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$$ | Miraflores |
Just when you thought Gastón Acurio couldn't possibly do anything more for his country's gastronomy, he opens this nostalgic homenaje to Peru's home cooking of yesteryear. In a corner tavern filled with dark wood and old photos, he polls his customers on their favorite dishes from their childhoods, and then makes them new. Cebiche-style chicken with papa a la huancaína, arroz con chancho (pork with rice): it's all here. This is his love letter to Peru's common people, at prices everyone can afford.
Av. Tarapacá 197, Lima, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Homey ambience
- Ridiculously good crab causas (potato salads)
- Classic Peruvian cooking, done to perfection
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$$ | Pueblo Libre |
Set in a colonial finca (farm house) that dates from 1780, this Lima institution offers some of the heartiest down-home cooking in the entire capital. Criollo classics such as seco de cabrito and costillas de cerdo con tacu-tacu (ribs with pan-fried rice and beans) are especially well done, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a weak spot anywhere on the extensive menu. After 11 pm on weekends, the back room turns into a festive dance hall.
Cl. Rosa Toledo 289, Lima, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Pescado a lo macho
- Good pisco sours and chilcanos
- Lively crowd with dancing after 11 pm on weekends
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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Chifa, Peru's version of Chinese food, is ubiquitous in Lima, with cheapo order-by-number establishments on practically every corner. In this glutted market, Titi towers above the competition, with a kitchen that works magic with even the simplest ingredients. Tallarín saltado with chicken and pork is subtly smoky and crackling with fresh vegetables, while kru yoc, the kitchen’s most requested plate, dresses crisp pork slices with a delicately sweet glaze. Chinese immigrants to Peru say the cooking here holds its own against heavy-hitters in Beijing and Shanghai.
Av. Javier Prado Este 1212, San Isidro, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Best Chinese cooking in Lima
- Scrumptious suckling pig on Friday
- Super-fresh ingredients
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.
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$$ | Barranco |
This Italian eatery is the place to head on a cool night, offering a rustic but warm ambience and great food. The extensive menu includes a wide array of salads and fresh pastas served with your choice of a dozen sauces, but Antica is best known for its pizza: more than 50 different kinds baked in a wood-fired oven. The San Isidro branch of this restaurant, located on Avenida Dos de Mayo, offers an even cozier atmosphere.
Av. Prolongación San Martín 201, Lima, Lima, 04, Peru
Known For
- Super-thin-crust pizza
- Rustic ambience
- Excellent salsa arrabiata
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Pueblo Libre |
Sequestered inside the walls of the colonial palace that houses the Museo Larco, this is one of the most charming places in Lima to enjoy a meal. The Peruvian-fusion menu offers everything from empanadas to ravioli stuffed with squash to seco de cordero (stewed lamb) served with rice and beans. Tables on the terrace overlook a lush garden with blazing bougainvillea, ancient statues, and amphorae.
Av. Bolívar 1515, Lima, Lima, 21, Peru
Known For
- Gorgeous setting
- Peruvian-fusion cuisine
- Good desserts
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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$$ | Barranco |
Don't let the unremarkable facade fool you: the food at this historic chifa can hold its own with the best in Lima's Barrio Chino. Soups are a standout, as are delicacies such as chancho asado (roast pork) and pato al ajo (garlic duck). Locals typically refer to this joint as "Chifa Unión," after the street on which it's located.
Jr. Unión 126, Lima, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Delicious soups
- Hearty portions
- Slow service
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$$ | El Centro |
This bustling two-story eatery specializes in comida norteña—northern cooking from the city of Piura. That means delicious grouper cebiche,seco de cabrito (goat stew), and green tamales—all in gut-busting portions. This is a classic example of what Peruvians call a huarique: a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where in-the-know locals go for homestyle cooking—at prices that won't break the bank.
Jr. Huancavelica 165, Lima, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Excellent northern cuisine
- Huge portions
- Local hole-in-the-wall
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$$ | El Centro |
Run by nuns who serve satisfying (though not extraordinary) French food and sing the "Ave Maria" nightly at 9, L'Eau Vive sits in a restored mansion across the street from Palacio Torre Tagle. Trout baked in cognac and duck in orange sauce are two dishes that bring the locals back time and again. The floors and furnishings do not do justice to the colonial architecture.
Jr. Ucayali 370, Lima, Lima, 01, Peru
Known For
- Singing nuns
- Inexpensive three-course lunches
- Solid French cooking
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed 3:30–7:30 and Sun, Credit cards accepted
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$$ | El Centro |
Hungry office workers crowd this excellent criollo restaurant every day at lunchtime for heaping plates of fettucinne a la huancaína (pasta in cheese sauce) and pescado a lo macho (fish topped with spicy seafood). The setting, looking out over Lima's old fortified walls, is one of the greenest you'll find downtown. Don't miss the lomo saltado (beef stir-fried with peppers and onions): Gastón Acurio himself has called it one of Lima's best. A second, less-scenic branch can be found on the Plaza San Martín.
Parque La Muralla, Lima, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Lomo saltado
- Lush setting with the Cerro San Cristóbal in the background
- Good pastas
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$$ | Miraflores |
After a quarter-century in business, this remains one of Lima's best Italian restaurants. The proof is on the plate: dishes such as artichoke ravioli and fettuccine magnífico (with a prosciutto, Parmesan, and white-truffle sauce) are perennial favorites. Be sure to save room for dessert: co-owner Sandra Plevisani is one of the country's most famous pastry chefs. This is one of the few Lima restaurants that serve dinner on Sundays.
Malecón de la Reserva 610, Lima, Lima, 18, Peru
Known For
- Homemade pastas
- World-class desserts
- Unhurried customer service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | |
At this bistro run by an Australian-Peruvian couple, the emphasis is on sustainable, locally sourced, organic ingredients. Lofty sentiments, to be sure—but it also helps that this pair can really cook. Their cebiche is a fresh take on a criollo classic, combining bonito with avocado, pickled papaya, and watermelon, while the pulpo con tacu-tacu features octopus tentacles atop a bed of pan-fried garbanzos. Vegan-friendly options abound, as do scrumptious desserts.
Cl. Manuel Bañón 260, San Isidro, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Environmentally conscious cooking
- Good duck dishes
- Lots of vegetarian and vegan choices
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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$$ | Miraflores |
Situated on a quiet Miraflores side street, and featuring a wood-burning oven and a cozy lounge where locals linger over cocktails late into the evening, this understated eatery serves up comfort food, Gastón Acurio–style. Nearly everything on the menu is good, but standouts include the anticuchos (kebab-like skewers, usually of beef hearts, but here also with more imaginative options such as swordfish) and cochinilla de 21 días, a whole suckling pig with meat so juicy you won’t need the accompanying zarza criolla (pickled onions) Go late at night, when the mood is mellow and romantic.
Av. Dos de Mayo 298, Lima, Lima, 18, Peru
Known For
- Classic criollo cooking
- Excellent tacu-tacus
- Multidish samplers
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun., Credit cards accepted, Reservations essential
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$$ | Miraflores |
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!
Av. Mariscal La Mar 1337, Lima, Lima, 18, Peru
Known For
- Inventive seafood dishes
- Busy lunchtime vibe
- Good jungle-accented selections
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun., Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Miraflores |
On a sunny afternoon, the view of the malecón and its graceful paragliders from the upper floors of this restaurant is as good as the food—which is excellent. Dishes include classic cebichería fare such as tiradito criollo (thin slices of marinated fish covered in a yellow-pepper sauce), conchitas a la parmesana (scallops on the half-shell smothered in garlic and toasted cheese), or pescado a la chorrillana (fish fillet in a tomato, onion, and chili sauce). Piqueos, platters of appetizers, are fun to share. This place has another, less-crowded (but also less-scenic) location on Avenida Conquistadores in San Isidro. Arrive before 1 pm to get a window table.
Malecón Cisneros at Av. Tripoli, Lima, Lima, 18, Peru
Known For
- Classic limeño seafood
- Great view
- Packed on weekends
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner, Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Miraflores |
Generous portions of quality seafood at reasonable prices are the reason there's usually a line at this Miraflores standby. Classic Peruvian dishes such as cebiche,arroz con mariscos (rice with seafood), and parihuela (a seafood soup) keep the locals coming back. The kitchen also offers some original concoctions, such as fettuccine in a huancaína sauce with spicy panko shrimp. The restaurant occupies an old white house with blue trim on a corner one block east of Avenid José Larco. It's well worth the wait.
Cl. San Martín 595, Lima, Lima, 18, Peru
Known For
- Traditional seafood dishes
- Affordable prices
- Good rep among locals
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun. No lunch Mon.
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$$ | Barranco |
Basque food in Lima? Claroque sí—and it's one of the freshest, most welcome additions to Barranco's dining scene in recent years, with quinoa salads, ham-and-cheese empanadas, croquettes, quiches, and a range of tapas that is surprising for such a small kitchen. For something more substantial, try one of the Basque main courses like rabo de toro (oxtail) or bacalao al pil-pil (salt cod in garlic).
Av. Grau 340, Lima, Lima, Peru
Known For
- Great tapas
- Spanish wine list
- Authentic Basque cuisine
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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$$ | Miraflores |
On a quiet street a block and a half from the busy intersection of Larco and Benavides, this small restaurant in a renovated house is known for its southern-Italian cuisine. The Peruvian owner worked at one of Miami's best Italian eateries before setting up shop in Miraflores. The menu includes pasta dishes such as linguini in pesto with gamberi (shrimp), a small selection of risottos, and a traditional osso buco.
Cl. Colón 161, Lima, Lima, 18, Peru
Known For
- Great pastas
- Reasonable prices
- Traditional osso buco
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$$ | Miraflores |
The name of this attractive eatery is Quechua for "little devil," which captures well the kitchen's playful take on Peruvian cuisine. Here you'll enjoy smash-up dishes such as gnocchi a la huancaína and panko-crusted prawns with a passion-fruit ginger-pisco sauce. Start with quinoa tabouleh on a tomato pesto with goat cheese, then sink your teeth into adobo arepiqueño (pork loin stewed in a chili sauce) or octopus on an olive risotto. Save room for dessert: the raisin-and-carob-filled bombitas are indeed, the bomb.
Av. La Paz 646, Lima, Lima, 18, Peru
Known For
- Creative recipes
- Funky but romantic setting
- Pleasant terrace
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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$$ | El Centro |
The best chifa in Chinatown, Wa Lok is known for such memorable dishes as calamares rellenos (shrimp-stuffed squid tempura), taipá (wok-fried chicken, pork, shrimp, and vegetables), and pato pekinés (Peking duck). It's best to go with a group and share, or ask for half orders. Vegetarians can choose from more than 30 dishes. The surrounding neighborhood is sketchy after dark, so at dinnertime you're better off heading to the Miraflores branch, on the corner of Avenida Angamos Oeste and Calle Arica.
Jr. Paruro 878, Lima, Lima, 01, Peru
Known For
- Traditional Chinese cuisine
- Excellent Peking duck
- Good seafood
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
