Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant in Lima named world's best
A restaurant in Peru's capital owned by a chef of Japanese descent has topped the list of the world's 50 best restaurants for 2025, the ranking's publisher said, praising the Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine for incorporating Amazonian flavors.
Named after a Japanese phrase used to greet people, "Maido," the restaurant operated by head chef and owner Mitsuharu "Micha" Tsumura, is "a masterclass in Nikkei cuisine, blending meticulous Japanese techniques with vibrant Peruvian ingredients to create a dining experience that is both culturally rich and innovatively modern," the 50 Best organization said in a press release.
Tsumura, born in Lima, opened Maido there in 2009 when he was 28 years old. He completed a culinary arts program in the United States and made a trip to Osaka to specialize in Japanese cuisine, it said.
The chef-restaurateur's ancestors migrated to Peru from Japan. Japanese immigration to Peru dates back to 1899, and Peru is home to the second-largest Japanese community in Latin America after Brazil.
Receiving the honor at The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 event held Thursday in Turin, Italy, Tsumura was quoted as saying, "I can't describe it in words, really."
"It's a mix of feelings...All the hard work, all the difficult moments, making people understand what we were doing, and now seeing what we've done with Nikkei cuisine and Peruvian cuisine...with hospitality," he said on the list's official website.
"Making people happy has always been what I've loved doing."
The restaurant has regularly finished within the top 10 of the list, ranking fifth in 2024.
This year, four restaurants in Japan were named on the list. Neo-French eatery Sezanne, located in a Four Seasons hotel in Tokyo, ranked highest among them in seventh.
The World's 50 Best Restaurants was created in 2002 by a British magazine. The list is created from the votes of international restaurant industry experts.
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