Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura—or Micha, as he is affectionately known by most—has gone from being a Lima champion of Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei cuisine to, this year, the chef of the Best Restaurant in the World, according to World’s 50 Best.
Your destination restaurant maido embraces Nikkei techniques and the culinary traditions of the Japanese diaspora, with flavors from all corners of Peru: fish from the waters of the Peruvian Amazon; Andean sun-dried chiles; and fermented drinks made with endemic fruits that pair perfectly with ingredients like bluefin tuna, cut tableside like Spanish ham. “We really don’t want to just be a brake on your life,” says Tsumura, of the 16-year-old restaurant’s dining philosophy. “We want to be the place to return to. That’s what Maido means: Thanks for coming again.”
Sitting in Maido’s dining room, you can really feel that mentality at work. There is not only a tasting menu here, but also a la carte options, something you don’t often see in elevated establishments like this. There are travelers who have traveled far to experience Maido, as well as locals hoping to get a seat at the bar. Maido is part of the fabric of the city, as is the team that supports it. So when we asked Lima-born Tsumura what his favorite places to eat in Lima were (beyond the walls of Maido), we knew we were in for an expert tour of this food-loving city. And a fun one.
“It takes at least two weeks to eat in Lima,” says Tsumura. “And you still won’t try everything. There is Nikkei food, Italian-Peruvian, chifa (Peruvian Chinese), regional cuisine and Creole cuisine. They are all very different, although they have some shared Peruvian DNA, like the chiles we use.” He describes it as a bit of a rollercoaster, going from meal to meal in Lima, bobbing and weaving together dishes with roots as far away as Asia, the Amazon and Europe. But all these flavors from all over the world and the country come together in this one city. “Lima’s gastronomic scene is very diverse,” he says.
Your favorite way to eat? Around a sunlit table filled with ceviches and cocktails, enjoyed for hours with friends. In a 50-year-old family restaurant where the homemade stews never disappoint. Or maybe, quickly, at an informal chifa or grilled chicken (he even opened his own roast chicken place, called Tori, in honor of one of the most informal and beloved foods in Lima). In a city where new restaurants are constantly popping up, Tsumura stays on top of things, but enjoys returning to the classics again and again.
