The fine-dining environment is thriving in Lima, Peru. Each restaurant represents the diversity of the country’s gastronomy.
Michelin-starred eateries offer a vast selection of both typical and innovative recipes, thanks to the minds of known chefs like Virgilio Martinez and Gaston Arcurio. The popularity of these restaurants is also due to the ambiance, often welcoming and familiar. Furthermore, these restaurants all have one thing in common: seafood is the protagonist.
Without further ado, these are the best restaurants in Lima.
Central
Instagram @virgiliocentral
The Miraflores restaurant of chef Virgilio Martinez, who is also known for the Michelin-starred restaurant LIMA in London, Central has a steadfast position among the best restaurants in the world, named Latin America’s number one restaurant in 2017, while coming in at number five in the World’s 50 Best. Through the contemporary Peruvian dishes he creates, Martinez introduces diners to the diversity of ingredients found across Peru, celebrating the country’s biodiversity from the rainforest and coast to high up in the Andes. The inventive tasting menus here are seen as a gastronomic exploration of Peru.
Astrid y Gaston
Instagram @astrid_y_gaston
Housed within a historic San Isidro hacienda, Astrid y Gaston is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in Lima, and provides diners with a gastronomic experience in unforgettable meals of around 30 plates. Since opening this restaurant more than 20 years ago, the chef Gaston Acurio has been at the forefront of Peru’s modern fine dining scene as Lima has risen to become one of the world’s culinary capitals.
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The chef is currently placing the focus on the region the restaurant’s in by showcasing ingredients from Lima and its surroundings. Aiming to give diners an insight into the culture and cuisine here, while reflecting the city’s multicultural identity, the menu consists of dishes such as Nikkei stewed beef, and purple corn crepe with peanut hoisin and chifa pickles.
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La Mar Cevichería Peruana
La Mar is a seafood restaurant in Lima, Peru. Its menu often changes daily, depending on “what the sea brings”.
The pioneering cevicheria is situated in the city’s upmarket Miraflores neighborhood, and it was opened by chef Gastón Acurio. La Mar’s menu might seem overwhelming at first, but it offers both innovation and tradition by offering classic Peruvian dishes like ceviche.
Maido
Instagram @mitsuharu_maido
Representing Lima’s Nikkei cuisine—the fusion fare that resulted from the arrival of Japanese immigrants in Peru and a cuisine that has since become popular across the globe—Maido is the flagship restaurant of chef Mitsuharu Tsumura. The restaurant offers a tasting menu alongside a la carte options, including an array of classic sushi. Experience exemplary Nikkei cuisine with premium ingredients and unique textures in dishes such as Cau Cau dim sum with sea snail, which are all appealingly presented on the plate.
Rafael
Instagram @bridgetosterling
Critically acclaimed as one of the best restaurants in Lima. The chef this restaurant takes its name from, Rafael Osterling, has developed a distinct style of modern Peruvian-Italian cuisine with Nikkei influence.
By drawing on the diversity of Peru’s culinary heritage, Osterling combines the use of ingredients from the surrounding land with the international influences that are dominant here, creating a menu of mouth-watering plates like Galician roasted octopus with white garlic, smoked flavors and onion petals, roasted corn ravioli with langoustine and buffalo mozzarella, and grilled confit lobster with coral butter, crustacean-truffled foam, yellow potato gnocchi and asparagus.
