MAZ

"Open for: DinnerPrice range: $$$$The team behind Central in Lima, Peru — named the No. 1 restaurant in the world in 2023 by the World’s 50 Best group — opened Maz in 2022 in the Akasaka district. Chef Santiago Fernandez oversees the menu; like Central, Maz explores the vast biodiversity of locally sourced ingredients, with about 80 percent of the ingredients sourced from Japan. Fernandez has defined his cuisine as “based on the respect for nature.” In Japan that means unique ingredients like junsai (watershield, a type of water plant), sea vegetables including hijiki and umibudo (sea grapes), and a colorful variety of seafood including uni, octopus, and shellfish. Dessert is an exploration of different expressions of cacao.Must-try dish: Maz excels at vegetables, both from the land and sea." - Yukari Sakamoto

"A Tokyo restaurant offering non-alcoholic pairings with infusions and elixirs." - Annick Weber

"Freshwater–225 MASL watermelon, watershield, sweetfish: A Peruvian-inspired dish using Japanese ingredients, including char, watershield, and watermelon, interwoven with powdered sweetfish, creating a spiritual dining experience." - The MICHELIN Guide

"MAZ operates under the supervision of Virgilio Martínez Véliz, chef of Central Restaurante in Lima, Peru. Through gastronomy, MAZ interprets the abundant natural environment of Peru from the vertical perspective of altitude. Directing the kitchen here is Santiago Fernández Saim. The menu, organised into themes for each of Peru’s environments—the Pacific coast, the Amazon rainforest and the Andes—is an encounter between diverse ecosystems and the seasons of Japan." - Michelin Inspector

"Maz, the younger sibling of Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez’s flagship restaurant Central in Lima, only opened in July 2022 but has already become a destination for globe-trotting gastronomes and Japanese diners with adventurous palates. The seasonal menu explores Peru’s biodiversity through nine courses based on the country’s various altitudes. In late spring, the Peruvian coastline is represented by an elaborate dish of cuttlefish and baby eel, bathed in a sauce made from cuttlefish tentacles and covered with a crispy net made from seaweed and squid ink. The composition is crowned with grilled firefly squid and a cactus leaf. Coated with fine strands of turmeric-infused cacao butter, a frozen mousse stuffed with bittersweet hyuganatsu citrus and perfumed with lemongrass stands in for the high-altitude region between the Andes and the Amazonian jungle. Come here for a special night, or to impress a date with your knowledge of Peruvian food culture." - Melinda Joe