"Tsumura's Nikkei kitchen took the world's number-one spot in 2025; book it months ahead for a milestone dinner."
Mitsuharu Tsumura plates a beef cheek that has braised for fifty hours, and that single dish explains Maido. The kitchen at Calle San Martín 399 in Miraflores cooks Nikkei, the century-old marriage of Japanese technique and Peruvian ingredients, and in June 2025 it was named the best restaurant in the world by the World's 50 Best. The Nikkei Experience tasting runs about S/890. For the wider city, see our Best Restaurants in Lima guide.
Mitsuharu “Micha” Tsumura trained in the United States and in Japanese kitchens before opening Maido in 2009. His cooking sits on the Nikkei tradition that Japanese immigrants built in Peru from the early 1900s: dashi meets aji amarillo, nigiri meets leche de tigre. The flagship tasting, the Nikkei Experience, moves from sea to Amazon, with the fifty-hour braised beef cheek (guiso de carrillera) as its signature, alongside Nikkei takes on pulpo al olivo and sushi cut to order. Maido held No.1 in Latin America's 50 Best in 2017, 2019, 2023 and 2024, sat at No.6 in the world in 2024, then reached No.1 globally in 2025. It is also a fixture on our best Peruvian restaurants worldwide list.
The dining room is warm and low-lit, with a sushi counter facing the kitchen and tables spaced for conversation rather than spectacle. Service is in Spanish and English, the pace is unhurried across the long tasting, and the sound level stays at an easy hum even at a full sitting of around sixty. Dress is smart casual; no jacket is required. Most guests settle in for three hours.
Book Maido for a milestone because the room earns the occasion three ways: it is, on the 2025 list, the single best restaurant on earth; the tasting is paced for a long celebratory evening; and the Nikkei narrative gives the table something to talk through, course by course. Compare it against the rest of our best restaurants for a special occasion.
Not for a walk-in or a quick bite. There is no spontaneous seating, the tasting runs about three hours, and the bill lands near S/890 a head before wine.
Yes. Maido was named the No.1 restaurant in the world by the World's 50 Best in 2025, and the Nikkei Experience tasting is among the most complete in Lima. At about S/890 it is a major outlay, but for a once-a-year dinner the cooking and the service justify the price.
Hard. Reservations open online roughly 30 days ahead through reservas.maido.pe and fill within hours of the window opening. Book the moment your date becomes available, target a weekday, and have a card ready, because peak nights vanish fastest after the No.1 ranking in 2025.
Smart casual. There is no jacket-and-tie requirement, but most guests dress up for the occasion given the setting and the price. Neat trousers or a dress are well within the room's register; beachwear and athletic kit look out of place at dinner.
The Nikkei Experience tasting menu costs about S/890 per person, roughly US$235, before drinks. Wine pairings and a la carte add to that. Budget closer to S/1,200 a head once you include a glass or two and service.
If you are on the tasting, the kitchen decides, and the fifty-hour braised beef cheek is the dish to anticipate. A la carte, look to the Nikkei sushi cut to order and the pulpo al olivo. Trust the counter for the day's best fish.
The booking window opens roughly 30 days out and fills within hours. Set a reminder and book the minute it opens.
Affiliate disclosure: Restaurants for Kings may earn a commission when you book through our reservation links, at no cost to you. Our scores are editorial and never paid for.
Maido leads our ranking of the city's essential tables, from Nikkei counters to Andean tasting rooms.
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