10 Best Restaurants in Barranco, Lima

Voted World's Best Female Chef in 2022 by San Pellegrino, Lima-born Pía León is a culinary force to be reckoned with, and this airy bistro right next door to the restaurant Central showcases the full range of her talents. In what amounts to a whirlwind tour of Peru, her nine-course tasting menu fuses ingredients from every corner of the country into inspired, innovative combinations. River shrimp, cacao, different varieties of tubers, sweet cucumbers: the menu whips together whatever happens to excite León in a given month. The result? A brilliant, jazzlike improvisation that serves as a foil to Central's culinary symphony.

What's not on the menu at this eclectic eatery is the standard Peruvian gastro-repertoire. Instead, chef Ricardo Martins fuses Asian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern accents to create dazzling, taste-bud-popping confections such as grilled pork tomahawk steak in harissa butter or razor clams in Chinese-style yuxiang sauce. Even humble ingredients such as anchovies and red peppers take on new meaning in the hands of this culinary wizard. The vintage cocktails are also inspired, meshing perfectly with the wood-paneled ambience of the restaurant's 19th-century digs. Look sharp: this place shows every sign of becoming a foodie pilgrimage point.

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.

One of Lima's surprisingly few waterfront dining options, this elegant eatery has an impressive selection of dishes to complement its ocean vistas. The Peruvian-fusion cuisine ranges from crab ravioli in seafood soup to quinoa-crusted salmon and tenderloin with mushrooms, quinoa, and spinach. You can also order from the sushi bar. The dining room is upstairs, with a wall of glass on the ocean side and tables on a narrow balcony above the rocky beach.

After years working in some of the best kitchens of Europe and Asia, superstar cuisinier Virgilio Martínez returned to Lima to launch this chic, airy venue for his culinary talents—and quickly garnered a reputation as one of Latin America's most innovative chefs. He and his wife, María Pía Leon, change their menu constantly, but each iteration celebrates the country's edible biodiversity as it thematically explores the different altitudes of the Peruvian landscape, from sea level to the peaks of the Andes. There's no à la carte here, only 12- and 14-course menus which take your taste buds on a journey through Peru's coastal, Andean, and Amazon regions. The restaurant reached its apotheosis in 2023, when it was voted the world's best by San Pellegrino.

This is currently one of the world's hottest restaurants, so it's imperative to reserve tables at least three months in advance.

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.

With its flagstone path and leafy lucuma tree dappling a quiet patio with shade, this green café is an oasis. The gourmet teas and coffees, artisanal sandwiches, and fruity milk shakes rejuvenate even the most worn-out traveler.

Venezuelan and Peruvian flavors dance an exquisite pas de deux at this tiny, brick-walled tavern on a Barranco back street. The choreography is provided by chef Juan Luis Martínez, a Central veteran who renders homage to his Caracas roots while making expert use of Peruvian ingredients, including scallops, huacatay (black mint), and cocona (an Amazon fruit). Among the recent standouts on the ever-changing menu: roasted Peruvian corn in yellow chili and glazed pork belly with arepas. In 2023, the restaurant made San Pellegrino's list of Latin America's 50 Best, so reserve well in advance if you want a ground-floor seat to watch the open-kitchen pyrotechnics. 

Basque food in Lima? Claro que 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).