Noma Copenhagen will reopen on 5 August as a permanent restaurant in its Refshalevej home, marking a return to regular service after months of uncertainty, criticism and a paused plan to turn the Danish fine-dining institution into a food research centre.
A return to service after the Noma 3.0 pause
The reopening changes the direction that Noma had announced for its next phase. The restaurant had planned to move away from its traditional format, using its Copenhagen base more as a research institute for food while developing a new version of Noma 3.0 elsewhere.
Instead, the restaurant is returning to its starting point: cooking for guests in Copenhagen. In an interview with Berlingske, founder René Redzepi said Noma had put Noma 3.0 “on pause” to rebuild trust, especially in Denmark, which he described as the restaurant’s home.
The word “normal” does not mean ordinary. Noma remains one of the most influential restaurants in modern gastronomy, and the new format will still be built around research, seasonal ingredients and highly structured service. But the decision signals a more grounded phase: a restaurant first, rather than a travelling concept, laboratory or brand ecosystem.
Redzepi stays creative, but daily control moves to a new team
The new Noma will also have a different leadership structure. Redzepi will no longer be head chef and will instead hold the title of creative director, focusing on longer-term projects and the restaurant’s wider creative direction.
Daily operations will move to a new leadership team. Pablo Soto, the Mexican chef who has led Noma’s kitchen in recent years, becomes executive head chef. Mette Brink Søberg will lead research and development, while Annika de Las Heras becomes chief executive officer.
This distinction is central to the relaunch. Redzepi remains the majority owner and a defining figure in Noma’s identity, but the restaurant is presenting the new phase as a transfer of operational responsibility. De Las Heras told Danish media that Redzepi will offer guidance and sparring, while the daily running of the restaurant is entrusted to the new team.
Twelve seasons will replace Noma’s old rhythm
The restaurant says the reopening will introduce a new rhythm based on “twelve seasons of Noma”, replacing the earlier model built around three major seasonal menus. Each month will have its own expression, shaped by ingredients, landscapes and ideas available at that specific moment.
In practice, this means the menu could change substantially from one month to the next. A guest visiting in August and returning in October may encounter a largely different experience. The aim is to bring Noma even closer to the short windows of Nordic seasonality, where certain ingredients are available only briefly.
The restaurant’s new set menu also confirms that Noma’s return as a “normal restaurant” will not be a move away from high-end dining. The menu with wine pairing is listed at 6,500 Danish kroner — about €870 — while the version with juice pairing costs 6,000 Danish kroner, about €805.
The reopening follows a workplace reckoning
Noma’s return comes after a major reputational crisis. Earlier this year, The New York Times published allegations from former employees describing a workplace culture marked by verbal and physical abuse between 2009 and 2017. Redzepi has disputed some of the most serious claims, but acknowledged that his past behaviour harmed people who worked with him.
The allegations reopened a broader debate about the culture of elite restaurants, where extreme pressure, long hours and intense hierarchies have often been treated as part of the creative process. Noma has said it has introduced changes in recent years, including paid internships, stronger human resources structures and leadership training.
For Noma, the Copenhagen reopening is therefore more than a business decision. It is also a test of whether one of the world’s most famous restaurants can separate its future from the practices that shaped part of its past.
Why Noma still matters for Copenhagen
Noma’s influence on Copenhagen and Nordic food culture is difficult to overstate. Since opening in 2003, it helped turn New Nordic cuisine into a global reference point by focusing on local ingredients, fermentation, foraging and a stripped-back approach to fine dining.
The restaurant has been named the world’s best restaurant several times and helped position Copenhagen as one of Europe’s most important culinary cities. Its impact can be seen not only in Michelin-starred dining, but also in bakeries, informal restaurants, wine bars and food start-ups across the Danish capital.
That legacy now enters a more uncertain phase. Noma is returning home, but under closer scrutiny and with a different balance of power inside the organisation. Its next chapter will depend not only on what appears on the plate, but on whether the restaurant can show that creativity, prestige and better working conditions can coexist.
