Copenhagen has the world's best restaurant

Recently the Copenhagen restaurant Noma won a sensational first place at the San Pellegrino Awards, which each year publish a list of the 50 best restaurants in the world. And only weeks before that Copenhagen received a total of 13 Michelin stars.

Not content with being the only restaurant in Denmark with two sought after Michelin stars, Noma has now gained the ultimate accolade: The Best Restaurant in the World, jumping from third place last year onto the winning podium this year

Reservations months ahead
Noma's success is due to its uncompromising focus on Nordic ingredients as well as chef René Redzepi's exceptional talent. The name Noma comes from the Danish words "Nordisk Mad", meaning "Nordic Food".

The award is the equivalent of an Oscar for restaurants and will be a boost for this already very popular, high-profile restaurant, meaning that diners will have to book even longer ahead to get a table - something which is definitely the only negative aspect of the win.

Nordic culinary art on the rise
In recent years the Nordic culinary tradition has been rediscovered and modernised and has set off a whole new focus on innovative Nordic cooking and the Danes' use of seasonal ingredients and high quality produce. In the 2010 edition of Michelin Guide - Main Cities of Europe 12 of Copenhagen's finest restaurants have received a total of 13 stars (Noma got 2 stars). That is more than both Rome and Stockholm.

Every year in August Copenhagen hosts the biggest food festival in the Nordic countries, the Copenhagen Cooking.

More about Noma
Read more about Copenhagen's Michelin stars