The team behind four time World's Best Restaurant and owner of three-Michelin-stars Noma has announced their next location, Noma Kyoto in Japan next March.
Noma chef and co-owner Rene Redzepi announced a pending move earlier this summer before officially announcing the new location, at the popular Ace Hotel Kyoto for a dive into the region's heavily ritualised, ancient cuisine. It's not the first time that Redzepi and the Noma team took residency in Japan, having first opened doors to its five-week pop-up at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo in 2015.
This exciting, latest opening has been touted to boast ingredients sourced from local foragers, served on plates and bowls created by local artisans in clay, wood and stone, dining at communal tables kaiseki-style.
"I believe Kyoto to be the birthplace of the western tasting menu, and it remains one of the most important cities through which to understand the fine dining scene today," says Redzepi. "Much of my own journey and inspiration can be boiled down to a handful of important moments, and going to Japan and Kyoto for the first time is one of them. We have always wanted to return and explore this region as a team.
"We have been working on this specific project for the past two years, and we have had a team on the ground since late spring, foraging and researching what will form the foundation of our Kyoto menu. Our main inspiration comes from the very heart of Kyoto, the kaiseki cuisine, while not at all being a Japanese restaurant. We come to be inspired, to learn, to absorb new creative processes and to hopefully bring back new perspectives and a clearer vision for how to be Noma."
This 10-week pop-up is the latest in a series of appearances around the world, taking the Noma concept to foodies in Sydney and Tulum.
Photo credit: Amy Tang