Zuma, the contemporary Japanese dining concept, turns 20 this year. To commemorate the occasion, the international brand is set to debut a first-of-its-kind lifestyle destination next month in Mykonos, Greece. The new venture is set to be a blueprint for the next 20 years of Zuma, and will be an addition to the original, award-winning restaurant concept.
Zuma was co-founded by Chef Rainer Becker and Arjun Waney in 2002, in London. The restaurant’s characteristic culinary concept features a main kitchen, sushi counter and robata grill offering modern, sophisticated Japanese cuisine. Over the past twenty years, it has garnered international acclaim and earned several prestigious ‘Restaurant of the Year’ awards.
From its base in London, the brand has successfully launched several locations worldwide, including Dubai in 2008 and Abu Dhabi in 2014. In addition to its permanent restaurants, Zuma has also presented a number of pop-up and seasonal venues in some of the most sought after locations across the globe. This year, Zuma returns for its third summer in Mykonos, with a new concept and at a new location on the island, whilst also launching pop-up restaurants in Ibiza and Sardinia, taking the total number of locations internationally to 20.
I am very proud of everything we have achieved with Zuma over the last 20 years” said Becker ”The business has grown organically, and I could never have predicted the success that we’ve had. Our focus is now on the next 20years and the evolution of Zuma.
“We will continue opening Zuma restaurants in cosmopolitan cities as we have done, but we look forward to developing this new lifestyle concept in luxury destinations which allows us to offer our guests new, multi-purpose locations to explore. Mykonos is the perfect place to launch the next phase of Zuma, having had two successful seasons on the island, we cannot wait to showcase our new property this year.”
Mykonos will be the first creative, multi-purpose concept within the portfolio, and will be followed by many other locations unveiled in international destinations in the years to come. The new property is set to be a hotspot this summer, with a restaurant, lounge and bar, sleek infinity pool, day beds, and a resident DJ. The space will take guests from day to night, with the sound of chilled house beats accompanying Grecian sunsets throughout the season.
During the daytime, the restaurant will serve the full Zuma menu, featuring savoury dishes like thinly sliced seabass with yuzu, truffle, salmon roe; and Roasted lobster with green chilli and garlic shiso butter and spicy beef tenderloin with sesame, red chilli and sweet soy, whilst the lounge will serve a snack menu of small plates, with Japanese adaptations of classic pool-side dishes. Access to the pool will be available only with a booking in the lounge or sunbed area.
For the long, balmy summer nights, the space will transform. The pool will close in the evenings, and both the restaurant and lounge will offer the full menu. The sunbeds will be the ideal spot to watch the sunset, with cocktail in hand, as the DJ plays into the early hours.
Set between classical Mykonian, white-washed villas climbing up the cliffside, and the Aegean Sea, Zuma Mykonos has been designed to complement the local landscape, with Greek granite working counters in the Sushi, Robata and Hot kitchens; natural granite boulders; stone, and a perimeter wall made in the traditional Mykonos stacking stone design. Palm trees will cast shadows over the restaurant pergolas of varying heights, and around the DJ area.
Zuma Mykonos will seat around 200 guests for dining, and 100 in the sun bed area, which will be open daily from 11 am to 6 pm.
