Peru Info
Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 17
Home Country: peru
|
 Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 5:47 am Post subject: FOOD & DINING IN PERU / PERU DINING GUIDE (LIMA) |
 |
|
FOOD & DINING IN PERU (LIMA)
As one might expect, Lima presents the most cosmopolitan dining city in all of Peru, with restaurants of all budgets and a wide range of cuisines -- from upscale seafood restaurants and comida criolla (coastal Peruvian cooking), to Chinese and plenty of Italian, French, and other international restaurants. Sometimes entire streets and neighbourhoods specialize in a single type of food. In Lima Centro, you can visit the chifas of Chinatown, and in Miraflores, a pedestrian street off Parque Central (Boulevard San Remo) is referred to as "Little Italy" for its scores of look-alike pizzerias and Italian restaurants. Don't mind the restaurant menu hawkers; it's touristy but also lively and fun.
Restaurants are, predictably, most crowded in the early evening, especially Thursday through Saturday. In the business districts of Miraflores and San Isidro, lunch can also get quite busy -- at least in the nicer restaurants that are popular with local and international businessmen.
Fixed-price lunch deals are referred to as menús del día (or simply menú). The majority of restaurants include taxes and services in their prices, and your bill will reflect the menu prices. Others (including some upscale restaurants), however, separate taxes and services, and the bill can get pretty byzantine, especially when it comes to imported wine. You might see a subtotal, followed by a 10% service charge, a 20% "selectivo" wine tax, and an 18% IGV (general sales tax). It's crazy. Fortunately, the restaurants that do this are rare.
Cevicherías
You can't really go to Peru -- especially Lima -- without sitting down for an irresistibly fresh plate of ceviche, the tantalizing plate of raw fish and shellfish that's marinated in lime or lemon juice and chile peppers, and served with toasted corn, sweet potato, and raw onion. The citrus juices "cook" the fish, so it's not really raw the way sushi is. Plenty of restaurants of all stripes -- from lowly neighbourhood joints to snooty fine-dining spots popular with government bureaucrats and visiting businessmen -- offer ceviche, but you really have to go to an authentic cevichería for the true experience. In addition to Segundo Muelle and Canta Rana, others worth checking out are Punta Sal, Malecón Cisneros, block 3, at the corner of Trípoli in Miraflores (tel. 01/242-452), a small chain of informal cevicherías pretty similar to Segundo Muelle; and El-Kapallaq, 4844 Av. Petit Thouars, Miraflores (tel. 01/444-4149), an upscale seafood and ceviche restaurant that, in the opinion of some locals, has no equal in the city. Peruvians view ceviche as a daytime dish, and most cevicherías aren't open for dinner; for the full experience, go at lunchtime and order a classic pisco sour to start, followed by chicha morada (or, if you're feeling kinky, a bottle of curiously neon-yellow Inka Cola).
Peruvian Chifas
Chinatown (Barrio Chino), southeast of the Plaza de Armas and next to the Mercado Central (beyond the Chinese arch on Jr. Ucayali), is a good place to sample the Peruvian take on Chinese food. These chifas, inexpensive restaurants with similar menus, are everywhere in the small but dense neighbourhood. Among those worth visiting (generally open daily 9am-10pm or later) are Wa Lok, Jr. Paruro 864 (tel. 01/427-2750), probably the best known in the neighbourhood; Salón Capon, Jr. Paruro 864 (tel. 01/426-9286), known for its dim sum; and Salón China, Jr. Ucayali 727 (tel. 01/428-8350), which serves a good lunch buffet for US$9.
Family-Friendly Restaurants
Besides the restaurants listed below, families might head to "Little Italy," the restaurant row of pizzerias and pasta joints along a short pedestrian-only block leading off the Parque Kennedy (Parque Central) in Miraflores. There are a dozen places to choose from, most very popular with local families.
Antica Trattoria: Just a couple blocks from Barranco's Municipal Park, where families hang out, this elegantly rustic Italian restaurant specializes in gourmet pizzas from wood-fired ovens. Adventurous palates will be tempted by unusual combinations, while kiddies who can't stand eggplant on their pie can have good old cheese pizza or spaghetti. The restaurant is divided up into several small dining rooms, perfect for families worried about an outburst from an overly tired kid.
Café Suisse (La Tiendecita Blanca): A longtime favourite old-style cafe from the 1930s, "the little white store" has great lunch options, including sandwiches, quiches, and a good-value menú de la casa for US$10, and full breakfasts. The kids will be as tempted by the impressive lineup of homemade pastries, cakes, and breads as their parents will be. Waitresses are decked out in cute folkloric red-and-white dresses.
La Trattoria di Mambrino: A very friendly Italian restaurant with some of the best pizzas in town, La Trattoria offers plenty of more sophisticated dishes for stressed-out parents who can't look at another slice of pizza. It's very popular with young Limeño families. The excellent home-baked rustic bread will tide over young ones who've been forced to eat later than they're accustomed to.
Manos Morenas: Older kids who can stay up late should enjoy not only the authentic Peruvian cooking at this handsome 1900s house in a quiet part of Barranco, but also the nightly shows of costumed music and dance shows that are the restaurant's calling card. (Shows begin at 9pm Tues-Thurs, 10:30pm Fri-Sat.) It's the best option for families who want to drop in on a peña (live criollo music show) in Lima -- others are much more of the nightclub variety -- but the cover is a little stiff. |
|
Register
Log in
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
