Noma LA (Los Angeles, CA)
Noma Los Angeles
1923 Micheltorena St, Los Angeles, CA 90039
www.noma.dk
Tue 04/28/2026, 04:35p-10:00p
In the recent history of high gastronomy, it's probably safe to say that no restaurant has achieved more of an impact than Noma. Noma was launched in Copenhagen in 2003 by René Redzepi and Claus Meyer, and is largely credited for conceptualizing, codifying, and popularizing New Nordic cuisine, a culinary movement that has come to shape much of the fine dining world over the past two decades.
Therefore, when it was announced last July that Noma would be holding its upcoming residency in Los Angeles next year (after ceasing regular restaurant operations at the end of '24), the level of excitement and anticipation was expectedly high. In support of the undertaking, much of the staff spent the latter months of 2025 in California, learning, experimenting, getting to know the State's varied landscapes, its ingredients, its history, and forming relationships with purveyors and locals in the food industry.
The idea was that the knowledge and experiences gained would be married with the Noma team's creative chops, their Nordic know-how as it were, with the results of these efforts then showcased to guests. In addition to the pop-up, a temporary Noma Projects Shop would also be opening in Silver Lake, and there were plans for collaborations with a number of LA-area restaurants as well.
It was later revealed that Noma LA would be running from March 11th to June 26th, and when reservations were released at the end of January, they sold out, unsurprisingly, within minutes. Like many others, I was unable to secure tickets at first. However, shortly before the residency was slated to begin, allegations of Redzepi's past abusive workplace behavior surfaced, prompting the Chef to step down from his role at the restaurant.
Thus, the initial question of: "What would Noma look like if it were situated in LA?" now sported the additional wrinkle of: "What would Noma look like without René?" I felt that it was important to find out, so when a late-breaking reservation for a solo seat at a shared table popped up recently on Tock, I took the plunge and pulled the trigger.
The residency was housed at the Paramour Estate, also known as the Crestmount Estate or the Canfield-Moreno Estate, a designated LA Historic-Cultural Monument. Situated in the tony Moreno Highlands section of Silver Lake, the mansion was constructed in 1923 in the Mediterranean Revival style, and was owned by interior design-slash-restaurateur Dana Hollister (4100 Bar, Bordello, Brite Spot, Cliff's Edge, One-Eyed Gypsy, Villains Tavern) for 25 years before being sold to fellow designer Ken Fulk in 2023. Though complimentary onsite valet parking was offered, I ended up parking on the street, too far down the street apparently, as it was quite a steep schlep up Micheltorena. Pictured above is what you see right past the entrance gates.
As the site is perched atop a hill, I was afforded quite a vista from the motor court, one looking north towards Franklin Hills, Los Feliz, and beyond.
From the vantage point above, turn around, go past the inflatable mushrooms, and you'll find a path...
...Leading to the swimming pool courtyard, where guests were asked to assemble.
I was quickly handed a cup of hojicha-inspired lemon leaf infusion. In addition to the expected herbaceous and citrusy notes, I found an almost maize-like quality that was quite familiar. Pretty refreshing--I had two servings.
After a few tens of minutes, a number of us (the first seating, at the shared table) were led away. We circled around the south of the estate, catching a glimpse of the DTLA skyline in the distance.
At the western end of the property, the Noma crew had constructed a greenhouse-style kitchen on the mansion's lawn. We moved past the kitchen entrance to be greeted by the back-of-the-house staff...
...And were then taken east through the main dining room (the repurposed ballroom). They did a nice job with the space, capturing much of the general aesthetic of what I saw at the København restaurant, but with a SoCal twist.
However, our shared table wasn't located in the main dining area, but instead a lovely eight-seater private dining room (the repurposed sunroom) located at the northern extremity of the building.
Shown above is the menu that I was presented with at the end of the evening. The cost was $1500 per person, inclusive of tax, tip, and tipple. We also see the wine pairing, comprised of "natural"-leaning Californian selections, while there was a non-alcoholic pairing option as well (housemade infusions, kombuchas, juices, etc.), which I did not partake in. I was also given the opportunity to purchase bottles from the wine list, which, interestingly, was almost the exact opposite of the pairing: French, classical, and pricey. In addition, for a corkage fee of $150, I could've opened a bottle that I'd brought, just in case (the same I'd planned to drink at Hayato recently). Click for larger versions.
The place setting awaiting the eight of us at the table. We were a motley crew of diners, to be sure.
A chilled, wetted hand towel soon made an appearance (is it appropriate to refer to it as an oshibori in this context?). A much-appreciated touch that I'd like to see more often in haute cuisine.
NV Solera Rose No.2 - Gina Giugni, San Luis Obispo, Central Coast
To pair with our dinner, we were given seven wines (which were topped up quite liberally), and our first was a sparkling rosé from SLO-based producer Lady of the Sunshine. This was a Pinot Noir composed of one-fourth 2025 wine, with the remainder being a solera blend of 2023 and 2024 juice. Bright nose featuring unripe pome fruits, mineral, and yeasty nuances. Perky on the palate, with a core of crisp apples commingled with hints of stone, mineral, and astringency. A pretty apt apéritif.
1: Pink pepper Dungeness crab
In our first course, the sweetness of Dungeness was well-accompanied by both the heavier nuances imparted by their barbecuing process as well as a restrained zippiness from those local pink peppercorns. The crab was what I was looking for texturally, and was delicious just by itself. That being said, I also didn't mind a drag through that pink pepper-laced butter sauce, with its multifaceted, long-lingering savoriness, nuttiness, and sweet-spices.
A moistened napkin was soon provided, which was quite welcomed given the hands-on nature of the preceding course.
2: Daylily crab dumpling
A second preparation of Dungeness saw meat from the body of the crustacean stuffed into a day lily flower, steamed, and seasoned with rose oil. I liked this presentation even better, as the sweet-salinity of the crab meshed surprisingly seamlessly with the blossom's floral, herbaceous character. As a bonus, the crisp, fresh, vegetal buds of the plant were injected with a concentrated crab broth, making for further points of interest.
Another wet napkin quickly appeared.
2022 God Moving Over the Face of the Waters - Pete Bloomberg, Oakland, San Francisco
Our second wine was a Chardonnay from producer Llewelyn, using fruit from Lolonis Vineyard in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County. This was made with one barrel that was never topped up during aging, thus maturing sous voile and developing some oxidative character that made me think of the Jura. Intense nose giving some of those funky, nutty notes I'd expect from the region. In the mouth, things went in a sweeter, fruitier, more citrusy direction, with healthy doses of grassiness and barnyard.
3: Chilled lobster broth
A lobster shell was transformed into a drinking vessel, and the idea was to tuck in the center of the tail and enjoy the liquid within: a broth of lobster incorporating both elderflower and bergamot. The end result wasn't quite what I anticipated, but instead much more beguiling, with the dish's floral notes contributing a new dimension to the crustacean's expected savory, salty qualities.
4: Spot prawn cooked with matcha
Santa Barbara spot prawn was cooked à la minute, its sweet, oceany flavors matching up cleverly with the grassy, vegetal bitterness of green tea. Filled with a tangy dried tomato paste, the shrimp's even headier head was also a treat, so be sure to give it a suck.
A third and final wetted napkin was now provided.
2022 Palomino Fino - Mikey Giugni, San Luis Obispo, Central Coast
Next to imbibe was an old vine Palomino Fino from Scar of the Sea, a producer that happens to be run by the husband of the winemaker of the evening's first pairing. Made with grapes from Galleano Ranch in Cucamonga Valley (planted in the 1920s), this was reportedly aged three years in old oak barrels, non-ouillé. This made for a funky, oxidative style of wine with a rather viscous mouthfeel and a prominent backbone of sweetness.
5: Sea urchin custard and braised acorns
Pacific sea urchin was presented in both custard and tongue forms, joined by caviar, hoja santa oil, and some surprisingly tender cuts of acorn. Acorn was of particular interest to the kitchen, since it formed a key part of the diet for local Native Americans, and the team ended up treating it like they would pine cones back home. Indeed, the acorn formed the crux of the dish for me, offering an earthy, nutty counterpoint to the otherwise sweet 'n' briny flavors present. The peppery aromatics of yerba santa, meanwhile, served as an integrating force. Note that the wobbly bowl this course was served in was actually the shell of an emu egg, as apparently, the cooks had been experimenting with incorporating them into the menu (emus are farmed in California) and wanted to save the shells.
2024 Verso - Caleb Leisure, Sebastopol, Sonoma
Our next three courses were paired with a 100% Sauvignon Blanc bottling from Caleb Leisure, using fruit from Mendocino's Yorkville Highlands AVA. The winemaker was inspired by Georgian vinification traditions, and thus aged this particular wine in kvevri, which are amphora-like earthenware vessels. Aromas here were powerful, with a plethora of funky, nearly cheese-like notes. In the mouth, think bright and lively, with some lovely tannins alongside grassy, tropical flavors lined with minerality.
6: Cactus with mezcal
I've never been a huge fan of nopales, but quite enjoyed the ingredient in this next course, which I can safely deem the best cactus dish I've tried. Tacinga pads were nixtamalized and compressed with mezcal and white sage tea, then seasoned with honeypot ants. I think the key here was the nixtamalization, which gave the cactus a wonderfully slick and supple, yet substantial and satisfying consistency, without much of the mucilage one typically expects with nopal. Flavors were fresh and lively, with a generally sour, vegetal bent and pinpricks of piquancy from those ants.
7: Ragout of Californian botanicals
Comprised of California mussels, green tomatillo cooked with amaro, English peas, and a salad of nasturtium flowers, asparagus tips, and ice plant, a botanical ragoût of sorts ended up being a table favorite, and for good reason. The dish was much more cohesive than it might appear, and came together beautifully, juxtaposing a bevy of bright, "green" flavors with smoky, umami-forward elements, all tinged with spice.
8: SoCal seaweed and clam
A deliberately arranged collection of Southern Californian seaweed (kelp, sea lettuce, dulse, etc.) was joined by clam and clam broth. The course tasted patently of the sea, an unabashed commixture of salinity and savor that one of my dining companions sagely likened to the experience of scuba diving. I quite liked the textural variation going on here as well, especially with the meatiness of the clams.
2024 Orb - Devin Alexander Myers, Elk Ridge, Mendocino
The evening's first red wine came from Dorsal, and was made solely of Grenache from the Sierra Foothills, macerated for three days. This was definitely done in a lighter, more vivacious style, one with loads of high-toned red fruit and perky tannins alongside a bouquet filled with cherry and barnyard.
9: Tuna neck
In the first of two tuna head preparations, a molded crêpe made with barley and rice dough inoculated with koji spores was stuffed with fatty, umami-laden dices of tuna neck/forehead, then topped with shattery chards of dehydrated-then-compressed chicken broth. What stood out was clearly that "bao," with its distinctly fuzzy, almost leathery mouthfeel that was a bit disconcerting for some at the table. Even so, it did help even out the potency of the tuna, and I do have to give the team credit for achieving a texture I don't think I'd ever encountered before.
10: Tuna eye
Another first for me was a collagen-rich portion of tuna eye, meant to be shot like an oyster from inside a banana flower. I was pretty enamored with the interaction between the watery, subtly oceany nature of the eye and its seasoning of bergamot juice and zingy horseradish.
11: Black pearl rice steamed with avocado leaf
Our first warm dish brought California black rice with pistachio cream, surrounded by California macadamia nuts. I reveled in the rice's warmth, sweet-spiciness, and general coziness, along with its satisfying mouthfeel and proper level of "stick," while those light, crunchy macadamias served as a fitting foil.
2022 Trousseau - Rajat Parr, Cambria, Central Coast
Rajat Parr has had one of the most notable sommelier careers in California over the past couple decades, and here we had a Trousseau from his Phelan Farm project. The nose on this one was of lifted red fruit commingled with barnyard and bloody meat. On the tongue, I got zippy tannins and loads of sweet, almost candied red fruit--cherries mostly--joined by offsetting mineral notes.
12: King oyster and morel mushrooms with habanero and yuzu
A mushroom duo arrived on a bed of turkey tails, seasoned with a version of yuzukoshō made with habanero. For me, the key was to appreciate the difference in texture between the two 'shrooms. I began with the morel, which showed off its signature "sponginess" and succulence, while on the other hand, the eryngi (thinly scored on both sides) was all about slick-n-supple.
13: Seasonal greens and grilled artichoke in a spiced kelp mole
For our final non-dessert course, a pentagonal plate arrived holding a variety of vegetation--one-year-old agave shoots, a zucchini flower, unripe cherimoya, chayote, kogomi, and fig leaf shoots--along with a sauce incorporating seaweed and chilies. I was pretty impressed by how well the bright, bitter, sweet, and smoky flavors of the sundry greenery were conveyed, all coalescing together and bound by the savory heft of that accompanying "mole" (which I mopped up with those floppy tortillas). Some minutes later, we were given the second part of this course: artichoke, grilled and dressed in masa butter, presented as a flower, with leaves left outside of the stem for use as a handle. I don't particularly enjoy artichoke in general, but this was certainly one of the strongest I've had.
2025 Pasi - Riley O'Neill Latta, Pasadena, Los Angeles
To match up with the sweet stuff, we were provided pours of a cider created specifically for this pop-up. Apples for the base cider were sourced from Northern California and fermented first. Then, last October, sommelier Max Manning and his crew went to pick passion fruit from the cidermaker's grandparents' backyard, and said fruit was then macerated into the cider, causing a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The end result was something rather fun and fizzy, with sweet, tropical-leaning yellow fruits all over the place, melded with beer-like notes and a subtle barnyard-y quality.
14: Dessert of cherimoya and lemongrass
In our first dessert, a cherimoya-based ice cream was seasoned with lemongrass, piped into a cactus-shaped matcha shell, and set atop a sauce containing plum wine and saffron. I found this a lovely one-biter, with the interaction between green tea and gingery lemongrass being particularly essential, layered over a tropical base of custard apple.
15: Macadamia milk custard and pistachio
A custard made with macadamia and vanilla was crowned with pistachio sauce and elderflower, making for a sweet, nutty, and somewhat contemplative dessert. It was accompanied by a super juicy loquat poached in oxidized wine, and it was that poaching process, the nuttiness of the wine, that really made this stand out. I'd actually had a loquat tree in my backyard for years, so I've consumed my fair share of loquat, but this might be the best single piece of the fruit I've eaten.
16: Silver Lake fortune cookie
In our final course, we were presented with what seemed like a miniature tree, then instructed to use the provided pruning shears to snip a string holding the branches together. Doing so revealed a savory-sweet fortune cookie composed of fruit leather, chocolate mousse, and dried strawberries, dotted with bee larvae and agave worms.
We had a choice of three complimentary (herbal) teas, and I ended up with this cozy lemon balm and white sage infusion at the staff's recommendation.
This might be the first time the writings of Franz Kafka have appeared on a fortune cookie.
I had no complaints with the coffee, a rather fruity preparation that was also complimentary.
With dinner done with, I retired to the salon for my postprandial libation.
As a parting gift, I received a signed copy of the newly-released The Noma Guide to Building Flavour, which was a thoughtful gesture.
The idea of trying to create an LA version of Noma is an inherent challenge just by itself, and of course, there was the added pressure of the considerable controversy surrounding the whole endeavor. Somewhat to my surprise, the team was largely able to pull it off. I think they were able to capture much of the overall ethos of the original restaurant, translating it, shaping it to fit a new environment in the Southland. The food wasn't too far off from what I enjoyed at the Copenhagen original, and fit the bill in terms of what I'd expect "Noma food in Southern California" to look like.
Following Redzepi's ouster, I have to imagine that there was a good amount of stress and shock that the staff had to bear throughout those first few weeks of service, but by this point, it appears that they'd mostly adapted, perhaps even evolved. This shouldn't be too unexpected. Noma's been around for over 20 years, so the organization likely has the people and processes in place to ride through any reasonable disruption.
Noma LA will come to a close at the end of June, and given everything that's transpired, I have to wonder what's next. How does the team proceed forward from this and forge their own path? How does the brand as a whole move beyond Redzepi's towering influence (and now infamy)? After all, the restaurant is no longer functioning as a restaurant, instead focusing on culinary R&D, product development, and hosting residencies such as this at various locales around the world. Some tough questions for all involved to ponder in the near future.
1923 Micheltorena St, Los Angeles, CA 90039
www.noma.dk
Tue 04/28/2026, 04:35p-10:00p
In the recent history of high gastronomy, it's probably safe to say that no restaurant has achieved more of an impact than Noma. Noma was launched in Copenhagen in 2003 by René Redzepi and Claus Meyer, and is largely credited for conceptualizing, codifying, and popularizing New Nordic cuisine, a culinary movement that has come to shape much of the fine dining world over the past two decades.
Therefore, when it was announced last July that Noma would be holding its upcoming residency in Los Angeles next year (after ceasing regular restaurant operations at the end of '24), the level of excitement and anticipation was expectedly high. In support of the undertaking, much of the staff spent the latter months of 2025 in California, learning, experimenting, getting to know the State's varied landscapes, its ingredients, its history, and forming relationships with purveyors and locals in the food industry.
The idea was that the knowledge and experiences gained would be married with the Noma team's creative chops, their Nordic know-how as it were, with the results of these efforts then showcased to guests. In addition to the pop-up, a temporary Noma Projects Shop would also be opening in Silver Lake, and there were plans for collaborations with a number of LA-area restaurants as well.
It was later revealed that Noma LA would be running from March 11th to June 26th, and when reservations were released at the end of January, they sold out, unsurprisingly, within minutes. Like many others, I was unable to secure tickets at first. However, shortly before the residency was slated to begin, allegations of Redzepi's past abusive workplace behavior surfaced, prompting the Chef to step down from his role at the restaurant.
Thus, the initial question of: "What would Noma look like if it were situated in LA?" now sported the additional wrinkle of: "What would Noma look like without René?" I felt that it was important to find out, so when a late-breaking reservation for a solo seat at a shared table popped up recently on Tock, I took the plunge and pulled the trigger.
The residency was housed at the Paramour Estate, also known as the Crestmount Estate or the Canfield-Moreno Estate, a designated LA Historic-Cultural Monument. Situated in the tony Moreno Highlands section of Silver Lake, the mansion was constructed in 1923 in the Mediterranean Revival style, and was owned by interior design-slash-restaurateur Dana Hollister (4100 Bar, Bordello, Brite Spot, Cliff's Edge, One-Eyed Gypsy, Villains Tavern) for 25 years before being sold to fellow designer Ken Fulk in 2023. Though complimentary onsite valet parking was offered, I ended up parking on the street, too far down the street apparently, as it was quite a steep schlep up Micheltorena. Pictured above is what you see right past the entrance gates.
As the site is perched atop a hill, I was afforded quite a vista from the motor court, one looking north towards Franklin Hills, Los Feliz, and beyond.
From the vantage point above, turn around, go past the inflatable mushrooms, and you'll find a path...
...Leading to the swimming pool courtyard, where guests were asked to assemble.
I was quickly handed a cup of hojicha-inspired lemon leaf infusion. In addition to the expected herbaceous and citrusy notes, I found an almost maize-like quality that was quite familiar. Pretty refreshing--I had two servings.
After a few tens of minutes, a number of us (the first seating, at the shared table) were led away. We circled around the south of the estate, catching a glimpse of the DTLA skyline in the distance.
At the western end of the property, the Noma crew had constructed a greenhouse-style kitchen on the mansion's lawn. We moved past the kitchen entrance to be greeted by the back-of-the-house staff...
...And were then taken east through the main dining room (the repurposed ballroom). They did a nice job with the space, capturing much of the general aesthetic of what I saw at the København restaurant, but with a SoCal twist.
However, our shared table wasn't located in the main dining area, but instead a lovely eight-seater private dining room (the repurposed sunroom) located at the northern extremity of the building.
Shown above is the menu that I was presented with at the end of the evening. The cost was $1500 per person, inclusive of tax, tip, and tipple. We also see the wine pairing, comprised of "natural"-leaning Californian selections, while there was a non-alcoholic pairing option as well (housemade infusions, kombuchas, juices, etc.), which I did not partake in. I was also given the opportunity to purchase bottles from the wine list, which, interestingly, was almost the exact opposite of the pairing: French, classical, and pricey. In addition, for a corkage fee of $150, I could've opened a bottle that I'd brought, just in case (the same I'd planned to drink at Hayato recently). Click for larger versions.
The place setting awaiting the eight of us at the table. We were a motley crew of diners, to be sure.
A chilled, wetted hand towel soon made an appearance (is it appropriate to refer to it as an oshibori in this context?). A much-appreciated touch that I'd like to see more often in haute cuisine.
NV Solera Rose No.2 - Gina Giugni, San Luis Obispo, Central Coast
To pair with our dinner, we were given seven wines (which were topped up quite liberally), and our first was a sparkling rosé from SLO-based producer Lady of the Sunshine. This was a Pinot Noir composed of one-fourth 2025 wine, with the remainder being a solera blend of 2023 and 2024 juice. Bright nose featuring unripe pome fruits, mineral, and yeasty nuances. Perky on the palate, with a core of crisp apples commingled with hints of stone, mineral, and astringency. A pretty apt apéritif.
1: Pink pepper Dungeness crab
In our first course, the sweetness of Dungeness was well-accompanied by both the heavier nuances imparted by their barbecuing process as well as a restrained zippiness from those local pink peppercorns. The crab was what I was looking for texturally, and was delicious just by itself. That being said, I also didn't mind a drag through that pink pepper-laced butter sauce, with its multifaceted, long-lingering savoriness, nuttiness, and sweet-spices.
A moistened napkin was soon provided, which was quite welcomed given the hands-on nature of the preceding course.
2: Daylily crab dumpling
A second preparation of Dungeness saw meat from the body of the crustacean stuffed into a day lily flower, steamed, and seasoned with rose oil. I liked this presentation even better, as the sweet-salinity of the crab meshed surprisingly seamlessly with the blossom's floral, herbaceous character. As a bonus, the crisp, fresh, vegetal buds of the plant were injected with a concentrated crab broth, making for further points of interest.
Another wet napkin quickly appeared.
2022 God Moving Over the Face of the Waters - Pete Bloomberg, Oakland, San Francisco
Our second wine was a Chardonnay from producer Llewelyn, using fruit from Lolonis Vineyard in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County. This was made with one barrel that was never topped up during aging, thus maturing sous voile and developing some oxidative character that made me think of the Jura. Intense nose giving some of those funky, nutty notes I'd expect from the region. In the mouth, things went in a sweeter, fruitier, more citrusy direction, with healthy doses of grassiness and barnyard.
3: Chilled lobster broth
A lobster shell was transformed into a drinking vessel, and the idea was to tuck in the center of the tail and enjoy the liquid within: a broth of lobster incorporating both elderflower and bergamot. The end result wasn't quite what I anticipated, but instead much more beguiling, with the dish's floral notes contributing a new dimension to the crustacean's expected savory, salty qualities.
4: Spot prawn cooked with matcha
Santa Barbara spot prawn was cooked à la minute, its sweet, oceany flavors matching up cleverly with the grassy, vegetal bitterness of green tea. Filled with a tangy dried tomato paste, the shrimp's even headier head was also a treat, so be sure to give it a suck.
A third and final wetted napkin was now provided.
2022 Palomino Fino - Mikey Giugni, San Luis Obispo, Central Coast
Next to imbibe was an old vine Palomino Fino from Scar of the Sea, a producer that happens to be run by the husband of the winemaker of the evening's first pairing. Made with grapes from Galleano Ranch in Cucamonga Valley (planted in the 1920s), this was reportedly aged three years in old oak barrels, non-ouillé. This made for a funky, oxidative style of wine with a rather viscous mouthfeel and a prominent backbone of sweetness.
5: Sea urchin custard and braised acorns
Pacific sea urchin was presented in both custard and tongue forms, joined by caviar, hoja santa oil, and some surprisingly tender cuts of acorn. Acorn was of particular interest to the kitchen, since it formed a key part of the diet for local Native Americans, and the team ended up treating it like they would pine cones back home. Indeed, the acorn formed the crux of the dish for me, offering an earthy, nutty counterpoint to the otherwise sweet 'n' briny flavors present. The peppery aromatics of yerba santa, meanwhile, served as an integrating force. Note that the wobbly bowl this course was served in was actually the shell of an emu egg, as apparently, the cooks had been experimenting with incorporating them into the menu (emus are farmed in California) and wanted to save the shells.
2024 Verso - Caleb Leisure, Sebastopol, Sonoma
Our next three courses were paired with a 100% Sauvignon Blanc bottling from Caleb Leisure, using fruit from Mendocino's Yorkville Highlands AVA. The winemaker was inspired by Georgian vinification traditions, and thus aged this particular wine in kvevri, which are amphora-like earthenware vessels. Aromas here were powerful, with a plethora of funky, nearly cheese-like notes. In the mouth, think bright and lively, with some lovely tannins alongside grassy, tropical flavors lined with minerality.
6: Cactus with mezcal
I've never been a huge fan of nopales, but quite enjoyed the ingredient in this next course, which I can safely deem the best cactus dish I've tried. Tacinga pads were nixtamalized and compressed with mezcal and white sage tea, then seasoned with honeypot ants. I think the key here was the nixtamalization, which gave the cactus a wonderfully slick and supple, yet substantial and satisfying consistency, without much of the mucilage one typically expects with nopal. Flavors were fresh and lively, with a generally sour, vegetal bent and pinpricks of piquancy from those ants.
7: Ragout of Californian botanicals
Comprised of California mussels, green tomatillo cooked with amaro, English peas, and a salad of nasturtium flowers, asparagus tips, and ice plant, a botanical ragoût of sorts ended up being a table favorite, and for good reason. The dish was much more cohesive than it might appear, and came together beautifully, juxtaposing a bevy of bright, "green" flavors with smoky, umami-forward elements, all tinged with spice.
8: SoCal seaweed and clam
A deliberately arranged collection of Southern Californian seaweed (kelp, sea lettuce, dulse, etc.) was joined by clam and clam broth. The course tasted patently of the sea, an unabashed commixture of salinity and savor that one of my dining companions sagely likened to the experience of scuba diving. I quite liked the textural variation going on here as well, especially with the meatiness of the clams.
2024 Orb - Devin Alexander Myers, Elk Ridge, Mendocino
The evening's first red wine came from Dorsal, and was made solely of Grenache from the Sierra Foothills, macerated for three days. This was definitely done in a lighter, more vivacious style, one with loads of high-toned red fruit and perky tannins alongside a bouquet filled with cherry and barnyard.
9: Tuna neck
In the first of two tuna head preparations, a molded crêpe made with barley and rice dough inoculated with koji spores was stuffed with fatty, umami-laden dices of tuna neck/forehead, then topped with shattery chards of dehydrated-then-compressed chicken broth. What stood out was clearly that "bao," with its distinctly fuzzy, almost leathery mouthfeel that was a bit disconcerting for some at the table. Even so, it did help even out the potency of the tuna, and I do have to give the team credit for achieving a texture I don't think I'd ever encountered before.
10: Tuna eye
Another first for me was a collagen-rich portion of tuna eye, meant to be shot like an oyster from inside a banana flower. I was pretty enamored with the interaction between the watery, subtly oceany nature of the eye and its seasoning of bergamot juice and zingy horseradish.
11: Black pearl rice steamed with avocado leaf
Our first warm dish brought California black rice with pistachio cream, surrounded by California macadamia nuts. I reveled in the rice's warmth, sweet-spiciness, and general coziness, along with its satisfying mouthfeel and proper level of "stick," while those light, crunchy macadamias served as a fitting foil.
2022 Trousseau - Rajat Parr, Cambria, Central Coast
Rajat Parr has had one of the most notable sommelier careers in California over the past couple decades, and here we had a Trousseau from his Phelan Farm project. The nose on this one was of lifted red fruit commingled with barnyard and bloody meat. On the tongue, I got zippy tannins and loads of sweet, almost candied red fruit--cherries mostly--joined by offsetting mineral notes.
12: King oyster and morel mushrooms with habanero and yuzu
A mushroom duo arrived on a bed of turkey tails, seasoned with a version of yuzukoshō made with habanero. For me, the key was to appreciate the difference in texture between the two 'shrooms. I began with the morel, which showed off its signature "sponginess" and succulence, while on the other hand, the eryngi (thinly scored on both sides) was all about slick-n-supple.
13: Seasonal greens and grilled artichoke in a spiced kelp mole
For our final non-dessert course, a pentagonal plate arrived holding a variety of vegetation--one-year-old agave shoots, a zucchini flower, unripe cherimoya, chayote, kogomi, and fig leaf shoots--along with a sauce incorporating seaweed and chilies. I was pretty impressed by how well the bright, bitter, sweet, and smoky flavors of the sundry greenery were conveyed, all coalescing together and bound by the savory heft of that accompanying "mole" (which I mopped up with those floppy tortillas). Some minutes later, we were given the second part of this course: artichoke, grilled and dressed in masa butter, presented as a flower, with leaves left outside of the stem for use as a handle. I don't particularly enjoy artichoke in general, but this was certainly one of the strongest I've had.
2025 Pasi - Riley O'Neill Latta, Pasadena, Los Angeles
To match up with the sweet stuff, we were provided pours of a cider created specifically for this pop-up. Apples for the base cider were sourced from Northern California and fermented first. Then, last October, sommelier Max Manning and his crew went to pick passion fruit from the cidermaker's grandparents' backyard, and said fruit was then macerated into the cider, causing a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The end result was something rather fun and fizzy, with sweet, tropical-leaning yellow fruits all over the place, melded with beer-like notes and a subtle barnyard-y quality.
14: Dessert of cherimoya and lemongrass
In our first dessert, a cherimoya-based ice cream was seasoned with lemongrass, piped into a cactus-shaped matcha shell, and set atop a sauce containing plum wine and saffron. I found this a lovely one-biter, with the interaction between green tea and gingery lemongrass being particularly essential, layered over a tropical base of custard apple.
15: Macadamia milk custard and pistachio
A custard made with macadamia and vanilla was crowned with pistachio sauce and elderflower, making for a sweet, nutty, and somewhat contemplative dessert. It was accompanied by a super juicy loquat poached in oxidized wine, and it was that poaching process, the nuttiness of the wine, that really made this stand out. I'd actually had a loquat tree in my backyard for years, so I've consumed my fair share of loquat, but this might be the best single piece of the fruit I've eaten.
16: Silver Lake fortune cookie
In our final course, we were presented with what seemed like a miniature tree, then instructed to use the provided pruning shears to snip a string holding the branches together. Doing so revealed a savory-sweet fortune cookie composed of fruit leather, chocolate mousse, and dried strawberries, dotted with bee larvae and agave worms.
We had a choice of three complimentary (herbal) teas, and I ended up with this cozy lemon balm and white sage infusion at the staff's recommendation.
This might be the first time the writings of Franz Kafka have appeared on a fortune cookie.
I had no complaints with the coffee, a rather fruity preparation that was also complimentary.
With dinner done with, I retired to the salon for my postprandial libation.
As a parting gift, I received a signed copy of the newly-released The Noma Guide to Building Flavour, which was a thoughtful gesture.
The idea of trying to create an LA version of Noma is an inherent challenge just by itself, and of course, there was the added pressure of the considerable controversy surrounding the whole endeavor. Somewhat to my surprise, the team was largely able to pull it off. I think they were able to capture much of the overall ethos of the original restaurant, translating it, shaping it to fit a new environment in the Southland. The food wasn't too far off from what I enjoyed at the Copenhagen original, and fit the bill in terms of what I'd expect "Noma food in Southern California" to look like.
Following Redzepi's ouster, I have to imagine that there was a good amount of stress and shock that the staff had to bear throughout those first few weeks of service, but by this point, it appears that they'd mostly adapted, perhaps even evolved. This shouldn't be too unexpected. Noma's been around for over 20 years, so the organization likely has the people and processes in place to ride through any reasonable disruption.
Noma LA will come to a close at the end of June, and given everything that's transpired, I have to wonder what's next. How does the team proceed forward from this and forge their own path? How does the brand as a whole move beyond Redzepi's towering influence (and now infamy)? After all, the restaurant is no longer functioning as a restaurant, instead focusing on culinary R&D, product development, and hosting residencies such as this at various locales around the world. Some tough questions for all involved to ponder in the near future.
posted by kevinEats at
4:35 PM
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