"Astrid & Gastón While some say Gastón Acurio’s flagship restaurant may have lost ground to Virgilio Martinez’s Central, Acurio has been instrumentalin putting Lima on the map as South America’s culinary capital and has promoted its cuisine throughout the world. Since 2015—following worldwide travels promoting the nation’s gastronomy—he’s back at the helm at Astrid & Gastón. You can order meals à la carte, but to truly experience the master’s touch, try a (short or long) tasting menu. Gastón’s wife and partner, Astrid, is a celebrated pastry chef, so save room for dessert. Pisco cocktails are outstanding, and a superlative wine list offers more than 250 choices."

"Flower Power A few years back, when Lima's Central Restaurante was closed because of zoning issues, Peru 's celebrity chef, Gastón Acurio, was one of many who petitioned for it to be reopened. I knew that meant the young chef at Central, Virgilio Martinez, must be doing something truly special. Virgilio's restaurant is located in Lima's hip Barranco neighborhood. I stopped in solo one afternoon for lunch and was dazzled by the dishes his servers put in front of me: charred purple corn with scented octopus, lentils, yuzu, and bok choy; "mask of the suckling pig" (or pig face) with tart green apple, baby tomatoes, and galangal; and suckling goat with chickpeas, goat cheese, and lemon verbena. Each course was plated like a work of art and was a beautiful riddle on the palette. My enthusiasm for my food earned me a tour of the open kitchen and the rooftop garden, where servers pluck flowers or clip herbs for dishes like the citrus gelée with edible flowers (pictured above). Chef also gave me a tour of his incredible chocolate cellar, where he shows off his favorite chocolate bars from around the world."

"Fresh Exotic Fruit Juices To Limeños, nothing goes with fresh fruit juice better than sandwiches, at dinner, or after dinner, or in the afternoon, or even in the morning. In fact, sandwiches don’t have to count as a meal in Peru, while it’s perfectly acceptable to call a pitcher of thick papaya juice “dinner.” Juice bars are everywhere, but it’s best to go to a reputable place, such as La Lucha, where you can trust the quality of the water used and the restaurant’s sanitation. It’s more expensive than your average hole-in-the-wall—though it’s still less than $3 for a freshly pressed mixed passion fruit, mango, and orange juice—but you pay for quality. For a Peruvian specialty, try the exotic lucuma “juice” with milk (more like a butterscotch-maple smoothie). And remember that in Spanish when you order “tuna” you’re actually ordering sweet prickly pear, not fish juice. The sandwiches made from giant hunks of rotisserie pork, chicken, homemade hot pepper, olive, and creamy golf sauces are also some of the least expensive and filling meals in the area."

"Lima's Best Gelato Ice cream is cheaper than air conditioning in Lima, and while the city doesn’t boast much of the former, it has the latter in spades. Despite ice cream’s wide availability throughout the city, however, there’s really only one great place for incredible homemade, preservative-free frozen cream—4D. And thanks to the large Italian-Peruvian community, dense gelato, rather than fluffy American-style ice cream, is the frozen dessert of choice. The rich custard comes in traditional stracciatella, lampone, and pistachio, but also includes local, exotic jungle fruit flavors. Sample the lucuma and the mango before deciding on a multi-scoop cup of brownie, macaroon, and fior di panna. 4D also has salads and snacks, but it’s hard enough to choose between one of the over-the-top frozen confections (chocolate bombs, cakes, and sundaes) or a simple scoop without throwing savory options into the mix."

"Gourmet Dark Chocolate Truffles For the exquisite gold-wrapped truffles, nougats, toffees, cookies, and candies at this chocolate boutique, it’s worth stepping off Avenida Conquistadores. Bestselling truffle flavors include sweet cream manjar blanco , Porto, and Peruvian dark chocolate, but since the shop produces the locally-made petite sweets in small batches, it’s best to ask the staff for recommendations and not be disappointed when the Champagne truffle isn’t available."

"Maido—in testimony to Japanese immigrants’ integration into Lima’s overall culture and, indeed, the positive benefits of a multicultural city—offers Peruvian-Japanese fusion food at its finest in a sleek, stylish dining room. Though renowned for sushi and other surfside delights, turf is also well represented on the menu in the form of steak, duck, chicken, and tofu. First-time visitors, especially seafood lovers, would do well to try the tasting menu, sure to offer unexpected taste sensations, courtesy of Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura. Fusion desserts range widely in taste and style and include such delights as mango-filled cannelloni, the typical arroz con leche as a crumble with passion fruit sorbet, and yucca cake with pineapple in ginger and azuki ice cream. The cocktails here are never boring, either. Reservations recommended, though bar seating can often be snagged at the last minute."

"Alsatian Tarte Flambée and Charcuterie The Alsatian chef at this rustic French restaurant serves up generous portions of comfort food in the form of traditional flambéed mushroom tarts, hearty sausage choucroute, and almond trout with creamed potatoes. Start with the charcuterie plate of duck mousse with Cognac, country-style paté, foie gras, and pork rillettes, and enjoy the romantic ambiance as you wait for your margarita pizza from the wood-fired oven. Although the restaurant is French, the owner made his name with a pizza restaurant in Huaraz, Peru. You can always just stick with the duck à l’orange ."

"Nobu's First Sushi Restaurant Not many know that Matsuei was the first restaurant with the great Nobu of international sushi fame at the helm. Back when he had both a first and last name, he met a man while working in a sushi bar in Japan who offered to stake his solo business venture if he set up shop in Peru. And thanks to a large Japanese community in Lima, Matsuei was a success. On the menu you’ll find the original cream cheese, tempura, mango, and fusion rolls now loved the world over. But even purists will love the high quality local fish and seafood, especially the creamy sole and to-die-for scallops."

"Fine Dining from the Heart of the Jungle Voted one of the top restaurants in Lima, chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino’s modern Amazonian restaurant, Malabar, is worthy of the praise. From the à la carte menu, order the river snails with chorizo sausage and exotic, sweet-and-sour aguaje fruit, followed by the smoked duck with cacao sauce, avocado, and blue cheese. Or opt for the seasonal tasting menu featuring organic heart of palm salad with chestnut flour and paiche jungle fish with black hot peppers and nutty dale dale. In a city addicted to meat, Schiaffino’s vegetarian tasting menu is a delight. It includes black quinoa, Amazonian honey, and a starchy-sweet tuber dish translated as “seven textures of yucca.”"

"ElRincónQueNoConoces This gem in Lince is the spot in Lima for the kind of home-cooked comida criolla your Peruvian grandmother would make. Founded by the late Teresa Izquierdo Gonzales, who trained herself into a national treasure, it's the kind of unassuming spot where you need to arrive early and be prepared to wait—people travel far and wide to line up for this cooking."

"This favorite spot for ceviche is the better-mannered cousin of the original hole-in-the-wall, still in business over in the gritty La Victoria neighborhood. The legendary leche de tigre (ceviche in its own marinade) is life changing."

"You won't get very far in Peru before someone hands you a pisco sour, both the national cocktail and a subject of warring national pride with neighbor Chile (which claims the drink's origins as well). El Bolivarcito is widely considered to havethe country's best marriage of pisco, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white and Angostura bitters."

"It’s hard to believe master chef Rafael Osterling was a lawyer before he chose to study at the Cordon Bleu. But be glad he did, because Lima’s food scene wouldn’t be the same without him. Rafael uses native ingredients, yet adapts them to influences from Asia, Italy, and to Peruvian-Japanese Nikkei cuisine, creating a menu as delicious as it is eclectic. Seafood delights such as grilled octopus with chimichurri, or scallops with flying-fish roe in Amazon chilies, abound. The chef also works his modern sensibilities on traditional arroz con pato (duck cooked in black beer with herbed rice), lamb shank with honey and spices, and crispy suckling pig."

"This tight dining room does everything right, from plating up delicious Peruvian-Basque fare to offering some of the friendliest service in Lima. Opt for a tapas tasting (you’ll get to choose six items) or order from a tempting menu of appetizers, Spanish tortillas, entrées, and desserts. Better yet, go with a few friends and try a bit of everything. There are vegetarian choices, but Spanish sausages, hams, and shellfish (to mention just a handful of specialties) are spectacular. The wine list is brief but solid, well suited to this cozy gem tucked inside a renovated colonial building in kicky, bohemian Barranco."

"If you’re picking just one place for ceviche, many Limeños would recommend La Mar. Coming in at number 12 on the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, La Mar derives its fame from a creative approach to the classic dish, as well as fresh takes on traditional delicacies like causas (a seasoned mashed potato terrine), tiraditos (a marinated raw fish dish like ceviche, but usually served with a spicy sauce), and numerous other Peruvian favorites. As its maritime moniker suggests—La Mar means The Sea —most choices are seafood-based, but beef and chicken also appear on the menu; vegetarian versions of most items are available. No reservations are accepted and locals pack in, especially on weekends; have a pisco to assuage a most worth-it wait."

"The open-kitchen, low-key vibe at El Mercado is Rafael Osterling’s take on the traditional cevichería , but he offers some modern twists guaranteed to keep taste buds active and delighted. The restaurant’s name—Spanish for “The Market”—alludes to a commitment to constant communication with providers, ensuring that only the freshest ingredients make it to your table. Though El Mercado is justly hailed for ceviche, there is much more on the menu, including a wide variety of tiraditos , causas , sushi, grilled meat and fish, chaufa (fried rice), pastas, and Osterling’s rendition of other Peruvian comfort foods. Along with cuisine grounded in what’s found at farmers’ markets, catch-of-the-day specials are wide-ranging and likely to be winners."

"In Quechua, saqra means adevilor a mischief-making scamp. Here, the name refers to the playful, inspired ways the kitchen uses ingredients from all over Peru to create its dishes. Start out with trout tartare, featuring a touch of passion fruit sauce, or the bonito with tumbo fruit and avocado. Move on to slow-cooked pork adobo arequipeño , or swordfish with mashed cassava, and don’t miss the pineapple picarones (Peruvian-style doughnuts) at dessert. The dining room is brightly hued and as casual as the menu; the patio is a perfect spot for nibbling and sharing over smart cocktails."

"Bread-lovers call EPdC the best place for breakfast in Miraflores. Former actor and model Jonathan Day now helms a cozy, all-natural option for early morning, with excellent coffee and rich croissants, caprese sandwiches and a dazzling array of berry juices. All baked goods are made of 100% natural ingredients and subject to rigorous preparation including up-to-48-hour fermentations. Absolutely delicious."

"When you’re ready for a proper pisco, Miraflores’s PiscoBar is a capital choice, both for traditional cocktails as well as heady new creations. As is to be expected, owner Ricardo Carpio is a celebrated pisco expert, which makes this the ideal laboratory for personal tastings of some of the country’s premier brands. Happily, it’s also a fabulous place to eat, whether you’re craving tapas or a full-on meal. Dishes like the seafood risotto and the beef with tacu tacu (Peruvian refried beans and rice) make you wish you had a Peruvian grandmother; the welcoming staff provide a warm facsimile."