No need to pack your passport or hand luggage when you go for dinner at Maz. But be ready to buckle your metaphorical seat belt: Chef Virgilio Martinez’s first fine dining foray in Japan will transport you to a destination far, far away.
Opened in Akasaka on July 1, Maz is the new offshoot of Central in Lima, Peru, a restaurant renowned globally for its adventurous, creative menus based entirely around Peruvian ingredients and indigenous cooking traditions. Now, after a two-year, pandemic-induced delay, Martinez — together with his energetic, young head chef, Santiago Fernandez — is finally serving his singular cuisine in Tokyo.
As at Central, the menu at Maz reflects the remarkable diversity of ecosystems in the two chefs’ homeland, from the ocean and coastal lowlands, up to the tropical forests, over the Andean highlands and down to the Amazonian jungle. Each of the nine courses that comprise the elaborate dinner (a vegetarian option is also offered) reflects a different terrain.