Astrid y Gaston
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Experience
Lima’s pioneer gourmet restaurant, founded by cordon bleu-trained, multi-award-winning team Gaston and Astrid Acúrio who invented Novoandina cuisine in the 1990s.
Adult price: £50
Good for age: 18+
Travel bucket list idea:
Lima’s best food & drink
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Last updated: 18 March, 2024
If there’s one reason to stop over in Lima it’s the food. The city has some of the finest restaurants in the world – with chefs like Virgilio Martínez, Jaime Pesaque and Gastón Acurio ranked in the World’s ‘Fifty Best’ on the exclusive San Pellegrino list.
What makes Lima chefs so exciting is their virtuoso fusion of unique national ingredients with Asian and European techniques. Star chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino has a plate on his degustation comprising only potatoes arranged to look like beach pebbles – all from different Andean locations with astonishing, divergent flavours.
Peruvian-Japanese Micha Tsumura serves fiery tiger milk tuna tiraditos alongside river-fish sushi, and 50-hour-cooked Amazonian beef.
You could spend a week in the gastro-hub suburbs of San Isidro, Miraflores and Barranco and get a mere taste of the exciting scene. But be sure to dine in Astrid y Gaston – the pioneer of Lima gastronomy and Central, by Michelin-starred Virgilio Martínez.
For a sense of the huge variety of ingredients Lima’s top chefs draw on visit Mercado No1 de Surquillo – packed with exotic fruit, vegetables and medicinal plants. It’s also a good spot to sample simple ceviche, but don’t focus on the street food – Lima’s all about fine dining.
Recommendations
Central
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Experience
The flagship restaurant of one of Lima’s most famous chefs, Michelin-starred Virgilio Martínez who has restaurants all over the world.
Adult price: £50
Good for age: 18+
Kjolle
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Experience
Pía León honed her skills at Astrid y Gastón and Central. Her food focuses on the breadth of Peru’s ingredients – with a degustation for vegetarians and another with sea bass and razor clams, Peruvian tubers including yucca, olluco and potato, quinoa-like kañiwa and duck, and duck cured with squid ink.
Adult price: £50
Good for age: 18+
Maido
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Experience
Astonishing Peruvian Japanese fusion or Nikkei cooking from Micha Tsumura. Three-times winner of the best restaurant in Latin America.
Adult price: £70
Good for age: 18+
Maras
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Experience
Probably the best hotel restaurant in Peru, helmed by Cordon Bleu and triple Michelin-star El Celler de Can Roca-trained Rafael Piquera who is famous for his seafood and causa salads.
Adult price: £50
Good for age: 18+
Mayta
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Experience
Famous for its ceviches and with a legendary Pisco Sour cocktail bar and run by rising star Jaime Pesaque, who has an empire of restaurants around the world.
Adult price: £50
Good for age: 18+
Osso
Lima, Lima Region, Peru
Experience
Renzo Garibaldi’s award-winning butcher’s deli come restaurant is for carnivore’s only – with a meaty restaurant and a much-celebrated degustation menu served for 12 at one table.
Adult price: £50
Good for age: 18+
Logistics
Price from: £35
Minimum age: 0
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
Lima’s gastronomic scene is vibrant – with new openings every month. Book tables before you arrive in the long-established favourites like Astrid y Gastón, Central, Tsumura’s Maido and Pedro Miguel Schiaffino’s Amaz. All are in the southern suburbs between San Isidro, Barranco and Miraflores where the scene is hottest. Book a hotel there and ask the concierge for the latest. The excellent Westin hosts Rafael Piqueras’s seafood restaurant Maras.
There are street food tours in Lima – offered in many cheaper hotels and hostels. It’s worth visiting Mercado No1 de Surquillo to see the exotic ingredients, sample a streetside- ceviche or lunch on a Butifarra pulled-pork sandwich. But don’t focus on the street food when you can eat at one of the best restaurants in the world for the price of a mediocre meal back home. Lima is all about world-class, contemporary cooking.
Who to go with: organised tours
Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity
Lima
Discover one of Lima’s most interesting neighbourhoods – artsy and bohemian Barranco while sampling up to 14 Peruvian flavors (dishes, fruits, drinks).
Meet with our local hosts to learn and witness the preparation of the famous ceviche, lomo saltado and pisco sour with live cooking demos. But that's not all – other flavors will be waiting for you!
Learn the history, and culture behind each dish that you will have the chance to taste during this 4-hour walking food tour in Barranco.
This is the perfect tour to learn all about Peru's most emblematic dishes, and enjoy a pleasing and dynamic morning-afternoon or evening in the most walkable district of Lima.
Please note that depending on the day, the itinerary and/or food served can slightly change.
Price $99
Min age 0
Rating 4.94 / 5 [1040 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Lima
The best of Lima in one evening: from a trendy beachfront cocktail at sunset, a lush garden stop amid an eclectic mix of art and architecture accompanied by a local chef's signature dishes, see the sights and taste the flavors of Peru’s history and culture through its cuisine. Try exquisite local recipes below the stars amid illuminated pre-Incan ruins and walk the bohemian streets of the Barranco district. Hands-on, laid back, and chic you’ll get a feel for a different side of Lima.
Price $145
Min age 0
Rating 4.92 / 5 [437 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Lima
This is the ultimate food and city tour. It includes exclusive restaurants, trendy districts, top must-see attractions and hands-on activities. Make the most out of Lima in one day. Enjoy 5 stops spread between 3 districts that include a visit to an organic, Peruvian coffee roasterie, and a fruit tasting and tour at a local market. Have fun with a pisco tasting, hands-on cocktail class and cebiche class with a professional chef, and end the day with a gourmet lunch and dessert at a top restaurant in Lima with views of pre-Incan ruins.
Price $145
Min age 0
Rating 4.97 / 5 [401 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Lima
Discover Lima’s vibrant street food, market and old eateries scene on this immersive walking guided tour, where every bite tells a story of Peru’s rich culinary heritage. Wander through bustling streets and hidden local spots as you sample an array of authentic flavors, from sizzling anticuchos (grilled skewers) to freshly made creole churros and tamal.
Led by a passionate local foodie, you’ll explore Lima's largest market, meet friendly vendors, and learn the cultural significance of each dish. Along the way, you will also be able to spot iconic landmarks such as Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral of Lima, the Government Palace and the San Francisco Basilica.
Come hungry, leave full, and take home a taste of Lima’s incredible food culture!
Price $59
Min age 0
Rating 4.89 / 5 [375 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Lima
Learn how to make your own chocolate on a 2-hour workshop at the ChocoMuseo in Lima. This is a hands-on activity, starting from the cocoa tree to the finished product passing by every step of the whole chocolate-making process. Moreover, discover the history of cocoa and the reasons why Peru is known for its fine chocolates!
Price $34
Min age 5
Rating 4.83 / 5 [218 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
