurants to win this award after a previous win anymore).

Earlier this year Noma announced they would be closing and changing the concept in 2024. We decided it was now or never, and booked a short 5 day trip to Copenhagen after securing a highly coveted dinner reservation. We went with our friends Dacha and Brie, who were equally interested in eating at Noma before its closure.

This trip was a food and drink trip – we really didn’t do much else. The restaurant scene in Copenhagen is wild – the amount of restaurants that have some connection to Noma was incredible, after 20 years so many restaurants have been opened by people who previously worked at Noma, and one that we had dinner at was in Noma’s original location (which perfectly exemplifies the Danish idea of ‘hygge’).

Hygge: /ˈho͞oɡə
A cozy, contented mood evoked by comfort and conviviality.

Noma

We biked to Noma, which is located outside of downtown Copenhagen in an industrial area, but was still only a 15 minute bike ride from our AirBnB. When we arrived we were welcomed into a cozy greenhouse where they offered us tea while we waited for our table by a roaring fire. The property is made up of multiple buildings such as this greeting greenhouse, as well as test kitchen buildings, and the main kitchen and dining room building. After a few minutes we left through the back, and were directed down an outdoor path to the main dining room.

Upon arriving we were walked through the open concept kitchen in the middle of the dining room, and everyone from the kitchen stopped to give each of us a ‘hello’ or ‘welcome’ as we walked by.

Dinner was 15 courses of modern Danish food. Comforting yet novel, familiar yet inventive. The food and overall experience was far better than we expected, and the bar was set very high. It really was an incredible experience that we will remember for a long time!

Alchemist

Alchemist is the brain child of chef Rasmus Munk, a young Dane who wanted to open a restaurant that could be more than just fine dining; he wanted to use his restaurant as a vehicle for social change.

Alchemist was opened just before COVID. Today it is #18 on the worlds best restaurant list. We did not have a reservation here before arriving in Copenhagen, but we were able to get a last minute spot on our final night. This ‘restaurant’ is known to be a wild experience like no other, it is seen as more of a show or experience, rather than just a meal. We were there for over 5 hours, and spent this time in multiple rooms, perfectly orchestrated to match the food, the tone of the meal at that time, and the social or political message they wanted to convey or educate you on, from food sustainability and world hunger, to cleaning up our oceans and raising awareness on farmed animal treatment. They use some of the profits from the restaurant to fund a non-profit organization that feeds the homeless of Copenhagen, and a research project to improve hospital food in Denmark. There are many reviews of this restaurant that are beautifully written if you are interested in reading more, but suffice to say, we were expecting a unique experience, and it did not disappoint. The biggest take away was that although the food was different and sometimes even weird, it still tasted incredible!

Outside of Noma and Alchemist we spent our time eating and drinking (surprise surprise) and biking around to work off everything we had eaten!

-M&A