SHO Shaun Hergatt

It turned out that I had timed my trip to New York rather fortuitously. This year was the 20^th anniversary of New York Restaurant Week and the festival had been extended to an incredibly long period from July 11^th – September 5^th, not that I was complaining. Those of you in the UK may be familiar with London Restaurant Week, which is a relatively new and exciting addition to the scene. However in this is clearly a well-established event in New York and in fact occurs biannually in January as well as July. In New York what this means is that at hundreds of restaurants across the city, three courses lunches are offered at $24.07 (a play on 24/7) and dinners at $35 (all tax and tips not included). As a result I would have been foolish not to take advantage of this at least once. Due it to its location near my friend’s apartment around the downtown financial district my restaurant of choice was SHO Shaun Hergatt.

Wall Street is not known for good restaurants and in 2009 SHO set out to change that. It is situated within the luxurious Setai club and spa building, designed to cater to the rich that populate and work in this part of the city. The restaurant is usually full with a business crowd, appropriately suited, entertaining clients and striking up deals. Despite more casually dressed than everyone else I was fortunately not made to feel out of place. Inside the restaurant is extremely plush with black, cream and red. There is a striking bar area and to get to the main restaurant you walk between two long glass wine cellars with a candlelit bench leading the way. It's classy and punchy whilst fortunately staying on the right side of gaudy.

Entrance

Wine cellars

Bar

Dining room

We were running late and arrived right at the end of lunch service at 2pm. Luckily, despite some confusion from the maitre d’ and the waiting staff (who knows why) at the possibility of accommodating us, we were eventually seated. Our table was next to an expansive glass window that took up a whole wall allowing a full view of the rather capacious kitchen beyond. The numerous brigade of chefs appeared exceptionally calm and relaxed, several taking photos of food they had produced. Although this was probably due to the fact it was pretty much the end of service.

Kitchen

The menu appeared rather daring, concentrating on exciting ingredients and unusual combinations. Cuisine here is French in nature with Asian accents. With three choices per course available, including vegetarian options, there was ample choice. The bread service was excellent, with a choice of three warm rolls (that kept coming) accompanied by something I had never seen before; a saffron potato puree. Many people might turn their noses up at the thoughts of layering carbs with carbs, but it was brilliant.

Saffron potato puree

My starter was a beautiful tower of trout discs with pear and fish eggs. There was an especially enjoyable contrast between the small salty explosions from the fish eggs and sweet crunch from the pear. The trout itself was mild and smoky and carried itself well. 

Trout, pear & fish eggs

The main course contained huge, plump, juicy prawns covered in a sweet and spicy sauce and micro coriander (or cilantro as they call it in America) with pak choi and a dense rice cake with a crunchy top. This all provided a subtle texture contrast between the three main components. Prawns this large and this good are always going to be victorious. 

Prawns, pak choi & rice

SHO is one of those places that enjoy serving its dishes on rather large plates, making their portions seem much smaller than they are. My dessert of peaches and apricots was a fine example of this. Despite this the peach sherbet danced on the tongue whilst oaty biscuits carried up slightly caramelised peaches and cream ice cream. The apricot ice cream was strong in flavour and provided a subtle fruit contrast. An exceptional dessert.  

Peaches, apricot sorbet
biscuit & peach sherbet

Petite fours contained a sweet and sticky melt-on-the-tongue rose meringue and tangy lemon and vanilla macaron whose sharpness was expertly tempered by the vanilla.

Petit fours; rose meringue,
lemon & vanilla macaron 

SHO Shaun Hergatt is a wonderful restaurant with extremely precise and complex cooking that is far from boring and well worth its one Michelin star. The portions are a bit on the small side but if you fill up on the bread like I did you’ll be more than fine. Inside is a beautiful space that gives airs of pretention but the staff most certainly do not behave in such a way (fortunately). They were very friendly yet not as slick as you might expect (which to me made it all the more affable and less ostentatious). Probably why it hasn't got more than its one star. It is worth the trip, especially for the set menu, which represents excellent value for money. Also one to consider for an occasion.

Price: New York festival set lunch menu $24.07. Set lunch $27 for two courses, $33 for three and Dinner is three courses for $75

Where to go before/next: There isn't much to do around Wall Street but Ground Zero or the Vietnam Veterans memorial or Battery Park are all within walking distance if you're there around 

Website: Click here

Location: The Setai, Second Level, 40 Broad Street 10004

Nearest Subway: Broad Street

Opening Times: Lunch 12.00 – 14.00 (Mon – Fri). Dinner 17.30 – 22.00 (Mon – Sat)

Brooklyn Diner

A good friend had visited NYC a few months back and gave me several suggestions for restaurants I must visit. Amongst these, the pancakes at Brooklyn Diner came highly recommended.

Fortunately it was located just off Times Square on 43^rd Street, a 10/15 minute walk from the apartment where I was staying. There is also another branch on 57^th street and a new one in Dubai, which is of course natural progression. For a late breakfast on a Thursday morning, the place was close to capacity, but I guess that’s hardly surprising given its location. Inside is your typical classic American diner style décor except dark woods had replaced the usual aluminium, almost as though it had been melded together with an old English Snooker room.

Interior

The menu itself read well with a wide selection of American breakfast classics and some slightly more adventurous options such as eggs on challa toast with marinara sauce, Italian sausage, roasted pepper and onions and crispy polenta. There were also some healthy alternatives such as oatmeal and fruit plates. However I was here for the pancakes. My friend had raved about the chocolate chip ones but I was in the mood for something slightly more savoury and went for the organic apple and chicken sausages.

My first impressions upon its arrival was that of mild disappointment, the huge triple stack of pancakes was flanked by two emaciated sausages, reminding me of a kwashiorkor child with wasted arms and an oedematous belly. After all in America, renowned for their obscene portion sizes, I don’t think it would have been unreasonable to expect a slightly more appropriate meat-to-pancake ratio. Nevertheless the pancakes themselves were soft and enjoyable but were became a bit of a boring struggle on their own (despite some high quality maple syrup) once the sausages were finished. These were tasty and a bit smoky but hardly memorable.

Apple & chicken sausage pancakes

Overall the pancakes were enjoyable but certainly not worth their $20 (following tax and tip). However, considering the unusually high recommendation from my friend, I can’t help but feel that I may have ordered incorrectly and would be willing to try other dishes from their breakfast menu, which looked far more exciting than my ultimate experience.

I didn’t try much of the food so it’s hard to make a definitive conclusion. I wouldn’t go out of my way but if you’re around Time Square there seems to me to be a distinct lack of quality restaurants, rather themed family joints and tourist traps appear to dominate. Brooklyn Diner is a decent bet; it certainly seems better than a lot of places in the vicinity. You will leave full but prices reflect the location.

Price: Breakfast mains roughly $15-20

Where to go before/next: Once again, right next to Times Square. Maybe head here for breakfast or brunch before catching a matinee performance on Broadway.

Website: Click here

Location: 155 West 43^rd Street 10036, Between Broadway & 6^th Avenue

Nearest Subway: Times Squ 42^nd Street station

Opening Times: 8.00 – 23.00 (Sun & Mon) 8.00 – 00.00 (Tues – Sat)

Inakaya

My first night after arriving in NYC, following one of the worst long-haul flights I’ve had in recent years, really needed a good meal to get myself settled. Word of warning to anyone, never bother to fly with Delta. That airlines is clearly stuck in the 70s or 80s and provided some of the worst airplane food I can ever remember. The chicken tasted as though it had been reconstituted from powder. To be honest I could rant on and on about their numerous failings (the food was one of the more minor issues), but that’s not what this is for.

My Delta lunch

The friends I stayed with were sushi fans and I absolutely adore the stuff, I can never get enough. Following a recommendation from one of their friends for a local place, it sounded like the perfect way to kick off the trip. The restaurant in question was called Inakaya, situated on West 40^th street. Inside is a huge high ceilinged and modern space with a large central open kitchen area full of chefs dressed in traditional robes and surrounded by bar-style seating and attractive displays of fresh fish. It turned out that the chefs in the display kitchen don’t actually do much of the cooking or prep and the vast majority of this work occurred in the back kitchens. Their main job seemed to be adding the finishing touches to dishes and then handing them over to people seated at the surrounding bar (such as ourselves) on huge wooden paddles. The atmosphere was lively and casual with a varied crowd.

Inside

Front kitchen

The menu is fairly extensive and the rolls offered the best value for money. I ordered a mixed roll platter containing spicy tuna, spicy scallop and spicy shrimp rolls. Dried stingray fin also caught my attention so I gave them a pop too. The rolls were delectable, both the rice and the fish inside were soft and of a high quality. But what really impressed me was the spice. In Japanese restaurants, from my experience, anything touted as spicy is usually anything but, however the rolls actually had a bit of a kick to them, which was a lovely and very welcome surprise. Dried stingray fins were also very unusual and moreish. The texture was slightly chewy and flavour was both fishy with a mildly sweet aftertaste. A tofu salad contained huge chunks of extremely fresh and slippery tofu that was delicate and sweet. The miso dressing also added lots of flavour to the salad.

Tofu salad

Dried stingray fins

Spicy tuna, spicy shrimp
& scallop rolls

Halfway through the meal there was a large commotion behind us. We turned around to see two waiters bashing a large granite bowl with huge hard plastic hammers. It turned out they were beating a batch of mochi (sticky rice) paste. They invited the guests up to have a go themselves, which was actually a lot of fun and those hammers were deceptively heavy. It was a an unexpected touch to the evening. The mochi was then fried and complimentary pieces were passed around to all the guests. Usually I love mochi desserts but this stuff was rather gooey and grainy and I must admit I did not enjoy it terribly well.

Mochi

Also of note were the toilets. They have those extremely modern mechanical toilet seats that can wash and dry and warm your behind after (or whilst) you’ve gone about your business. However cool they are, I’m not sure I would utilise them much at a restaurant.

Unfortunately I did not try any other sushi restaurants in NYC during my visit so I was unable to compare. However I can say that the sushi was and of a good standard, whilst the atmosphere is convivial and very lively. Service is friendly and sufficiently competent. The interaction with the guests is a good touch as it’s not too intrusive but provides a good element of fun. There are hundreds of Japanese restaurants in Manhattan but if you’re around that part of town and fancy some sushi, then definitely head over to this place.

Price: Mains  ($10-35), Sushi (Nigri at $4-10 per piece and rolls at $6-16 each)

Where to go before/next: With its situation right in the heart of midtown, Times Square is no more than a five minute walk away. I must admit that I did not explore the Times Square area that much and whilst most locals will avoid this area, for the rest of us there are plenty of tourist-engineered venues to visit from American diners and retail stores, to the heart of theatre district with its Broadway theatres and stand up comedy shows. Not to forget that horrific monstrosity that is M&M world. Macy’s (the large department store) is also only a few blocks away (on 34^th street and 7^th Avenue).

Website: Click here

Location: 231 West 40^th Street 10018, on the corner of 40^th street and 8^th Avenue

Nearest Subway: Times Squ 42^nd Street station

Opening Times: Lunch 11.30 – 14.30 (Mon – Fri). Dinner 5.00 – 23.00 (7 days)

New York

My last minute trip to New York was one of my most exciting yet. In the city that truly never sleeps, the choice of restaurants is gargantuan and with only a week, my time was severely limited. Understanding the restaurant scene in NYC is a tricky task and it's rather different than over here in London. Eating out is a much more established way of life for New Yorkers and far less credence is given to things such as Michelin Stars, over there the New York Times ratings are king. Just like London, the restaurant scene in NYC is a rapidly evolving and highly dynamic entity with a nucleus of fail safe options that remain constant. Whilst the fine dining establishments are not too dissimilar to London's offerings (with obviously fewer 'modern European' restaurants and a distinct lack of quality Indian restaurants), I'd have to say that in my opinion, the average, run of the mill food is of a better quality and of a wider choice than we get in England.

Hopefully my experiences can give you some meagre semblance of an idea amongst the mind-boggling mountain of options as to where to eat out next time you find yourself in the Big Apple. New York & London are undoubtedly two of the world's greatest food cities, as to which one is better... Well I think I'll always be a little biased...

Michael Caines at Abode Chester

I visited Michael Caines at the Abode Manchester over a year ago and had a satisfying, if not mildly underwhelming, dinner. Michael Caines at the Abode in Chester is the latest clone from this fledgling and ever expanding empire.

On first impressions this new MC restaurant was in my opinion more impressive than the one in Manchester. It is located on the 5^th floor with great views overlooking Chester racecourse and a modern and fresh, if not indistinct, interior.

Bar

Interior 

The a la carte menu at first glance struck me as slightly disappointing, with only five options for starters and main courses. Also, the way the menu is written in that wearisome fashion with a fully descriptive style that borders on essay writing (see picture descriptions). However there was a ‘Grazing menu’ with ten or so dishes available. These are smaller dishes (priced between £5-10), some of them from the a la carte menu and you have to order a minimum of three per person but fortunately we were told that we could mix and match between the two. In the end we mainly went for the several grazing dishes in order to try a variety of dishes.

The pictures depict the separate dishes but due to the dim light in the dining area I apologise for the poor quality of the photographs. I had four of the grazing dishes myself and whilst the presentation of each dish throughout the meal was not the most exploratory, they were certainly pretty. Tomato risotto was luscious and rich and was probably my favourite of the evening. The addition of sweet lemon to the soft, herby cured salmon was wonderful, however the seafood mayonnaise was lost. Mackerel was perfectly cooked but slightly over seasoned whilst the linguine delicate and carried the flavour of olive well. Lamb was delectably tender, a fantastic piece of meat. If my last ever meal could contain a juicy piece of meat of that calibre, I’d die a happy man. It’s accompanying fondant potato was moist (normally I find fondant potatoes too dry and tend not to enjoy them) and the aubergine with lamb shoulder carried each other sufficiently, but again was slightly over seasoned. The bread service was great, with three types of hot fresh rolls available. I ended up eating two of each. Cocktails were very good and a relative bargain at eight pounds each.

Other dishes of quail tartlet, sea bream and spinach tortellini were enjoyed by the rest of the family, however I did not try them so can’t comment.

Tomato & parmesan risotto

Quail tartlet, poched quail's eggs,
confit  onions, wild mushrooms

Tortellini of spinach & parmesan,
pea puree, braised celery,
girolles a la greque & mint foam

Pan fried sea bream, tomato,
romanesco, baby leek,
anchovy chilli butter

Citrus cured salmon, sweet lemon,
avocado puree, shellfish mayo,
crisp ginger

Neil Frost's herb crusted lamb rack,
crisp lamb's shoulder, herb puree,
caramelised aubergines,
cumin sauce

South coast mackerel,
sautéed squid,
confit heritage tomatoes,
kalamata olive,
tapenade linguine

My dessert of rich vanilla mousse with peaches and raspberries was decent enough but was far from memorable and the champagne foam was hugely redundant. I had a taste of the banana soufflé, which was much better, especially with the toffee bananas at the bottom. Petite fours arrived with the coffee and consisted of an unmemorable small biscuit with some form of fruit cream in the centre, heavy, thick and altogether forgettable madeleines and sharp but sweet macerated cherries.

Vanilla mousse, Muscat poached
peach, fresh raspberries and champagne foam

Petit fours

All together I certainly enjoyed this meal at Michael Caines, being much more impressed than the offering at Manchester. Dishes were mildly inventive without being groundbreaking and the cooking, despite a few blemishes, was accomplished without ever wowing. In terms of fine dining in the Northwest, I’d say this is one of the better options.

Price: £200 for a meal for 4 with drinks and service

What to do before/after: With the Abode hotel overlooking the Chester racecourse, this could be a great way to start with a day at the races before you round it off with dinner here.

Website: Click here

Location: Grosvenor Rd  Chester, Cheshire West and Chester, CH1 2DJ

Brilliant

Surprisingly I’ve never been to Southall before, so when my parents decided last minute that they wanted to trek it out there I had no idea where to go. A friend of mine mentioned a place called Brilliant because he’d seen them on the TV show Ramsay’s Best Restaurants (but he couldn’t remember quite how far they’d got). Hardly the most rigorously vetted recommendation but it was the best I had to go on so it was worth a shot.

The place was busy and lively. The relatively simple black and orange colour scheme place it firmly in the modern camp that have ditched the outdated red and white faux-ornate, faux-authentic furniture of your traditional curry house. This makes it comfortable and pleasant whilst remaining rather generic and not especially interesting. But maybe it’s unfair to refer to Brilliant as a ‘curry house’ because judging by the reams of writing on their menu and website, this family-run establishment appears to (fortunately) take its cooking quite seriously. They even have ‘healthy options’ of certain dishes that are cooked using olive oil (instead of ghee) and low fat yoghurt (instead of cream or full fat yoghurt), which is something I particularly appreciated.

The manager came over and whilst my mum used her Punjabi to sort us out with a few recommendations we got some salted and mango lassis to get us going. The mango lassi was a decent version and not too thick as is sometimes the case, whilst the salted lassi was pretty impressive. The cumin was a powerful dimension that worked exceedingly well and for some reason was something I’d never had in a lassi before.

Mango lassi

What I didn’t realise was that the portions are pretty large (excellent). Starters of Jeera (cumin) chicken, tandoori La-Jawab prawns & shammi kebabs were not far off from filling the hunger void completely. The prawns were a bit over cooked, a real shame because the spicing was wonderful, along with that lovely charred flavour from the tandoor. On the other hand the chicken was very succulent and had another excellent marinade that was slightly unusual, with a strong note coming from the cumin once again. The kebab was a bit of a disappointment, whilst tasty, it had a slightly bouncy texture and was covered in batter, making it look like an Indian battered sausage. To be fair, it did say there would be a batter on the menu but I hadn’t read that.

Shammi kebab

La-Jawab prawns

Jeera chicken

Methi (fenugreek) chicken and lamb karahi mains were well-constructed versions of these classics with a deep, rich flavour. The naan was soft and doughy but the tandoori lachha paratha and roomali roti were especially good. By the end we were all pretty stuffed and had to take the leftovers home with us.

Methi chicken

Lamb karahi

Naan, lachha paratha & roomali roti

Brilliant is definitely a step or two above your usual Indian restaurants. I don’t know how it compares to others in Southall but their food is definitely far more authentic and infinitely tastier than the curry houses I am sometimes subjected to around Brick Lane and such like. Prices are reasonable, whilst the menu has that peculiar habit of many of the starters being a similar price to the mains, but then again they are also practically as big. Brilliant may not quite live up to the name but you won’t go far wrong here, a solid and enjoyable neighbourhood restaurant.

Price: Main courses £5-14

Where to go before/next: Unfortunately this was my one and only trip to Southall thus far and I was only there to eat so i don't know much about the area

Website: Click here

Location: 72-76 Western Road, Southall, Middlesex UB2 5DZ

Opening Times: Lunch 12.00 - 15.00 (Tues - Fri). Dinner 18.00 - 23.30 (Tues - Thurs & Sun) 18.00 - 00.00 (Fri - Sat) 

Kabana

For me, a trip to Manchester always results in a craving for a classic Rusholme kebab from Abdul’s or Saajans. Now anybody who knows Manchester well knows I’m talking about probably the best kebabs in the country. By kebabs, I don’t mean the filthy, grease-engorged, angina-inducing slithers of questionable meat stuffed till bursting inside a tiny pitta, clutched as a magical cure to some semblance of sobriety in the hands of thousands of inebriated Brits across the country each night, but chunky pieces of juicy, marinated chicken breast nestled atop a substantial bed of green salad on a huge pillow-soft naan bread and covered in lashings of yoghurt & mint and spicy chutneys. That’s a proper kebab takeaway. It was on a journey to one such fine establishment that we passed Kabana and decided to change plans. My parents have waxed lyrical about Kabana for a while now but had never got round to taking me there.


It's not quite in the city centre, located near the warehouses, on the corner of Cheetham Hill Road & Derby Street. From the outside it doesn't look like much an the inside is the same story. It looks like any old takeaway/kebab shop with a big visible kitchen behind the counter and a rather large seating area reminiscent of roadside cafes throughout much of Asia, the difference being the noticeable cleanliness.

Interior

We ordered at the counter, going for a Karahi ghost (lamb curry), chicken curry, some lamb chops, keema saag (minced lamb with spinach), garlic naan, plain naan and some tandoori roti and then took our seats. The food arrived thick and fast and by god it was good. Keema saag was wonderful; meaty with iron undertones from the spinach. The chicken and lamb curries were mild and a bit oily but bursting with gorgeous flavour. Freshly made naans were large, thick and soft, if not as fluffy as you would find in some places. The second garlic naan had an incredible amount of garlic on the top and a lot more butter than the first, but that epitomised everything in general; a head-on collision with full-on flavourful home-style cooking. Tandoori roti can often have a tendency to be made a bit tougher and flakier than I would like, but this was also soft and perfect for scooping up the curries. Then there was the highlight; the lamb chops. Without a doubt, the best lamb chops I can remember having in a very long time, including, dare I say it, those found at Tayyabs in Whitechapel. Perfectly cooked, tender meat and a spicy, complex marinade coupled with that charred excellence of the grill dancing like Michael Jackson all over my taste buds. I had simply no choice but to order another round of four. Apparently on Friday’s they make a biryani, which is ‘to die for’. I shall certainly back to check that out. I should also mention how cheap this place is, between 4 of us we had 3 dishes, 8 chops, 5 breads and 3 soft drinks all for under 30 quid!

Counter

Keema saag

Chicken curry

Lamb curry

Tandoori roti

Garlic naan

Lamb chops

Kabana is the kind of no nonsense, down-to-earth, honest cooking that Indian cuisine in general is famed for. A classic roadside café with gutsy food drenched in flavour. Make sure if you’re ever in Manchester and in the car (I’m not sure how good the transport links are to that area) you check this place out, it’s only open Sun-Fri till 4pm. I really can’t imagine you’d be disappointed.

Price: £29 for the whole meal inc. soft drinks

Where to go before/next: There’s a retail park up the road if you fancy a bit of shopping or the city centre is a short drive away. Alternatively hit Rusholme to carry on the Indian theme and get some Indian sweets, you can’t go wrong with a bit of rasmalai from Ambala.

Website: None available

Location: 133 Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester, M8 8LY

Noma

This review is some 8 months late but I still felt it would be worthwhile to revisit the experience. Noma is the brainchild of head chef René Redzepi & his business partner Claus Meyer and was established in 2004 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The word Noma is an amalgamation of the words “Nordisk” (Nordic) & “mad” (food) and highlights the restaurant’s core philosophy of providing exploratory and cutting edge Nordic-style cuisine using only ingredients sourced from the Scandinavian region.

Redzepi’s epiphany to expunge all French influences from his cooking proved to be the turning point and induction for the exponential rise in gastronomic superstardom that were to follow. Out went the foie gras and tomatoes and in came the foraging and militant acquisition of ingredients sourced purely from the Scandinavian region. He developed his concept of “time and place”, main ingredients paired with the ingredients from their natural environment e.g. wild boar served with grain and berries. Distinguished international critical acclaim and innumerable awards, such as their second Michelin star in 2009, shortly followed. In 2010, 800 critics and industry experts from across the globe voted Noma as number one in Restaurant Magazine’s San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards following a steep climb up the ranking over the previous three years. It had toppled the seemingly immovable behemoth that was El Bulli. Noma, and Copenhagen, had been firmly cemented on the restaurant map and forever in gastronomy folklore. They retained first place again this year in 2011.

For myself, it was the first appearance on the TV programme Masterchef back in 2009 that first brought Noma to my attention. A capricious desire and drive to one day visit this epicurean shrine had been persevered as a mere fancy for countless reasons. Then eventually, with a little push I decided to bite the bullet, which is a little easier said than done. Following its establishment as the top restaurant in the world, the place is fully booked for both lunch and dinner three months in advance. For the average person such as myself, on the first day of every month, they open reservations for the month that is three ahead (e.g. in January they take reservations for the whole of April). Needless to say, all covers for that month are filled in one morning. In September, after over 100 attempted phone calls, I somehow managed to secure a table for a Saturday afternoon in December. Then I just had the small matter of planning how to get there.

Fast forward to December and we arrived in a bitterly cold and snowy Copenhagen, overflowing with anticipation. The restaurant is situated in the Christianshavn neighbourhood in a converted warehouse on some docks that used to serve as an essential trading port for various fish and whaling products. The outside is rather unassuming and easy to miss. An unpretentious simplicity for the exterior, complementing the honesty and refinement of the operation running within.

Outside Noma

The dining area is large and airy, white and brown wood everywhere with sheepskin over the chairs, reminding me of a crisp winter morning. Large floor to ceiling windows let in loads of light and provide a lovely view of the sea.

Right from the beginning, all the staff are congenial, chatty and extremely knowledgeable, milling around the restaurant, performing their duties effortlessly. All the waiters appeared to be in tending to each table as opposed to one being assigned to each and this provided a fluid service. The maître’d was an affable chap from Australia (if memory serves me correct) and was very helpful for a wine novice such as myself. In the end we went for a glass of the house champagne. They also had a wide selection of fresh juices and we got one glass of lingonberry and one of sea buckthorn. The champagne was lovely, crisp and refreshing whilst the juices were exceptional quality. Sea buckthorn is rather sour, very lemony in flavour, whilst lingberry is sweeter and only slightly tart and I hadn’t tasted anything like the lingonberry before (which turned out to be the theme of the day). The juices were great and in retrospect I wish we’d tried more.

Sea buckthorn juice (left) & lingonberry juice (right)

Almost upon arrival you are greeted by a succession of 8 amuse bouche, brought to the table one at a time in quick succession. One of the features of the service that was rather unique is that the dishes are served and explained to you by the chef that has cooked that particular dish. I found this to be a rather charming touch. Below are the pictures with a description of each.

Silver moss from Finland with crème fraiche 

Leather of sea buckthorn & pickled rose petals

Savoury cookie with apple rolled in 
blackberry powder with a sorrel leaf

Biodynamic leek with garlic puree injected into the 
bulb, which is steamed. The roots are deep-fried

Chicken sandwich made with chicken skin, 
rye bread & smoked cheese

Pickled & smoked quail's eggs

  

Toast with vinegar powder, herbs & cod roe

Radishes, turnips & carrots in their 
own soil, sheep's cheese

 

All were wonderful and most certainly intriguing. My favourites, for the novelty factor, had to be the root vegetables in soil, whilst on taste, the chicken sandwich or the silver moss were the winners.

Now the opening act had concluded, it was time to commence the main event. Since I’d travelled all the way there and had to plan the whole trip for nearly 4 months, I felt obliged to go all out and get the full 12-course ‘Noma Nassaaq’ tasting menu.

First up was a parcel containing a loaf of sourdough bread, a particular favourite of mine. Warm, fresh bread is always a perfect way to whet my appetite before a meal and this surely did not disappoint. The pork fat accompaniment was salty and unctuous, made all the more appealing by its naughtiness.

Fresh sourdough bread. Pork fat with
pork crisps (left) & goat’s butter (right).

Onto the first dish of hazelnuts with a salad emulsion. This was enjoyable but for me, the worst dish of the day. A bit bland, however it was an extremely memorable dish for the salad emulsion alone. It had an incredibly strong and unexpected concentrated taste of well… leaves.

Raw hazelnuts, junipers, chargrilled 
salad emulsion & vinaigrette

Dried scallops were once again an enthralling concentration of flavour, packing a serious oceanic punch in every mouthful, whilst the contrasting textures were spot on. Raw chestnuts & walnuts with fish eggs again provided a textural master class, enhanced by cutting the chestnuts in two different thicknesses.

Twenty four hour dried scallops, various grains 
in a watercress puree, nuts and squid ink sauce

Raw chestnuts in two thicknesses, chopped walnuts, 
rye bread, mustard cress & a sour butter sauce 
with Bleak fish eggs

Then the kitchen decided to up the ante and turn the drama up a notch. Our chef came over carrying a big black stone, which we were told had been procured from the beach right next to the restaurant. Lying on top was the fattest langoustine I think I’ve ever seen, looking like a bloated caterpillar surrounded by green blobs of oyster and watercress emulsion, covered in a purple powder. The langoustine was lightly seared so it was mainly raw on the inside and supposed to be eaten in one bite. It was beautiful, plump and juicy. Then came individual black pots, opening up to reveal a large oyster resting on a bed of more rocks from the seashore. The flavour from this blanched oyster was subtler than the langoustine, tempered by the cream, but the quality shone through. Within a plateful of pine leaves a small caramelised cauliflower was nestled next to some horseradish flavoured whipped cream. The taste of pine was infused throughout the dish, a lovely and very unique savoury/sweet flavour and the horseradish equipped the dish with a sharp contrast.

Lightly seared Danish langoustine, 
oyster and water cress emulsion 
with red Icelandic seaweed

“Oyster & the Ocean”: 
Blanched Danish oyster, vinegared tapioca pearls, 
beach herbs and cream

  

Caramelised cauliflower infused with pine, 
yoghurt whey sauce with pine oil and & 
a lightly whipped cream with horseradish

A black ball covered with a few leaves turned out to be a baby celeriac with black truffles and sorrel. I absolutely love truffle so the combination of that with a perfectly cooked bit of celeriac was more than enough to satisfy.

Baby celeriac with black truffles, sorrel 
& truffle vinaigrette

Cooking our own fried egg was undoubtedly the most jocular dish of the day. The waitress brought over a hot plate on a bed of hay and we were instructed to crack our own eggs on top of some hay oil whilst she left a timer. Once it ran down she returned with further directions to add herbs, curly potato crisps and a lustrous Swedish cheese sauce. The conglomerate of herbs worked well with the rich yolk and Swedish cheese.

Cooking the egg in hay oil

Lovage, baby spinach, wild herbs & parsley butter

Herbs added to hot plate

The finished product – “the hen & the egg”. 
Fried egg with herbs, Swedish cheese 
sauce and potato crisps

That was cleared and then the waitress simply brought over what appeared to be a hunter’s knife bound in leather, clearly an attempt to build anticipation for the meat, a duty that was duly fulfilled. When the duck and apples arrived it failed to disappoint, a classic combination given that Noma twist I was beginning to become accustomed to. This turned out to be the only meat dish of the 12 courses and the desserts followed.

Breast of wild duck, aromatic herbs, rose powder 
& Elstar apples (tubes pickled in apple juice & wedges 
cooked in smoked butter). Sauce made with 
duck bones, caramelised apples and brown butter.

First up was half a pear with a large flocculent sponge-thing on the side, which turned out to be a pine parfait. This was the most unusual dish of the day; the pine parfait was an absolute triumph. As far as I’m usually aware, a parfait is a frozen dessert, similar to an ice cream, this on the other hand was fluffy and airy, reminiscent of candyfloss. The flavour was special; a slight sweetness with a subtle saltiness to follow at the end. It was an exceptional complement to the syrupy pear.

The savoury theme continued onto the next dish called “Jerusalem artichoke & marjoram, apple & malt”. Another unusual combination that combined exceptionally well, the malt cookie dough discs providing a slight grainy contrast to the smoothness of the artichoke ice cream and applesauce.

A beetroot parfait (in a style that I was more familiar with) with a Norwegian cheese was rather interesting, the sweet icy beetroot & light liquorice giving way to the wonderfully smooth and creamy cheese.

Poached pear, pear puree and pine parfait

“Jerusalem artichoke & marjoram, apple & malt”. 
Jerusalem artichoke ice cream, applesauce, marjoram, 
compressed apple discs & malt cookie dough discs.

Ganache of Norwegian brown cheese, beetroot 
parfait,tarragon, dried blackcurrants & liquorice

With the winter sun fast descending from the Scandinavian sky, my journey through the Redzepi’s ‘time and place in Nordic cuisine’ had sadly drawn to a close. The accolades for Noma and René Redzepi require no further embellishment so I’ll try and keep it as succinct as possible. The whole experience was nothing short of phenomenal. There is always a real danger for anything with such hype to fall disappointingly short of the stratospheric expectations that inevitably follow, but Noma really does hit the mark and beyond. Each dish was thought provoking, unusual and most importantly damn tasty. Anybody who loves eating as much as I do must make the pilgrimage to this foodie Mecca. You won’t regret it.

Price: 12 Course tasting menu with drinks roughly about £200 a head


Website: Click here

Location: Strandgade 93, 1401 Copenhagen, Denmark, 3296 3297

Opening Hours: 12pm - 10pm Tues - Sat