THE “WORLD’S BEST restaurant” said today it would reimburse dozens of diners who came down with a nasty case of food poisoning after savouring its delights.

The two-Michelin-star Noma restaurant said it would alternatively offer them a free meal if they dared to return to the eatery in the Danish capital Copenhagen.

Noma said in a statement that tests had shown that the poisoning was caused by the highly contagious stomach bug norovirus that was brought into the restaurant by a staff member.

Sixty-three customers and some staff suffered vomiting or diarrhoea last month, health officials said yesterday.

The diners at Noma, which grabbed the number one spot in Restaurant magazine’s prestigious annual ranking in 2010, 2011 and 2012, fell sick over a five-day period, inspectors said in a report which can be seen on the eatery’s website.

The inspectors from the Danish food ministry criticised the restaurant for not alerting authorities quickly enough and for failing to take adequate action after the worker fell ill.

Noma blamed a delay in disinfecting the restaurant’s kitchen on internal communication problems.

Even when members of two separate dining parties complained by e-mail, and one employee reported vomiting after handling food, no measures were taken the morning after.

Noma charges 1,500 kroner (around €200) for a menu without drinks.

- © AFP 2013.