3.<\/strong> Scoops of tuna for the koji pancakes. <\/p>\nPhung said he\u2019s well aware of the social sting around this meal: \u201cI have friends who are messaging me, \u2018Why are you supporting a crime scene?\u2019\u201d using a refrain chanted by Noma\u2019s protesters. <\/p>\n
\u201cI also want to know the perspective of the workers, the team here,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s not just Ren\u00e9, Ren\u00e9.\u201d <\/p>\n
I looked around. Whether server, sommelier or chef, these professionals seemed totally at ease. No hushed tones or downtrodden eyes. The team presented as international and age-diverse. The youngest is in their early 20s, Soto said.<\/p>\n
Phang said it was silly to claim that only billionaires pay for this sort of thing. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just what people value,\u201d he said. \u201cIt could be just as ridiculous to spend tons of money [on] sports [tickets when] you could just watch at home. Often the view from the TV screen is better than the one you get at the seat.\u201d <\/p>\n
Richardson, the guest from Brooklyn, eventually asked our server Alexandra Raitaneva point-blank what she thought of the Noma LA controversy. Why not, she replied, \u201cwe didn\u2019t get a PR script or anything about this.\u201d <\/p>\n
Raitaneva described the intense external pressures and how the staff banded together in support of one another. \u201cWe made our own little bubble here.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Inflatable](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777374338_720_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Inflatable mushrooms pop in the motor court at Noma LA.<\/p>\n
Noma LA does feel like a bubble. And by the time the last dessert arrived \u2014 a fortune cookie of chocolate mousse from Chiapas wrapped in a fern leaf \u2014 I couldn\u2019t point to a single bite that tasted truly extraordinary. At least not in comparison to what L.A. has to offer.<\/p>\n
Nothing as consistently mind-blowing as the milpa salad by F\u00e1tima Ju\u00e1rez at Komal ($10.50), or the tlayuda with moronga<\/a> by Alfonso \u201cPoncho\u201d Martinez at Lugya\u2019h ($25), or a single barbacoa taco<\/a> by Gonzalo Ramirez at his family\u2019s sidewalk puesto in Arleta ($3).<\/p>\nAs the meal concluded, I felt my company credit card practically burning in my pocket, and left with one central question: Is this worth it?<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually appreciated the transparent pricing,\u201d said Richardson, 35. \u201cI do think it was worth it. I\u2019m going to remember that meal for the rest of my life. I\u2019m very thankful I can personally spend money on something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Certain people will pay for a Noma experience, or fume that it even exists, no matter the price. And after tasting it myself, it feels like I\u2019ve now been admitted into some happy, self-satisfied cult. That, I guess, is what you pay for.<\/p>\n