19 Best Restaurants in Lima, Peru

Situated on a quiet Miraflores side street, and featuring a wood-burning oven and a cozy lounge where locals linger over cocktails late into the evening, this understated eatery serves up comfort food, Gastón Acurio–style. Nearly everything on the menu is good, but standouts include the anticuchos (kebab-like skewers, usually of beef hearts, but here also with more imaginative options such as swordfish) and cochinilla de 21 días, a whole suckling pig with meat so juicy you won’t need the accompanying zarza criolla (pickled onions) Go late at night, when the mood is mellow and romantic.

This vast, whitewashed restaurant with a laid-back vibe is popular with limeños, who flock here for its inventive recipes and fresh seafood. The name is a play on the Spanish term for the seven deadly sins, and gula (gluttony)—think fettuccine with a mix of scallops, shrimp, and squid in a spicy cream sauce—is one of many sins worth committing here. Another is avaricia, or covetousness: the paiche fillet served with tacacho quinoa and the cecina (smoked pork)-and-chonta (heart of palm) salad will have your palate lusting. Forget morality, and just dig in!

On a sunny afternoon, the view of the malecón and its graceful paragliders from the upper floors of this restaurant is as good as the food—which is excellent. Dishes include classic cebichería fare such as tiradito criollo (thin slices of marinated fish covered in a yellow-pepper sauce), conchitas a la parmesana (scallops on the half-shell smothered in garlic and toasted cheese), or pescado a la chorrillana (fish fillet in a tomato, onion, and chili sauce). Piqueos, platters of appetizers, are fun to share. This place has another, less-crowded (but also less-scenic) location on Avenida Conquistadores in San Isidro.

Arrive before 1 pm to get a window table.