Veteran food critic reviews controversial LA Noma pop-up

Tom Sietsema dined at Noma’s $1,500-per-plate Los Angeles pop-up even as the event drew protesters and headlines. The restaurant’s founder, René Redzepi, announced he would step down the same day the highly anticipated 16-week residency began, after a bombshell report alleged misconduct; sponsors such as American Express pulled out and demonstrations sometimes outnumbered diners at the Paramour Estate.

Unmasked after 25 years at The Washington Post, Sietsema says he may be the only journalist who actually ate there. He will publish his account in a new beehiiv newsletter, Next Course by Tom Sietsema, debuting Thursday, and aims to answer whether the meal—featuring cactus, seaweed and Hong Kong kumquats—was worth the price.

“Alice Waters!” he and his companion cried when they encountered one distinctly California composition. Sietsema has long championed experienced criticism in a crowded media landscape.

United States, Los Angeles

noma, rené redzepi, tom sietsema, los angeles, paramour estate, pop-up, american express, misconduct allegations, kumquats, seaweed