a day ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
This Miami restaurant had an award-winning chef and a Michelin nod. Now it's closing
In 2024, a year after she opened her Peruvian restaurant Maty's in Midtown, Miami chef Valerie Chang won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: South, ending a 14-year drought for Miami.
Now Maty's — named for Chang's Peruvian grandmother — is closing for good after only two years.
Chang, whose first Miami spot was Itamae, a counter serving Peruvian-Japanese cuisine at a local food hall she opened with her brother Nando and father Fernando, thanked customers on her Instagram account for patronizing the restaurant, which was recommended in the Michelin Guide.
'Our dad showed us very early on that being in the restaurant could give us an opportunity to struggle a little less — that perhaps we weren't bound only by what our parents could give us, but by what we could also make with our own hands,' she wrote.
'As this chapter comes to an end for me, I want to take this moment to express my deepest gratitude for everyone who has allowed me to cook for them at Maty's over the past two years. We opened this restaurant to honor our grandmother, Maty, in the best way we know how — through food.'
Since April, the restaurant at 3255 NE First Ave., had been hosting a residency by Itamae, which served tiraditos, ceviches and nigiris as well as other dishes that made the Changs a hit in the city. The residency will continue through July 5.
Meanwhile, Nando Chang, who earned the 2025 Best Chef: South award just a year after his sister, will continue to focus on his 10-seat omakase counter, Itamae Ao, which is located in a smaller room attached to the main Maty's restaurant. Chang, who also earned a Michelin star for Itamae Ao this year, plans to expand the counter's days of operation to Tuesday through Saturday, as well as adding new items to the menu.
There's no word on what's next for Val Chang or the former Maty's space.
