Noma Has Released Details For Its Los Angeles Run — Including A $1,500 Price Tag

Los Angeles is a city filled with amazing and creative restaurants, but it's not an insult to say none of them are Noma. A Nordic restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark, Noma has been at the center of the culinary world for over two decades, with the three-Michelin-star restaurant often being called the best in the world, and being name-dropped in food-focused culture like "The Bear." Even when it seemed like Noma was done a few years ago, after founder René Redzepi announced it would be turning into a food lab, it has managed to endure, staying open well past the announced 2024 closing date and still taking reservations to this day. And now Noma is expanding, albeit temporarily, with a three-month run in the City of Angels from March 11 to June 26.

Noma had announced its LA plans in July of last year, but the restaurant has finally posted specific details on its website and started previewing ingredients on social media. The first thing most people will probably notice is the eye-popping price tag, $1,500 for the full experience, including beverage pairings. That's almost twice as much as the normal bill, including alcohol at Noma in Copenhagen. To secure a table, you'll need to sign up for the Noma newsletter by January 23, and then bookings will open up on January 26 at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. While Noma has done international "residencies" in other cities before, this is the first in the United States.

Back in Copenhagen, Noma is known for its wildly creative seasonal cooking, utilizing exacting and experimental techniques to bring stunning flavors out of the freshest ingredients. Noma is particularly well-known for its focus on foraging, which allows it to serve highly unusual ingredients even other fine dining restaurants don't have, like local mushrooms and young spruce tips. Like the original Noma, the Los Angeles restaurant will utilize local, highly seasonal, and unusual items from the area. Redzepi says he was particularly attracted by the diversity and extreme geographic contrasts of California.

While the dishes themselves have not been announced, Noma's recent posts on Instagram are giving potential diners a hint at what they're in for. A few clips show fresh seaweed strung out, huge crabs, and fresh mushrooms, but also a massive stalk of asparagus as tall as Redzepi himself. The most intriguing is a clip of Redzepi plucking off a small piece of a succulent, crunching it, and declaring it delicious.

As for the reason the price is so high, beyond the work that goes into acquiring the ingredients, Redzepi told the LA Times he has brought 130 staff members to the city, including paying for housing, transportation, and even schooling for staff members' families. But if you can't afford the full meal, the Noma Projects line of products will also be opening a shop in Silver Lake, where individual items can be purchased.