Noma to open in Tokyo

The influence of Noma is spreading.

Owner Rene Redzepi are now hard at work, with plans to give the famed dining destination a second permanent venue in Tokyo shortly.

The new restaurant, Inua will open June 29.

Noma’s research and development team Thomas Frebel who has been with Noma for a decade will be in charge. He will be launching the venue in partnership with Redzepi

The name Inua comes from “the spirit that exists in all living things” in Inuit mythology.

“When I was here with Noma, I felt this strong connection with Japan,” Frebel said told Bloomberg. “I was drawn to the landscape, the culture and the ingredients. When we left, I felt a sense of not being finished with my time in Japan.”

That makes it very differentfrom the Japanese Noma pop-up of years past.

The planned menu promises to overflow with Nordic dishes, paired with Japanese ingredients.

Noma’s chief executive Peter Kreiner, who is on the board at Inua, says the menus might include dishes like bananas from Okinawa with roasted combu from Rishiri Island, or baked octopus from Hokkaido.

Noma chef Rene Redzepi will be there helping out with the restaurant.

That said, he won’t have an ownership stake in the venue.

But he does plan to visit Inua periodically.

“Thomas [Frebel] is a soul brother to me and it was very hard to see him go,” Redzepi said on Twitter. “But if he ever was to leave Noma, it had to be for the chance to live and work in a country that we’ve both come to love very much through our travels.”

Noma is renowned for being one of the world’s best restaurants.

It has won that title four times over.

Noma is famous for its pop-ups (Australia included).

But this will be the first time a permanent Noma-led venue has been launched outside of Denmark.

For Noma,it means more domination of the world’s restaurant scene.

And for Australians, it brings the Noma brand a little closer to home.

Leon Getler 27th April 2018.