More secret supper club than conventional restaurant, Mapu is an experimental chef’s table tucked away in the port town of Lyttelton. Helmed by award-winning chef Giulio Sturla, this six-seat “test kitchen” is deliberately elusive — there’s no signage, no set menu, and no fixed schedule. Instead, diners purchase tickets for an immersive evening of gastronomy where Sturla cooks and hosts in one intimate room. Each multi-course experience is entirely driven by what’s seasonal and locally foraged from the Banks Peninsula or harvested from Sturla’s own garden. As stories of the ingredients unfold, guests are treated to inventive dishes that blur the line between dining and theatre. Mapu strips away the formality of fine dining while elevating its creative potential.