Dining in Lima, Peru

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
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I’m just finishing up a week of work in Lima, Peru, and I’ve probably put on ten pounds from a liberal sampling of this city’s amazing dining scene. I know Lima doesn’t get a lot of love from the traveler crowd, but it’s got the best food I’ve had in Latin America. I love the local emphasis on tons of fresh seafood, so I didn’t try a lot of different types of food, but for fresh, modern, fusion-y, Nuevo-Peruvian cuisine, you could do way worse than to try the following:

La Mar Best. Ceviche. Ever. Casual open air, palapa-roofed hot spot frequented by beautiful locals.

La Huaca Pucllana Fine dining in a clubby atmosphere, overlooking an archaeological dig of pre-Incan ruins. In the middle of the city. Unique, to say the least.

CALA Best overall dining experience I had: a beautiful modern space in an ocean front location. Exemplary service and strong drinks. Delicious seafood specialties (and Kobe beef at $50 for 200 grams), beautifully presented.

Francesco Italo-Peruvian cuisine. Stark, modern, elegantly minimalist. Portions are anything but minimal.

All of the above places are going to set you back around $30-40 per person for a full-meal deal: drinks, appetizers, entrée, and dessert. You won’t leave hungry.

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Yet no food porn. Sigh.

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All you need to do is ask:

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Y un poco mas…

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Palmitos! flirtysmile

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Hey…get a room you two!!!

newhere

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You’re forgetting about Serge. [pillow-fight.gif]

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He’s a known voyeur…so he doesn’t count!! [rofl.gif] [rofl.gif]

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Meant to note this in my first post: a place to stay away from. La Rosa Nautica is almost unavoidable, but try to do so.

The restaurant is undeniably scenic, perched on its own pier justting out from the seaside cliffs in the Miraflores district, surrounded by breaking waves, surfers, and parasailers. The structure itself is quirky and appealing: a wood framed, two-story structure that feels a lot like a transported Cape Cod cottage. But the food and service are nowhere near up to par with what other establishments are offering. Food is expensive and indifferently prepared, and the service is clearly reliant upon the fact that most diners are one-time tourist visitors - “perfunctory” would be a good description. Walk out on the pier and enjoy the view, maybe even have a drink in the bar, but save your dining dollars for better restaurants.