Three of the Best Eateries From Around the World Have Been Painstakingly Replicated at New York’s Spring Studios

“We asked the people of the Zanzibar village to give us this piece of rock, and they couldn’t understand why I wanted it rather than a piece of land,” Nigel Firman told Vogue last night, describings the early makings of his decade-old eatery The Rock. “They thought I was completely crazy, but who’s more crazy is the guy who called me from Mastercard, while I was walking on the beach, and said we want to recreate it here in New York.” With a fabricated sea breeze, and a 24-hour video displaying the sunrise and sunset, it is, indeed, an impressive feat.

In a project entitled “Priceless,” Mastercard embarked on the seemingly impossible task of recreating three of the world’s top culinary destinations—The Rock in Zanzibar, Tanzania Lyaness in London, and Teruzushi in Kitakyushu, Japan—all of which have been replicated to exact specifications inside Spring Studios, and open to the public through the end of this year. Last night, they made their debut, with the founders of all three outposts in attendance.

For Ryan Chetiyawardana, creator of Lyaness and 2015’s best bartender in the world, this wasn’t just a run of the mill pop up. “I think this is going to eclipse anything else out there,” he said, marveling at the room of partygoers which included Harley Viera-Newton and sisters T.K. Wonder & Cipriana Quann. “I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this.” Inside his space, guests will find the same lighting, decor, and standout cocktails like the White Sbagliato and the Morning Glory Fizz, but most impressively, the replica of the 22-ton green marble bar found in London (the original was scanned to capture the same grain).

But of the three hangouts, there is none more theatrical than Takayoshi Watanabe, who brought along a team—and all of the accompanying plates, glasses, and cutlery—from Kitakyushu for his beloved Teruzushi. Joined by bow-tie-accessorized translator Chris Hougland, the third-generation sushi chef invited an intimate crowd of just 20 guests to admire his delicate pairings like red uni topped with caviar and shiso flowers. “There are some things you can’t find in New York, so I brought all of the necessary tools with me,” Watanabe told us. “That includes my heart.”