If you missed the news earlier this year, the Mandarin Oriental in Brickell Key will be torn down this summer to undergo a complete multi-million dollar rebuild, meaning La Mar has no choice but to disappear along with it. The hotel and restaurant closed on Saturday, May 31, and the restaurant printed its final check for a guest on Thursday night.
I believe it was this bittersweet feeling that made it truly a night to remember for each guest — a stunning sendoff that gave guests one last chance to soak in that surreal sunset view of the Brickell skyline and honor the 11-year legacy of a restaurant that has become a cornerstone of Peruvian cuisine in Miami. So many guests have celebrated life milestones at La Mar, including hundreds of proposals and anniversary dinners, so you can only imagine how many longtime guests felt. The speeches were emotional, the food was unforgettable (I am craving that paella for lunch as I type this), and the atmosphere was electric with both nostalgia and excitement for what’s next.
Because while this marks the end of an era, it's far from goodbye. La Mar is set to reopen in a brand-new Brickell location in early 2026, promising more opportunities to explore, innovate, and celebrate the Peruvian and Nikkei flavors that have made it such a beloved fixture in our city.
I had the incredible privilege of sitting down with both chef Gastón Acurio, the godfather of Peruvian gastronomy, and executive chef Diego Oka, who helped make La Mar a destination, for an exclusive interview just hours before the celebration began. What follows is a candid, passionate, and truly funny conversation with the culinary visionaries who made La Mar what it is (Acurio met Oka in a grocery store in Peru when he was only 17!) to discuss the restaurant’s past, celebrate its legacy, and give us a peek into what's next — including a new La Mar location in Brickell and the rise of Jarana, Acurio's more casual restaurant in Aventura.
La Mar by Gastón Acurio was founded by chef Acurio in Lima in 2005 alongside chef Diego Oka, who was part of the original Lima team.
La Mar by Gastón Acurio photo
Reflecting on The Past to Inspire the Future: A Conversation With Chefs Gastón Acurio and Diego Oka
New Times: How are you both feeling today?Chef Diego Oka: To close a restaurant that has been so successful and that has such a great team creates so many mixed emotions. We're excited for the new one, but we're also sad because we're not going to see each other again — or at least, for a while.
Chef Gastón Acurio: I'm very happy because of what we did — even at the beginning, which Diego remembers, as well. Days before the opening of this La Mar at the Mandarin, I told Diego, "Please, Diego, you should be grateful to the food community that is receiving you in Miami. You should be grateful to the Peruvian community that did an amazing job before trying to promote Peruvian cuisine. But I didn't realize he was going to be so grateful that everybody loves him. So that's the most important thing I love. When I come here, I see that everybody, all the chefs, all the suppliers, all the producers, all the foodie community, they love Diego, but not only because of the talent that he can show every day in his dishes, but also because of his personality, his heart. So I think we did a nice job in these 11 years. It's, of course, sad that the hotel is closing, but we are very, very happy with the evolution of the new La Mar. It's going to be a couple of meters from here. So it's just one step more where a new story is going to come instead of a story coming to an end.
New Times: When you opened La Mar in Miami 11 years ago, were you expecting to make such an impact?
Chef Gastón Acurio: 20 years ago, for sure, Peruvian cuisine was not as well-known as it is now. But ten years later, the world was already embracing Peruvian cuisine. So, when we arrived 11 years ago, the Peruvian gastronomic community in Miami had already done an amazing job. So, we just came when Peruvian cuisine was already a success at that moment. So we came just to put the cuisine on the map. The idea was that if a place and brand as sophisticated as the Mandarin Oriental would open its doors to a Peruvian restaurant, then that is a very important message. After that, a lot of hotels started looking to Peruvian cuisine, not only in Miami, but all over the world. Soon, other chefs from Peru helped open Peruvian restaurants in hotels around the world. That's something that happened. So maybe that's a small contribution that we made. But the truth is that when we arrived, the doors for Peruvian cuisine were already open because of the work of the Peruvian community.
The team takes a photo to mark their last Saturday working together at La Mar at the Mandarin Oriental location on Saturday, May 24.
Diego Oka photo
Chef Diego Oka: Oh, I think a lot of things. When they asked me to move to Miami and offered me this role, I was all over the place. So, to come here, to come to a hotel, especially the Mandarin Oriental, for me was like my moment. I pushed myself to come to this big corporation to learn not only the cooking part, but also the controls, the steps, and the process. 11 years seems like a very long time, but it went very fast. And this restaurant gave me three of my most important things in life: I met my wife in Miami, and now we have two kids, so it's very emotional. The team that I have is also very old. There are a lot of them that have been with me for 11 years. The general manager, the sous-chef, the butcher, the sociar. So, it's like a family. I cannot imagine not seeing them on Monday. I've been seeing them every day for 11 years.
New Times: Gastón, do you have any funny memories with Diego over the years that you'd like to share?
Chef Gastón Acurio: Back in 2005 or so, I was in a supermarket near my house, buying things on Sunday to make lunch for my family. And I was walking in the supermarket, I saw somebody looking at me behind the shelves in an aisle. I went to the other aisle and I saw him. He was at least 17 years old. I said, "Ok, I found you!" And I go, "What's up?" And Diego says, "No, I work here. I'm tasting cheese," or something like that. Tasting vegetables. "But I want to work with you!" So I told Diego, "Ok, come Monday." So he came on Monday and he started working with me. The rest is history.
New Times: Haha, please tell us one more.
Chef Gastón Acurio: I'm going to tell another story. He was so talented and so good at his job. So at 21 years old, I put him as the head chef of a new restaurant that was opening for some friends. So I helped them. I said, "Ok, I think I have the guy for you." It was Diego. He was only 21 years old, actually, but the restaurant became very successful. One day, the owner of the restaurant called me. He goes, "Are you sure he's ready?" And I responded, "Why? What happened? Is he doing a bad job?" My friend goes, "No, no, please, but can you come?" He was stuck in the big refrigerator, known as "the cage," in the restaurant, completely locked because he was playing hide and seek with the young chefs. And the chefs locked him in there. When the owners arrived, Diego was like, "Help me, help me!" So, maybe he was too young. New Times: What can we expect at the new location of La Mar?
Chef Gastón Acurio: I think it's going to be one of the most beautiful Peruvian restaurants we've ever seen before, because it's made from scratch, so there was nothing there, so we're going to build everything, all the details. Thanks to Diego's natural artistic talent and creative side, every detail will have intentional design — every corner, every view, every plate, the tables, the bar, everything, so we're very excited, actually. Because we can do our dream La Mar. We won't have this waterfront view, of course, which is everything — it's been everything for La Mar all of these years, but inside the new location in Brickell will be incredible. The vibes and the atmosphere will invite you to celebrate life, to celebrate Peruvian food culture, of course, and celebrate the talent of Diego and his team. So, we're very excited, we're running all the time on the terms of the permissions and licenses, which is not an easy thing here in Miami, but I think it's going to be a really, really beautiful, exciting restaurant. It's going to be the most beautiful La Mar we have ever built.
A Farewell to Brickell Key, But a Flavorful Future in The Heart of Brickell
As the sun set over La Mar at the Mandarin Oriental on Friday, May 30, we all bid farewell to a Miami icon. But with La Mar 2.0 on the horizon and Jarana introducing Peruvian cuisine to a wider American audience, the future is bursting with color, flavor, and opportunity.Chefs Gastón Acurio and Diego Oka may be closing this door in Brickell Key, but their mark on Miami is only just beginning — and we'll be there for the delicious ride.
Follow food editor Nicole Lopez-Alvar here and on Instagram @nicolelovar for more exclusive interviews and insider looks into Miami's culinary scene.
