This Miami spot was just named one of the best new restaurants in the country

A Peruvian restaurant in Miami was just named one of the best new restaurants of 2023.

Bon Appétit has released its 24 Best New Restaurants of 2023, and Maty’s in Midtown is the only restaurant in Florida to make the list.

The Peruvian restaurant from Chef Valerie Chang — who with her brother Nando and father Fernando opened the beloved Peruvian-Japanese Itamae inside a Design District food hall in 2018 — opened in March. It’s named for Chang’s grandmother, a culinary nod to the importance of family that has long been a touchstone for the Changs.

Bon Appétit praised Chang’s creativity and vision.

“Miami chef Valerie Chang is getting personal,” Kate Kassin writes. “She wanted to create a space where she could highlight Peruvian cooking traditions that honor her grandmother Maty. Chang is the driving force behind this new venture, serving up dishes that are warm and soulful, like a vibrant cebiche mixto with black grouper and crisp calamari or the fluffy tortitas de maiz. A fried snapper arrives curled dramatically around cornmeal-dusted fish nuggets, and a whole roasted dorade sits pretty on an ode-worthy ají amarillo beurre blanc.”

“In the chic, airy dining room, you’ll find a gallery of family portraits and passed-down relics (like her grandmother’s school report card) adorning the walls. So while Maty’s might be the result of Chang’s vision, it is every bit a family affair.”

Val Chang agrees that Maty’s is all about family.

“I’m already dragging my brother over here and making him work,” she said. “My father just stopped by. The essence of Maty’s is family. It can only be that way for us.”

The announcement comes during a busy time for the Chang family. Earlier this week, Val and Nando Chang traveled to New York to celebrate being named among the top chefs in the U.S. by Food & Wine.

Last month, Itamae, which opened as a standalone restaurant in 2020, closed and was replaced by the Chang’s fast-casual sushi spot B-Side, now managed by Fernando Chang. A new Itamae, Itamae Ao, will reopen by the end of the year as an omakase experience next to Maty’s in Midtown.

Earlier this year, Bon Appétit cited Itamae as one of the reasons the magazine named Miami the “food city of the year.” The magazine’s cover was a photo taken at Itamae.

Chang said that Maty’s being named one of the best new restaurants of the year was an honor — especially as Miami’s long, hot summer comes to a close.

“If you talk to any restaurateurs, they’ll tell you it’s been a hard summer,” she said.

More importantly, she’s happy for her team.

“It gives the team much-deserved respect,” she said. “They earned it. I’d like to see the restaurant really busy, but so much has evolved for us. . . . You have an idea of who you think your clientele is going to be, then there are the facts. We have more clarity on who we can be. We’re a destination restaurant. I’m so inspired by people who come down and visit us. I want to give the best of us, always.”

Maty’s

Where: 3255 NE First Ave., Miami

Hours: 4-10 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and Sunday; 4-11 Friday-Saturday

Information: matysmiami.com or 786-338-3525