Today, however, bolds chefs around the world are working to reclaim fusion cuisine but minus the focus on sensationalism, with the emphasis instead placed on local produce. They’re mixing culinary traditions and blurring borders in ways that feel elegant and compelling, pairing locally sourced ingredients with far-reaching inspiration. Stretching beyond the historical fusion cuisines shaped by immigration—like Nikkei (Peruvian-Japanese) and Chifa (Peruvian-Chinese)—modern interpretations are creating new combinations, whilst always prioritizing subtlety, precision, and authenticity.
Enter "neo-fusion," the latest thrilling incarnation of fusion cuisine that our Inspectors confirm is definitely worth traveling for. Here are The MICHELIN Guide’s favorite restaurants pushing the boundaries of fusion food today.
Hero Image: Koan's sophisticated Scandinavian-Korean kitchen. © Neve Qaraday /Koan
Hav & Mar: Where Ethiopia Meets Sweden
New York City, United States
Chelsea, New York's famed arts district, is home to one of Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s newest ventures: Hav & Mar, combining “hav” ("ocean" in Swedish) and “mar” ("honey" in Amharic), capturing Samuelsson's Swedish and Ethiopian roots. It's an airy and elegant space, with a striking central bar, light wood décor, an open kitchen, and artworks of Black mermaids by multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams, known for his work around Black American identity and culture. The cooking showcases the talents of both Samuelsson (Swedish) and Executive Chef Fariyal Abdullahi (Ethiopian).
The seafood-centric menu plays with Ethiopian and other African flavors, peppered with Scandinavian touches. Take, for example, the Swediopian—a salmon slice marinated in Ethiopian berbere, sprinkled with dill on rolled cucumber; or grilled octopus with white beans, diced carrots, merguez sausage, crispy kale, and roasted red pepper. “I loved the octopus dish: the quality, execution, and flavors were flawless,” recalls a MICHELIN Guide Inspector. “It was served in a deep plate with ultra-creamy white beans at the center, combined with small, tender cubes of carrot and pieces of merguez sausage. On top, a generous tentacle grilled on the plancha—tender and perfectly golden. A few crispy fried kale leaves added crunch, while two strips of roasted red pepper brought a colorful, sweet-and-tangy touch.”
When it comes to service, diners can expect attentive staff, expertly crafted cocktails, and a wine list highlighting female and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) producers.
Where to stay nearby: Equinox Hotel Hudson Yards, Pendry Manhattan West, The Maritime Hotel
Masala y Maíz: An Interplay of East African, Indian, and Mexican Flavors
Mexico City, Mexico
“Masala y Maíz is more than just a restaurant. It’s a culinary manifesto, a place where history is told bite after bite,” affirm the restaurant's chefs Norma Listman and Saqib Keval. The name of their restaurant sums up their philosophy: maíz being the symbol of Mexican cuisine and masala being the Hindi and Urdu word for a spice blend.
Listman, originally from Texcoco near Mexico City, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work in the arts, while Keval was born in Northern California to a Kutchie family of Indian origin and grew up between Ethiopia and Kenya before settling in the United States. Together, they explore the culinary migrations between India, East Africa, and Mexico.
Their cuisine is a dialogue between ingredients and techniques, the result of years spent researching family recipes. “This is sincere, original, and refined cuisine,” according to our Inspector. On the menu, for example, you’ll find corn tacos filled with spiced vegetables, masala, and paneer (Indian cheese), or slow-cooked pork belly with mango chutney—a perfect marriage of Mexican techniques and Indian flavors.
“I also loved the two giant Veracruz prawns, grilled whole, that were sweet and incredibly tender, served with delicately pickled beets, a squeeze of lime and Indian ghee (clarified butter) infused with vanilla and chile morita (a dried, smoked Mexican chile),” remembers our Inspector.
Where to stay nearby: Downtown Mexico, Colima 71 Art Community Hotel, Círculo Mexicano
Angelina: Italian-Japanese Fusion You'll Love
London, United Kingdom
London is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, where hundreds of cuisines converge to create a thriving culinary scene (read more in our story What Makes the UK & Ireland’s Restaurant Scene So Special?). This richness is reflected in the MICHELIN-Starred restaurants of chefs like Endo Kazutoshi and Andrew Wong, among others.
In Dalston—a vibrant, cosmopolitan neighborhood in the northeast of the capital, buzzing with Turkish, Kurdish, Caribbean, African, and Asian eateries—Angelina is a perfect fit, proving that when done thoughtfully, fusion cuisine can be a true celebration of global flavors.
Here, Italy and Japan—two seemingly contrasting culinary cultures—are brought together with boldness and creativity by Chef Usman Haider and his team. The menu follows a structure inspired by the Japanese kaiseki tradition (a refined multi-course meal from Kyoto, focused on seasonal ingredients), while incorporating sections for antipasti and pasta.
Don’t miss the signature "Wagyu ragù" chawanmushi course with peas and crab, a fusion of Japan’s famed beef with the time-honored Italian tradition of slow-simmered sauces, or the rosemary and nori focaccia, which kicks off the meal in style. The ethos extends to the drinks list too, which moves seamlessly between sake and grappa in an homage to two countries where the art of drinking is as important as the art of dining.
Where to stay nearby: Mama Shelter London - Shoreditch, Town Hall Hotel, Boundary Shoreditch
MoSuke: West African and Japanese Dishes Meet French Cuisine
Paris, France
Trained by Christophe Moret and Thierry Marx, Chef Mory Sacko draws inspiration from his West African heritage, French upbringing, and passion for Japan to create his own unique culinary world. “It’s a cuisine that exists nowhere else, because through it, I’m telling my own story,” he explains. His work attire says it all, with the young chef having customized the traditional white chef’s jacket with African wax fabric. Instead of a classic double-breasted cut, it wraps around his body like a Japanese kimono.
Born in France to a Malian father and a mother who grew up in Senegal, Sacko was raised in Seine-et-Marne, on the outskirts of Paris. While West African dishes were staples at home, the young chef was fascinated by Japanese manga, dreaming about the onigiri and bowls of ramen he saw on TV.
This mix of cultures is reflected on the plate. Take, for example, a large Normandy langoustine, cooked in two stages (steamed, then flame-seared), glazed with chile, perfectly crisp, and paired with an Ethiopian atchu sauce (a blend of palm oil and quince spices) and a piquillo pepper coulis.
Our Inspector recalls “a small filet of Aubrac beef, aged for 10 days in shea butter, grilled over Binchotan charcoal, served with a mafé (peanut) sauce, surrounded by tamarind, enhanced with shichimi togarashi—a Japanese spice blend with citrus notes—and accompanied by a ginger-spiked carrot purée and a chile gel. It is undoubtedly one of the chef’s signature dishes.”
Where to stay nearby: Drawing House, Hotel Cabane, Villa M
The ROOM by Kozeen Shiwan: Culinary Influences Across Iraq, Turkey, and Finland
Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki's culinary scene consists primarily of Finnish restaurants, likely because only one in every 10 residents was born outside the country. The ROOM by Kozeen Shiwan bucks this trend, with its charismatic chef having been born in Suleymaniah, Iraqi Kurdistan, before fleeing to Türkiye with his family and settling in Finland, where he became a true gastronomic phenomenon.
Known for his extravagant style—sometimes seen with pink hair, other times bleached blonde, sporting gold grillz-like teeth and pearls around his neck—this music, art, and fashion enthusiast is making waves in the Finnish capital. His MICHELIN-Starred restaurant, with its theatrical concept, centers around a 14-seat marble counter where guests watch each dish being meticulously prepared.
Inspired by his personal story, the menu features evocative names such as "Made in Suleymaniah"—a smoked green olive on cinnamon sticks, stuffed with creamy goat's cheese curd, placed on a crunchy cracker. "Safe in Türkiye" tells a story too, consisting of a Turkish pide (pizza-like flatbread) with Middle Eastern spices and apricots, served with cardamom mayonnaise. Then there's "Coming to Finland"—a white fish tartare combining cardamom, blowtorched lime, and a frothy yogurt sauce, somewhere between Lebanese labneh and Turkish ayran.
According to a MICHELIN Guide Inspector, “This is thrillingly bold cooking, delivering a high level of finesse, especially in the elevation of vegetable produce.” Above all, Shiwan's food is a festival of flavors, like his mahshi, a dish of stuffed vegetables popular throughout the Mediterranean. “There are no fewer than 17 ingredients in the sauce alone, and over 35 for the whole dish!” recalls our Inspector.
Where to stay nearby: Hotel Kämp, Hotel Haven, Hotel Fabian
Koan: Sophisticated Scandinavian-Korean Cuisine
Copenhagen, Denmark
A few hundred meters from the renowned Little Mermaid sculpture by the Copenhagen quays, a discreet entrance leads you into an old stone warehouse, now transformed into a bright, contemporary, and zen space. An open kitchen and light wood furnishings greet you inside, putting you at ease with their effortless elegance. Welcome to Koan, a stunning Two-MICHELIN-Star restaurant combining Korean and Scandinavian cuisine to wondrous effect.
Copenhagen is known for its dynamic culinary scene, which gained international attention thanks to Noma (which opened in 2003 and has been closed since late 2024 to transition into Noma 3.0, a culinary research laboratory), where Koan's chef, Kristian Baumann, once worked. In this city, it's needless to say that there's a broad and invigorating dining scene, with several MICHELIN-Star and Bib Gourmand restaurants offering a variety of cuisines, from Italian and Thai to Japanese and Mexican.
But at Koan, their philosophy is one of integration, bringing together disparate culinary cultures in one menu. The elegant restaurant combines South Korean aesthetics with the Nordic approach to ingredients in a very personal way, drawing on Chef Baumann's own heritage, having been born in Korea and adopted by a Danish family.
Among the many refined fusion dishes on the tasting menu is a “perfect sphere, the size of a ping-pong ball, consisting of silky tofu and pine nuts, sweet and fragrant preserved red strawberries, and grated Norwegian langoustine, all rolled in Osciètre caviar for a salty touch, and garnished with a goji berry. Salty, sweet, silky… it is a delightful dish that's as surprising as it is delicious.”
Where to stay nearby: 25hours Hotel Paper Island, d'Angleterre, Copenhagen, Hotel Sanders
La Sartén: An Artistic Marriage of Spain, India, and East Asia
Madrid (Tres Cantos), Spain
Once thought of as serving rather traditional regional cuisine, Spain has gradually opened itself up to the idea of culinary fusion. From the 1980s to the 1990s, chefs like Ferran Adrià, with his famed restaurant El Bulli, raised the profile of internationally influenced cooking, blended with modern and experimental techniques.
This movement continues today with a new generation of restaurants, such as the Nippon-Basque Asiakō in Madrid, or Hiu, near Tarragona (Catalonia), which fuses Thai, Indian, and Japanese flavors with local ingredients.
But it’s the young chef Elena García, at the helm of La Sartén in the northern suburbs of Madrid, that has caught our attention here. Just 25 minutes by car from the capital, this Bib Gourmand restaurant combines Spanish, Indian, Thai, Korean, and Japanese cuisine with effortless aplomb.
Our Inspector’s favorite? Among the small sharing plates was “ramen made with steamed mussels, swimming in a mild green curry cream, with noodles, red onion, coriander, and crispy nori seaweed—a delicious fusion between Galician and Asian flavors.”
Also worth noting is the gyozas, filled with slow-cooked pork rib, enhanced with a Japanese barbecue sauce and an eel and chocolate sauce reduction. Also excellent are the baozi, steamed buns filled with oxtail, mint leaves, coriander, pickled red onion, and Venezuelan guasacaca sauce. In every dish, this is a real technique-driven experience.
Where to stay nearby: Eurostars Madrid Tower, NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding, NH Collection Madrid Abascal
TOKi: Blending Nara and Tokyo Flavors with Spanish Flair
Tokyo, Japan
Japan has a long tradition of adapting foreign dishes and reinventing them by fully integrating them into its own culinary culture, while maintaining high standards of quality and flavor balance. The term yoshoku (洋食) refers to Western-inspired dishes that have been adapted to Japanese tastes, such as omurice (omelette-rice), katsu curry (tonkatsu with Japanese curry), or hambagu (Japanese-style hamburger steak).
TOKi, a One-MICHELIN-Star restaurant, skillfully blends three cuisines: Tokyo-style, traditional Nara (one of the oldest in the country), and contemporary Spanish. Chef Yutaka Hasegawa offers a seasonal tasting menu with dishes like "Primavera" (“spring”), which combines raw bonito, potato salad, and snow pea sauce.
Also noteworthy is the Bacalao pilpil Yuzaki Nebuka, a dish of confit cod cooked in oil at a low temperature, accompanied by a light pilpil sauce. “The Yuzaki Nebuka, a traditional vegetable, is lightly cooked here to bring out its sweetness and delicacy.” The dessert, a tarta de Santiago—a Galician specialty—combines almond paste, licorice mousse, caramel ice cream, and Nara chestnuts in two textures, “whole and grated into powder.”
Where to stay nearby: HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO (Three Keys), Kyo no Ondokoro Kamanza Nijo #2, MOGANA
Fuego: Innovative Hispano-Japanese Tapas
Bangkok, ThailandFuego is an ultra-modern restaurant serving exciting fusion food. The dining room has an open kitchen and a u-shaped bar for diners to sit at and watch the chefs as they craft the day's dishes. "Although he is Spanish, Chef Roger Solé enjoys blending his cultural roots with those of Japanese gastronomy—he previously worked in several Japanese restaurants," explains our local Inspector.
The result? A range of creative dishes made with high-quality ingredients and prepared using both Spanish and Japanese culinary techniques. A must-try is the paella, cooked al dente and perfectly seasoned, with buri fish (Japanese amberjack) grilled to perfection. The flesh is firm and fresh, with a sweet and juicy flavor that pairs well with the rice.
For dessert, there's a white miso cheesecake imported from Japan that's soft in the center, with the salty taste and aroma of miso complementing the chef’s special cream cheese recipe. It is served with whipped cream subtly flavored with Baileys, which is lightly sweet and creamy. The pairings with Japanese whisky and sake are remarkable.
Where to stay nearby: MUU Bangkok Hotel - Small Luxury Hotels of the World, 137 Pillars Residences Bangkok, 137 Pillars Suites Bangkok
