Zuicho

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Name That Means Something

The word zuicho translates to "an auspicious omen" — and the restaurant lives up to it. Situated on Level 3 of Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai, Zuicho centres its identity on kappo cuisine: an intimate, interactive style of Japanese cooking where the chef prepares each course in full view of the diner, and the meal becomes a quiet dialogue between kitchen and table.

The Chef Behind the Counter

Head Chef Yoshinori Kinomoto brings over 28 years of experience in Japanese cuisine to Zuicho, with particular depth in kaiseki and edomae sushi. His focus is the sea — its seasonality, its textures, its range — and premium ingredients are sourced daily from Japan. Rather than composing a fixed menu, Kinomoto curates a personal experience for each guest, reading the room as much as the produce. The result is an omakase that shifts with the seasons and rewards return visits.

The Room Itself

The centrepiece of Zuicho's minimalist, wood-clad interior is a nine-metre-long counter carved from a single 350-year-old hinoki cypress tree — flown in from Japan in one piece, shaped by artisans who have worked for the Japanese royal family. It is not decorative: it is the stage. Handcrafted ceramic tableware, delicate washi-paper menus and antique sake glassware rotate with each course, making the table setting as considered as the food placed on it.

For sake drinkers, the experience extends to choosing a personal drinking vessel from a curated selection of crystal, ceramic and glass — a small gesture that carries real weight.

Recognition Worth Noting

Zuicho holds a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Award (2026) and its second consecutive One MICHELIN Star from the MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong | Macau 2026 — a combination that places it firmly among Macao's most decorated dining rooms. Its beverage programme, spanning world-class sake, wine, whisky and traditional Japanese tea, earned the highest "3 Glass Award" in its debut at China's Wine List of the Year Awards 2025.

What to Expect

Dinner runs Tuesday through Sunday; lunch is available on weekends and public holidays. Smart casual dress is required. Children aged 12 and under are welcome in the private dining room only. The kappo format means every seat at the counter is a front-row seat — unhurried, precise, and quietly extraordinary.