Lima - Restaurant Recommendations

[Artisttyp]

On the same block as tequilas night club is a little joint called "sofi's" It's really good for lunch. Peruvian food w/drink for $6 soles, very close to Hotel Maria Luisa.

In my opnion be very careful about eating at Calle de Pizzas.They add on an iva and service charge to plates already over inflated. Just get a beer or something to snack on.

I also agree that the "chifas" chinese places are great, some even better than here in NYC. They add more fresh vegetables to their plates.

Buen provecho!

[Suave Gato]

Not everyone can afford Lima's great hotels, but at $50 for two almost all the restaurants are within everybody's reach. Besides some of the great recomendations already listed, I will attempt to add a few others.

Great Date restaurants. These are well known spots that will impress your date with your knowledge of Lima!

French-
L'Eau Vive- Centro Lima.
This is a french restaurant run by Nun's that has great food and donates all proceeds to charity. Be sure to be there at 9.30pm when the nun's sing "ave maria"

Peruvian-
Astrid y Gaston-Miraflores
One of Lima's most famous restaurants. It is operated by a couple and "Gaston" has his own popular TV show in Lima.

Las Brujas de Caciche- Miraflores
Well known spot with popular bar on top. Try the famous "coca sour".

Huaca Pucllana- Miraflores
A must see at night. This overlooks a famous ruin that is lit up at night. Food is Nouveau Peruvian, be sure your reservation is on the covered terrace!

El Kapallaq- Miraflores
Considered by locals as the best Ceviche in Peru this restaurant is open for lunch only. They also have other seafood dishes cooked in the traditional "clay pots"

I only mention "La Rosa Nautica" because every chica in Lima wants to tell her girlfriends that she went there. While the walkway is extremely romantic the prices are high and the food is so so. A better choice is the Costa Verde, others have mentioned and IMHO is far superior. If you are in Lima for New Year's Eve it is a good value at about $100/couple.

ALP

[Shamas]

[QUOTE=Seismo]
Unknown name
Calle Cantuarias 285/Miraflores
2 blocks from Hotel MariaLuisa
Low priced seafood, lots of lunch specials, great corvina dishes.

The place actually has a name on the inside wall but from the outside 285 is more than enough to help you find it. Jackster and myself both had lunch there today and it was very good. Will do the "Friends" place on Berlin tomorrow.

Lima Busy told us about a little cafe on Ave Larco called La Favorite, it´s on Ave Larco at Diaz Conseco, has a blue awning. Great little side walk cafe. Try everything once. If I´m reading the menu correctly they offer American Breakfast, I´ll find that out tomorrow

Shamas O´D

[Lima Busy]

Also, good Peruvian restaurant in the Mission District in SF. Its called Limon and is probably the best I've had in the states.

And if you are in NYC and craving peruvian food, there is a new Peruvian restaurant in the west village next to the Lemongrass thai restuarant I think on Broadway and Christopher.

Dick Rambone, I picked up a chica the other day outside ICPNA(language school) and we walked down the block to 4d. I had the cortado but I still prefer "La Favorita". It might have had something to do with the chica telling me she was not a expert in bed and not wanting to give me head, so in the end I cut her loose as well. No sense wasting a beautiful afternoon on a lousy lay (even a free one)!

Since we have no bar section, I will just add this here. There is a small street right off Bellavista (behind pizza street)Francisco de Paulo that is turning into a hot area for restaurants and Martini bars.

There is a great place called "O" bar, it is for Peruvian Metro's and higher class Limenas. Beer's 8./s, JD 22./s, Martini's 19./s. Lately I have been into "pisco puro" and they have quite a collection, not unlike the "grappa" bars in NYC. They have art and photo exhibitions as well and you have to check out the wall when you first enter. It is about 14ft high and like a fish tank but filled with glass bottles and backlit.Last night there were 4 really hot models filming a wine commercial and the place was packed out. We were the only "gringo's" and the Chica's hardly seemed interested. Met a great waitress "Genevieve" Australian/Peruvian who is a doll and speaks better english than me or is it I? If you go there ask for her and she will give you the lay of the land! It is on the same street as "the Scene" which I mentioned before and another posh place "R" which is the restuarant with the 2 story glass walled front with nothing but a giant bed out front.

LB

[Dick Rambone]

My favorite cortado is at 4D in Angamos.

[Lima Busy]

There is a dining guide to Lima known as "The Silver Llama" which can be purchased through the ACAP(american canadien assoc.)website. It is basically a survey of all the expat reviews and is probably the authority on restaurants here.

On a side note there is a cafe on Larco "la favorita" which is becoming very popular with the SP's cruising for gringos. Some friends and I have taken to going there everynight around 8 as both the coffee and food is cheap and excellent. To give you a idea, I was there last night with the wife and for 24 soles about $7 we had a cortado/2 cappaucinos/1 pisco and a sandwich.
Most people will tell you it is the best cortado in Lima and the sandwich is a french baguette with smoked ham/fresh motzarella/roasted pepper/tomatoe and orregano. It is out of this world and better than a San Antonio sandwich.

Like most places if you bring a date make sure she is not facing the street and try not to react to the passing show, I have had more then one chica flash me trying to get a smile .

LB
LB

[Maltrufio]

I hit Francesco's (and Jose Antonio) every time I'm in Lima. Francesco's has excellent seafood, a good variety, and is much better than Alfresco. They have a ricotto chile stuffed with crab meat that I still dream about. It's pricy, similar to Jose Antonio, but worth it. You need a reservation though if you're more than a couple, it doesn't seat that many and is always packed, even for lunch. Good pisco sour too.

Also, good Peruvian restaurant in the Mission District in SF. Its called Limon and is probably the best I've had in the states.

[Member #4351]

Jaimito, save up your money and hit the Costa Verde Sunday lunch buffet (S./ 75 I think). Make sure your cab comes back for you or make some other arrangement to be picked up since the beach road is probably the only place in Lima where you can´t find a cab. Get there at a little before 1:00 to get to the food before the crowd comes. Good Peruvian music and dance show later on in the afternoon, so eat slow.

[Jaimito Cartero]

For the most part, I eat within 3 or 4 blocks of the Maria Luisa. I´ve found that most of the local places are super cheap. In fact, I think you have to try hard to spend more than $5 on a meal.

Like the normal lunch only place that Lima Busy and his friend took me to, there are many places that have lunch (the biggest meal of the day in Peru) for $2-$3 dollars. Sure you can spend $7 or $8 at McDonalds, but WHY would you do that?

Chifa´s in particular are a good deal. I ate at one near Calle Pizza (Benavides and Schell) for 8.5 soles tonight. Shrimp with veggies, chicken fried rice, and nice wonton soup. The wait self tipped himself 1 soles, but I was headed over to Tequila Rock with my free entry from the hotel, so I wasn´t going to waste my time with it.

[Jaimito Cartero]

Well, anyone who has met me knows I like 3 things. Women, travel and food. I always like recommendations, and my buddy Seismo gave me the name of a buffet to try, Maipu. Well, I had seen on their website they were open until 5pm. I messed around on the internet too long, and only left at about 3:40pm.

When I got there at 3:50, they had already stopped serving the buffet. I didn´t find anything that appealing on their a la carte menu, so I took off. I asked the taxi driver if he knew another buffet that was open, and he seemed to think he did.

We hopped back on the freeway, and went past Miraflores to Barranco. The El Hawaiano buffet has just recently opened (If I read their sign right, anyway). While not cheap, the quality was nice. Now, I got there after 4pm, so a number of items were already out. They say they´re open from noon to 5:30 every day.

50 soles, includes an alcolholic welcome drink (margarita, pisco sour, etc), and all the normal line items, and cook to order stations they have.

They had a real nice seafood selection and would cook shimp, langostinos and other shellfish that I´m not quite sure what they were. They have a crepe desert station, grill station with kabobs, sausages and some different cuts of meat.

They´ve got a big desert section, with a bunch of different ice cream flavors, plus a good selections of cakes and other goodies. Sushi, a half dozen soups and raw shellfish give everyone something to choose from.

Service was quite good, and while I wouldn´t dine here all the time because of the cost, I felt I got a good deal.

Taxi´s are a bit hard to get going out of here. You might have to walk two blocks to the next major street. It cost me 4 soles to get back to Miraflores.

[Screwed Up]

Peruvian seafood soups, tiradito´s, ceviche´s, raw fresh fish,... I used to hate fish, Peru made me love it and I can´t get enough of it.

Eating pizza in Peru is asking for trouble. Soon or late you´re going to run into a bad one and be belly up with food poisining for 2-3 days. That being said if I do feel like pizza I stick with Pizza Hut.

Personally wherever I go I always eat what the locals eat, best way to avoid food poisining and also adds to the experience.

[John Sperm]

If I am not mistaken ham and pineapple would make a hawaiian Pizza, according to the Italian Eatery " Dominoes ", but then again I remember growing up and going to Larco Avenue and getting the so called Pizza, but now as I ponder on this, I know that all I got was a piece of french bread ( pan frances), and tomatoe sauce, and put in the oven. Now living in NYC, I can go and get " Ray's Pizza" which does not compare to anything else ... best bet get yourself a friend and ask him/her to send you some of the frozen Pizza, dude my girl calls it fancy dinner.... good luck ...

[Lima Busy]

Voodooman,
I do not now how to break it to you gently but it does not exist. When a country starts putting Ham & Pinapple on pizza you know you are in trouble. Also Pizza here is expensive as compared to NYC.

That bieng said "Papa Johns" is probably the best of the fast food ones. Of the Peruvian chains most people say D'INOs or D'nnos.

The "Trattoria" one block off Larco is a very fancy restuarant that has pretty good pizza as well. Also probably one of the best lasagna's in Lima.

Sorry I could not help more.
LB

[VoodooMan]

LB,

Being a fellow East coaster, can you guide me to a decent Pizza place anywhere in Lima. I've been going thru withdrawals, and its not good thing.

VDM

[Lima Busy]

While Peru is most famous for its fish, It is also well known for Alpaca steak,Ostrich and my personal favorite CUY (guinea pig). We have a slew of argentine restaurants as well. Most restuarants use argentinean filet mignon as well. But there ares so many things much more interesting then a piece of steak. If you are willing to experiment you will find out why many people think peruvian cooking is one of the best in the world. I did not eat fish before coming here, but now i love it. It is customary here to only eat it for breakfast or lunch when it is fresh.

LB