El Cordano

19th century decor, 1950's espresso machine, great food!

Food

Service

Atmosphere

El Cordano must be the only restaurant in Lima with saloon-style doors that you swing open to reveal a dining area with little round tables topped with red and white checkered tablecloths, bowtie-clad waiters, old photographs on the walls, all inside an old building that is perfectly situated right behind the Government Palace and the old Desamparados Train Station. Do I want a traditional jamon del pais sandwich, a kind of ham sandwich that most old bars in Lima proudly display among the wine and liquor bottles? Or do I want to sample some of the menu? I first ask for a jar of cold chicha morada, a traditional sweet drink made from purple maize with a dash of lemon that is so refreshing during the hot, humid summer, and the waiter brings me salted mountain "canchita", a typical snack food which has the amazing virtue of both making you very thirsty and providing your teeth with something to do while the food arrives. The menu is very ecletic and includes both traditional dishes (I recommend the tacu-tacu, fried beans with rice) and dishes I would call "something that looks home-cooked". If you like cow, you are in for a treat as here you can taste tongue, kidney, heart and others cooked in delicious ways. If you are not feeling so adventurous, you can always order some chicken or an egg tortilla stuffed with shrimp, vegetables, whatever you want. Or try a goold old ham sandwich. Wah everything down with some cold beers or some coffee and ask for the bill. Turns out to be about $10-$20 per person, depending on how hungry you were and how much food you asked. Swing past the doors to leave the restaurant and suddenly the noise and crowds of downtown Lima are so much easier to take on a full stomach.