Maido: The World’s Best Restaurant for 2025
The restaurant Maido, led by Peruvian chef Mitsuharu ‘Micha’ Tsumura, has achieved remarkable recognition by reaching the top position in the The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 ranking. This award symbolizes a significant milestone for Peruvian cuisine, reaffirming its pivotal role in the global culinary landscape.
Located in Lima, Maido offers a unique experience centered around Nikkei cuisine, which is a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese culinary traditions. The restaurant’s impressive rise is evident, ascending from fifth place in 2024 to the coveted first position, outperforming competitors from Europe, Asia, and North America.
This accolade solidifies Maido’s status not only as the premier restaurant in Latin America but also as the best in the world. Its offerings are characterized by creativity, technique, a focus on local Peruvian ingredients, and a profound emotional connection that Micha has cultivated with his heritage.
The name Maido not only conveys meaning in Japanese, signifying “welcome,” but it is also a warm greeting for those who return, embodying the sentiment of “thank you for always coming back.” For Micha, this concept encapsulated more than just a restaurant; he envisioned a community.
This vision was born in his childhood. Despite no family members being professional cooks, food was an essential part of life, as is typical in every Peruvian home. His grandmother Angélica, whom he never met, left a legacy of family gatherings rich in flavors. The mantle was passed to Maura, his grandmother’s assistant, who became his mentor.
Micha observed, learned, and assisted Maura, forming his first connection with ingredients. By the age of 15, he was already cooking for family gatherings and organizing barbecues for friends. It was clear to him that he wanted to pursue a career in cooking.
He studied Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Management at Johnson & Wales University in the United States. However, he felt something was missing. His father, originally from Osaka, encouraged him to reconnect with his roots in Japan. Micha took this advice to heart, immersing himself in the culture to understand what he wanted to incorporate into his cuisine.
In October 2009, Micha returned to Lima with a clear vision and founded Maido. Initially starting with just ten lunch dishes and about twenty for dinner, he struggled in the beginning, contemplating closing the restaurant. Nevertheless, he held firm to his vision.
The opportunity for a breakthrough came when he was invited to Mistura, the most significant gastronomic fair in the country, spearheaded by Gastón Acurio. It was there that Micha explored Peru’s biodiversity firsthand. He discovered products from the coast, the mountains, and the jungle, realizing the immense potential he had at his fingertips.
This journey transformed Maido’s culinary approach. The restaurant began incorporating local ingredients with a deeper focus. Micha wasn’t just cooking; he was crafting a story with every dish served.
Recognition soon followed. In 2013, The World’s 50 Best included Maido for the first time among the best restaurants in Latin America. Since then, Maido has consistently been a regional favorite and gradually gained international acclaim.
In 2024, Maido once again claimed the title of number one in Latin America while securing fifth place globally. That same year, the restaurant received the “Estrella Damm” award for its trajectory. Just twelve months later, it achieved the pinnacle: the first position in the world.
“What we do here is unique to Maido. Many people come from across continents for this reason. It has become the happy place for many, and I believe that is what sets us apart,” the Peruvian chef stated in an interview with DFSUD.
Micha, born in Lima to a Peruvian mother and a Japanese father, grew up embracing two cultures. From an early age, he found that cooking was a way to connect them. His technical training in the U.S. and Japan provided him with skills, but his identity as a chef was formed in Peru.
He is renowned for his perfectionism, respect for local products, and ability to innovate while retaining essence. In his kitchen, there is Japanese precision intertwined with Andean emotion and Amazonian flavor.
Today, Maido symbolizes the best of both worlds. Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura has managed to attract the world’s attention to Lima, seeking in each bite a piece of history, tradition, and future.