Maldives Restaurants|Male, Maldives

IWAU

Name: IWAU
Telephone: 960-400-0999

An exclusive Maldives chef's table

VERIFIED LUXURY

Learn How We Inspect

Tucked away amid green foliage and palm trees near The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands’ striking circular pool, IWAU seems a bit hidden. But perhaps that’s the point. The intimate open-air chef’s table can only accommodate a handful of diners for its two daily dinner seatings.

Despite its petite size, the restaurant delivers a big experience. After all, IWAU means “to celebrate” in Japanese. All seats face the two teppan grills, where the chef holds court, chatting with guests as he cooks up an omakase feast before their eyes.

While executive chef Ashish Yadav’s Japanese dishes featuring fresh seafood and prime meat certainly impress, the exclusivity, the chef interactions and the ambiance under the starry sky elevate it even more. Of course, so does the array of Japanese sakes, cocktails and champagne to pair with the multicourse meal.

Our Inspector's Highlights

While dishes spotlight premium proteins like Chilean sea bass and Japanese wagyu, you also will enjoy local ingredients in the Maldivian tuna tataki and the Maldivian lobster.
The dinner feels exclusive, with limited guests lining the L-shaped counter. The lantern-like table lights and underlit counter also add to the cozy alfresco atmosphere.
Vegetarians are welcome here. The “yasai” tasting menu includes courses like avocado carpaccio with olive oil caviar and miso-mushroom salsa, as well as baked tofu with Japanese mushrooms and asparagus with anticucho sauce and vegetable garlic fried rice.
While most of the meal will be cooked on the teppan grill, the chef prepares a decadent nigiri course with Maldivian yellowfin tuna, caviar, Hokkaido scallop, spicy yuzu tobiko, unagi and foie gras.
Complement the dinner with sakes like Minatoya Tosuke, a junmai daiginjo with notes of apple and apricots, and Tochikura Plum, a sweet umeshu.

The Food and Drinks

For a succulent dish, sink into the A9 wagyu beef truffle teriyaki. It comes with seasonal vegetables and egg garlic fried rice.
The Chilean sea bass gets a flavor boost with a truffle butter ponzu and arrives with mushrooms and asparagus.
Opt for Japanese-inspired cocktails like the Sakura Blossom, a floral libation with cranberry gin, sakura vermouth, umeshu, red apple, lemon juice and shiso syrup, or Coral Breeze, an earthy mix of olive oil-washed gin, yuzu sake, black cardamom cordial, tomato water and seaweed prosecco.
Top off your meal with an enticing dessert like the white chocolate matcha cheesecake with raspberry and yuzu sorbet, or the light caramelized bananas with passion fruit and vanilla crème and mango sorbet.

Amenities