Noma Reopens in Copenhagen After Turmoil, With a New Team and New Model
Noma, one of the world’s most famous and influential restaurants, is returning to operation in Copenhagen. The Danish restaurant, which over the years became a symbol of New Nordic cuisine and was chosen several times as the world’s best restaurant, will reopen on August 5, 2026, but this time in a new format, with a significant change at the top: René Redzepi, the chef most closely associated with it, will no longer manage the kitchen’s day-to-day operations.
According to the restaurant’s announcement, Pablo Soto, who has worked at Noma since 2017, will lead the kitchen as head chef. Mette Brink Sørvig will head research and development, and Anika de las Heras will become CEO. Redzepi, who turned Noma into one of the world’s most talked-about restaurants, will remain in a more creative role and focus on long-term projects, including insects, seaweed, legumes, mushrooms and technology. In other words, Noma is back, but not exactly as it was.
The restaurant’s website says this is a “new chapter” rather than a simple return to the past. Instead of the familiar model of three culinary seasons a year, the restaurant plans to move to a structure of 12 seasons, meaning a menu that will change every month, depending on ingredients, ideas and seasonal landscapes. “August is where this journey begins,” the official announcement said.
The comeback comes after especially turbulent years for the restaurant and for Redzepi. Noma, which was first opened in 2003 by Redzepi and Claus Meyer, changed the way the world talked about local ingredients, foraging, fermentation, Scandinavian simplicity and high-end techniques. It was named the world’s best restaurant in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2021, and earned three Michelin stars. For many food lovers, it was not just a restaurant, but a pilgrimage destination.
In recent years, alongside the culinary aura, the discussion about the human cost of luxury kitchens of this kind also intensified. In 2023, Noma announced it would close its regular operations as the restaurant it was known as, and Redzepi himself said at the time that the fine dining model as it had operated, economically, emotionally and in terms of employment, was not sustainable. The restaurant then presented the move as part of a transition to “Noma 3.0”, less of a classic restaurant and more of a culinary laboratory, product development hub, pop-ups and international projects.
In recent months, a more serious storm was added. In March, the New York Times published a report in which former employees claimed that Redzepi had harmed them physically and mentally during the years they worked at the restaurant, especially between 2009 and 2017. They also spoke about difficult conditions and unpaid work. Redzepi said at the time that he did not recognize all the details that were published, but added that he understood his behavior had hurt people who worked with him, and apologized.
Now, with the announcement of the reopening, Noma appears to be trying not only to return to operation, but also to show that its internal structure has changed. The restaurant’s website published a transparency document stating that since 2022 all employees have been paid, including interns, a dedicated human resources function has been established, the restaurant staff has moved to a four-day workweek, and an external oversight mechanism for the workplace has been created.
The price, as expected, remains in the world of extreme fine dining: Noma’s tasting menu will cost 6,500 Danish kroner per person with wine pairing, about $1,000, or nearly 3,000 shekels. Those who choose juice pairing instead of wine will pay 6,000 Danish kroner.
Noma’s return is attracting attention not only because of the food, but because of the broader question it raises: is one of the world’s most famous restaurants really managing to reinvent itself, or is it simply too powerful a brand to disappear? On the one hand, Noma is promising new leadership, a new rhythm and an even more extreme seasonal concept. On the other hand, the shadow of recent years is still there, the closure, criticism of working conditions, the testimony against Redzepi and the ongoing debate over the culture in luxury kitchens. Either way, this August Noma is set to once again become one of the most talked-about addresses in the culinary world. This time, at least according to the statements, it is not only asking to dazzle diners, but also to prove it has learned something about how a restaurant like this should work behind the scenes.
