24 Best Restaurants in Lima, Peru

The flagship restaurant of Peru's most celebrated chefs, spouses Gastón Acurio and Astrid Gutsche, occupies a meticulously restored colonial mansion named Casa Moreyra. Dishes are available à la carte, but the big event here is the 16-course, prix-fixe tasting menu, which takes you on a journey through Peru's culinary regions in the span of two hours. The menu changes with the seasons to ensure fresh ingredients, but expect a good mix of meat and seafood, plus a chocolate apocalypse at the end. Reserve tables at least two weeks ahead.

Even if you don't have a reservation, you can try to get a table on the patio, where you can order from the à la carte menu.

Dating from 1905, this venerable Lima institution has served up ham sandwiches and pisco sours to Peru's presidents for over a century. Every inch of the decor—the worn wooden bar, the old black-and-white photos, the well-stocked saloon shelves and cabinets—oozes history. Try the butifarra (marinated pork with zarza criolla, or pickled onions, on a homemade roll), or, if you're famished, the bistec con tacu-tacu (steak with pan-fried rice and beans).

The beach-shack decor at this family-run cebichería leaves no doubt as to the eatery's focus: fresh-caught seafood at budget-friendly prices. You can't go wrong with any of the cebiches or tiraditos, but an even better option is to put together a combo that mixes cebiche with a cooked-seafood dish like chaufa de mariscos (seafood fried rice). Don't overlook the hearty soups redolent of fish, crab, and shrimp: they're among the kitchen's many fortes. In the fierce battle royale that is Lima's restaurant scene, this joint punches way above its weight.

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.

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.

Chalaco is an affectionate appellative for natives of Callao, Lima's rough-and-tumble port, and this lively seafood stand is chef Gastón Acurio's love song to the district's culinary heritage. As always, Acurio's genius is evident in the menu's mix of tradition and creative flair: jalea chalaca throws together fried fish, two types of squid, and abundant pickled onions, while the unusual tiradito chucuito combines raw fish, olives, and avocado in a Parmesan-based broth. Don't overlook the piqueos: the seafood empanadas and croquettes are heavenly. At this point, Acurio has shown that when it comes to showcasing the gastronomy of ordinary Peruvians, there's nothing he can't do. 

Mitsuharu Tsumura is one of Lima's most innovative chefs, and his exquisite Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) creations have earned Maido top slots on San Pellegrino's Best Latin American Restaurants list for nearly 10 years running. Tsumura changes things up frequently, but his menus always include cebiches and nigiris (sushi with Peruvian flavors), plus cooked dishes such as asado de tira mitsuke (braised short ribs with pickled ginger and fried rice), cod misayaki (marinated in miso with sweet potato and Brazil nuts), and sanguichitas (a plate of unique sandwiches). Seating is on the second floor, at wooden tables beneath hundreds of hanging ropes, plus a few spots at the sushi bar. This place is much sought-after, so be sure to make reservations at least two months in advance.

Set inside the Westin Lima Hotel, this elegant restaurant is a good place to try a Peruvian tasting menu without breaking the bank. For S/240, chef Rafael Piqueras regales diners with 14 courses of delicacies, including charbroiled arapaima (an Amazon fish) and short ribs with lentils and Iberian sausage. You can also order most of the courses à la carte, for reasonable prices. The desserts here are especially scrumptious, and there's a heated outdoor terrace for romantic outings.

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 (kebablike skewers, usually of beef hearts, but here also with more imaginative options such as swordfish) and codillo de cerdo crocante, pig's knuckles with meat so juicy you won’t need the accompanying zarza criolla. Go late at night, when the mood is mellow and romantic.

Long lines outside this wildly popular chain, whose name translates to "Seven Soups," are an indicator of just how avid limeños are to slurp up its hearty broths. Those craving something more filling than the rotating soups of the day can also try the pollo a la brasa (chargrilled chicken), pastas, and other Peruvian classics. Believe the hype: this place is worth the wait.

Chalkboard menus, shelves piled to the ceiling with locally made wines and piscos, a worn wooden bar, and even a hand-cranked telephone give this venerable institution—a Lima mainstay since 1880—its nostalgic charm. The place serves delicious ham sandwiches smothered in zarza criolla and chilcanos made with pisco bottled in the factory next door, but in recent years has also expanded its menu to include a range of pastas and meat dishes.

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 beef with wild mushroom sauce. Tables on the terrace overlook a lush garden with blazing bougainvillea, ancient statues, and tinajas—Peruvian amphorae.

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.

Just when you thought Gastón Acurio couldn't possibly do anything more for his country's gastronomy, he opened 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. Oven-baked chicken with papa a la huancaína, juicy meatballs like grandma used to make: it's all here. This is his love letter to Peru's common people, at prices just about everyone can afford.

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.

Owner Isabel Álvarez has authored several cookbooks on traditional Peruvian cuisine, which is the specialty here. Start with one of several cebiches or the chupe de camarones (a creamy river-prawn soup) if in season, then move on to arroz con pato (rice and duck with a splash of dark beer) or huatia sulcana (a traditional beef stew).

Proximity to the adjacent 1,500-year-old ruins is reason enough to dine at this classic Miraflores eatery, but the sumptuous Peruvian and international cuisine that comes out of its kitchen seals the deal. The best tables are outside, with a view of the huge Huaca Pucllana pyramid, which is spectacularly floodlit at night. The Peruvian-fusion menu includes such treats as Chinese-style pork belly with sweet potatoes and paiche (an Amazon fish) with palm hearts and a spicy cocona (jungle fruit) sauce.

Those who've never tasted la comida amazónica—specialties from the Peruvian jungle—appreciate the cooking at this colorful fusion joint. Traditional standbys include juanes (stewed chicken with hard-boiled eggs and rice steamed in a bijao leaf) and tacacho con cecina (smoky jungle bacon with mashed plantains), but the chefs here also riff creatively on jungle themes, creating plates like Amazonian tacos (Brazilian sausage rolled in plantain "tortillas") and jungle-fried rice with Chinese-style pork char siu. The outdoor patio is an added plus.

Hungry office workers crowd this excellent criollo restaurant every day at lunchtime for heaping plates of fettuccine à 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.

Located just steps outside Miraflores near the Mercado No. 1 in Surquillo, this rustic tavern harkens back to Peru's picanterías (country restaurants) of old. The drill is simple: sit down on one of the wooden benches, choose your fish (or shellfish), and tell the waiter how you want it prepared. Fried, grilled, as a cebiche, or as a delicious sudado (soup) or estofado (stew): it's all good. The menu has a few landlubber entrées, but make no mistake: it's the seafood that makes this joint a regular on 50 Best lists.

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 mediterráneo features octopus tentacles atop a bed of ratatouille and rustic potatoes. Vegan-friendly options abound, as do scrumptious desserts.

Hearty, no-frills criollo cooking in classy digs: that's what this wildly popular downtown eatery is all about. Seafood and piqueos (appetizer samplers) are standouts, but those looking for something lighter will find a broad array of soups and sandwiches. The muted, upscale ambience, in particular, is a welcome refuge from the chaos of Lima's Centro.

This small corner house is inconspicuous at first glance, but at mealtimes it's invariably packed with foodies feasting on Rafael Osterling's culinary creations. One of Lima's best chefs, Osterling mixes Peruvian, Mediterranean, and Asian influences in a menu brimming with innovation. There are plenty of pastas, such as gnocchi in a shrimp, scallop, and squid pesto, but the eclectic carta ranges from fish curry to roast suckling pig.

If you don't have a reservation, you may be able to grab a small table in the bar.