Restaurants in Lima
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Restaurant Huaca Pucllana
This sophisticated establishment overlooks the illuminated ruins at Huaca Pucllana. The menu consists of a skillfully rendered and beautifully presented array of contemporary Peruvian dishes (from grilled cuy to seafood chowders), along with a smattering of Italian-fusion specialties. Save room for the pisco and lemon parfait come dessert.
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Matsuei
None other than the venerated Japanese super-chef Nobu Matsuhisa once co-owned this diminutive sushi bar, now situated on a San Isidro side street. Don’t let the modest appearance fool you: Matsuei serves up some of the most spectacular sashimi and maki (sushi rolls) in Lima. A must-have: the ‘acevichado, ’ a roll stuffed with shrimp and avocado, and then doused in a house-made mayo infused with ceviche broth. It will make your brain tingle in all the right places.
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Vista al Mar
When the smell of garlic hits your nose on a Pacific sea breeze, you know you will dine well. Built into the clifftop and with its balcony dangling out over the sea, Vista al Mar is an elegant, modern restaurant serving a variety of meals and snacks. Fish and ceviche are wise options. It also does a great breakfast buffet at weekends. Watch for the occasional paraglider floating past along the cliffs.
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El Cordano
A Lima institution since 1905, this old-world dining hall has, at some point or another, counted practically every Peruvian president for the last 100 years as a customer (the presidential palace is right across the street). It is known for its skillfully rendered tacu tacu (pan-fried rice and beans) and butifarra (French bread stuffed with country ham).
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La Rosa Nautica
Location, location, location. Though you can get the same (or better) seafood elsewhere for less, the views at this eatery on the historic pier are unparalleled. Go during happy hour (5pm to 7pm), when you can watch the last of the day’s surfers skim along the crests of the waves. Take a taxi to the pier and walk the last 100m.
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Café Café
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Café
Café Café in Mártir Olaya advertises 120 different drinks, gourmet coffees, sandwiches and desserts. The other branch at LarcoMar branch, Malecon de la Reserva 610, is the place to see and be seen, with a great location looking directly out to sea and down to the surfers below; it's not for sufferers of vertigo.
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Manhattan Restaurant
This sophisticated, mellow hideaway has good menús, as well as a happy hour from 17:00 to closing time at 19:00. The tasty sopa a la criolla (mildly spiced, creamy noodle soup with beef and peppers) and the escalope pollo con verdana (chicken escalopes) make for a filling meal.
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Xocolatl
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
Run by pastry chef Giovanna Maggiolo, Xocolatl is a sleek chocolatier specializing in contemporary Peruvian sweets, some sporting designs inspired by pre-Columbian textiles. Expect fillings such as coffee, pisco and Ranfañote, a traditional dessert made with coconut, molasses and nuts.
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La Costa Verde
Located directly on the Barranco beachfront, this sophisticated restaurant is recommended for its excellent seafood.
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El Estadio Fútbol Club
A good evening hangout is the El Estadio Fútbol Club, a soccer-fanatic hangout-restaurant.
reviewed
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Malabar
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
Rising culinary star Pedro Miguel Schiaffino is the chef at this hot destination restaurant at the heart of San Isidro. Influenced, in particular, by Amazonian produce and cooking techniques, Schiaffino’s seasonal menu features deftly prepared delicacies such as crisp, seared cuy and Amazonian river snails bathed in a sauce made with spicy chorizo. Do not forego the cocktails (the chef’s father, a noted pisco expert, consulted on the menu) or desserts – perhaps the lightest and most refreshing in Lima.
reviewed
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Tanta
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
One of several informal bistros run by celebrity super-chef Gastón Acurio, Tanta serves Peruvian dishes, fusion pastas, heaping salads and sandwiches. Accompanying the encyclopedic menu is a list of house cocktails – such as the ‘cholopolitan, ’ made with pisco, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juices – and a wine list strong on vintages from South America (from S46 per bottle). The food is good (if overpriced), but the desserts are better: don’t leave without trying the heavenly passion fruit cheesecake mousse.
reviewed
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Tanta
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
One of several informal bistros run by celebrity super-chef Gastón Acurio, Tanta serves Peruvian dishes, fusion pastas, heaping salads and sandwiches. Accompanying the encyclopedic menu is a list of house cocktails – such as the ‘cholopolitan, ’ made with pisco, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juices – and a wine list strong on vintages from South America (from S46 per bottle). The food is good (if overpriced), but the desserts are better: don’t leave without trying the heavenly passion fruit cheesecake mousse.
reviewed
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Fiesta
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
Anyone in search of the finest northern Peruvian cuisine in Lima, should make a reservation at this busy establishment on Miraflores’ eastern edge. Not only do they cook up an arroz con pato a la chiclayana (duck and rice Chiclayo style) that is achingly tender, they also serve ceviche a la brasa, traditional ceviche that is given a quick sear before being served, resulting in a fish that is lightly smoky, yet tender. Has to be eaten to be believed. There is a sister restaurant in Chiclayo.
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Astrid y Gastón
Now one of the older outposts of novoandina cooking in Lima, Gastón Acurio’s French-influenced standard-bearer nonetheless remains a culinary force to be reckoned with. His seasonal menu is equipped with traditional Peruvian fare, but it’s the exquisite fusion specialties – such as the seared filets of cuy, served Peking-style, with fluffy purple-corn crêpes – that make this such a sublime fine dining experience. There is a first-rate international wine list (from S46 per bottle).
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Mi Causa
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
A temple to the humble potato and the sculptural dishes that can be produced with it, this inventive eatery dishes up more than 50 (including a dozen vegetarian options) varieties of causa, a traditional Peruvian potato salad. Expect a rainbow’s worth of hot and cold causas, layered with mouth-watering combinations of seafood, chicken, beef, cheese and vegetables, some made with uncommon strains of tuber, such as puca sonqo, which is pink.
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Segundo Muelle
You’ll find no less than a dozen types of ceviches and tiraditos at this pleasant, well-tended seafood eatery renowned for its fresh ceviches, some with innovative twists. (Try the ceviche de mariscos a los tres ajíes, a stack of mixed fish and shellfish bathed in three types of hot pepper sauce.) The menu also features heaping rice and other seafood dishes, including a recommended parrilla marina (seafood grill).
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Pescados Capitales
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
On a street that was once home to nothing but clattering auto shops, this contemporary destination (think: artsy warehouse meets Peruvian rustic) serves some of the finest ceviche around. Try the ‘Ceviche Capital, ’ a mix of flounder, salmon and tuna marinated with red, white and green onions and bathed in a three-chili crème. A nine-page wine list offers a strong selection of Chilean and Argentinean vintages (from S55).
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Domus
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
A restored 19th-century mansion houses this modern-yet-intimate two-room restaurant that caters to journalists from the nearby offices of El Comercio. There is no à la carte dining, just a rotating daily list of well-executed Peruvian-Italian specialties that always includes a vegetarian option in the mix. Fresh-squeezed juices accompany this well-tended feast. An excellent value; highly recommended.
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Bravo Restobar
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
An inviting restaurant-lounge with a backlit bar and stone and wood interiors, Bravo’s able bartenders stir up dozens of spectacular cocktails (try the aguaymanto sour, made with pisco and Amazonian berries). There is a lengthy list of Italian-Peruvian fusion dishes, as well as a bar menu with a laundry list of snacks (such as tender seafood grills) in the event that you’re just there to sip.
reviewed
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Anticuchos de la Tía Grima
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
The most venerated anticuchos in all of Lima are grilled at this corner cart, which has been tended to by the legendary Doña Grimanesa for more than 30 years. The meat is so tender and the house-made hot sauces so delicious, that it’s no wonder the wait is often more than an hour. The best bet: show up at 6:45pm and wait for Doña Grimanesa to roll up or telephone your order in ahead of time.
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Fusión
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
A minimalist dining room in a concrete bunker is home to this cutting-edge – you guessed it – fusion spot by Chef Rafael Piqueras. Expect a run-down of well-rendered international items (think: duck confit), with Peruvian flourishes (tuna tiradito drizzled with rocoto chilies and soy sauce). An extensive wine list features more than 200 fine vintages from all over the world.
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La Preferida
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
Located a couple of blocks north of Av 28 de Julio, just east of the Vía Expresa, this charming take-out place has gorgeous causas and fresh seafood specialties such as pulpo al olivo (octopus in olive sauce) and choros a la chalaca (mussels with a corn and tomato salsa) served in tapas-sized portions. A few stools accommodate diners.
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El Verídico de Fidel
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
Not just a cevichería, but a place of pilgrimage, this hole-in-the-wall across from the Alianza Lima stadium is renowned for its leche de tigre (ceviche broth), served not in the typical shot glass but in a soup bowl, studded with fresh seafood. The ceviches are equally spectacular. This is a rough neighborhood; take a taxi – even in daytime.
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Rafael
- Lima, Peru
- Restaurants › Other
Don’t let the demure exterior fool you: this is the place in Lima to see and be seen. Here, Chef Rafael Osterling produces a panoply of fusion dishes, such as tiradito bathed in Japanese citrus or suckling goat stewed in Madeira wine. For those who make it past the generously poured cocktails, there is a lengthy international wine list.
reviewed