There are millions of restaurants all over the world that I’ll never get the opportunity to try. Many of them would probably also be more beautiful, more delicious and more memorable than any we’ve been to before. So instead of attempting to try all of them, I decided to shoot for the top and eat at the world’s best restaurant.

Of course, if you want to eat at the world’s best restaurant, you need to book many months in advance. For me, however, it actually all happened by fluke.

My flights to Copenhagen were already booked when it occurred to me that many of the world’s best restaurants are located in Europe, and I should probably check to see if any of them were based in a city I’d be passing through. The list of the top 50 restaurants in the world had just been announced, and I was interested to see the winner. Wouldn’t you know it… Located in Copenhagen, ‘Noma’ had been voted the world’s best restaurant for the third year in a row (2010, 2011, 2012).

I quickly jumped on their website to see if there was any availability, even though it was just two weeks before I was due to board my flight. The odds were slim-to-none, especially considering ‘Noma’ is usually booked out for 3-4 months in advance. Luck was on my side. By some miracle, there was one table for two people left on the exact day I was going to be free in Copenhagen. I booked online immediately and got an instant confirmation email. I later found out that in order for me to get that booking, somebody must’ve cancelled just minutes beforehand.

I decided to take my good friend Blanca – who lived in Denmark – with me. It was an incredible experience. The service was absolutely top-notch, but so down-to-earth and friendly. They treated you more like a friend than a customer. Each dish was exquisitely presented, with every plate seemingly created to match the food placed on it. The combinations of ingredients was outrageous. Flavours and tastes I hadn’t ever really experienced – or thought to experience – together before, somehow matched perfectly. There was a different glass of wine served with every main course, purposely picked to compliment the dish.

We spent almost five hours there, making our way through 12 entrées, eight main courses and several desserts. A scotch at the end topped off what was the most impressive dining experience of my life. Worth every penny.