Skip to content
PeruvifyComing soon

Capital

What to Eat in Lima

Written by the Peruvify team in Lima, from the catalog of 205 dishes, drinks, desserts and fruits. Last updated .

What to eat in Lima is a lunch of ceviche, a criollo plate like causa or ají de gallina, and at least one night of either chifa or pollo a la brasa. The city is the country's biggest criollo kitchen and its biggest Chinese-Peruvian one. It is a poor place to judge the Andes or the Amazon.

Where Lima eats

Cevicherías do their real business at lunch. Miraflores and Barranco have the rooms with a view. The better test is a full counter, including in Surquillo and other neighborhoods that are not on a postcard. A huarique is a small, serious hole in the wall. The word is a compliment.

Chifa is Chinese-Peruvian cooking, and Lima treats it as local. Arroz chaufa and tallarín saltado are weeknight food. Pollerías roast chickens all evening. You can eat very well here without booking a tasting menu. The tasting menus exist. They are not the city.

From about May to October, Lima is gray. The food does not go out of season with the sun. December to April is simply a nicer walk between meals.

Plates to order in Lima

Northern stews and jungle leaf-parcels show up on some menus. Eat those on their own coast or river when you can. These are the Lima ones.

  • Ceviche #1

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    The lunch. Fish, lime, ají, red onion, usually with sweet potato and corn. In 2023 UNESCO inscribed the practices around preparing and eating ceviche.

    Raw fish cured in lime with chili and red onion.

    Ingredients: Fish, Lime, Ají limo, Red onion, Sweet potato, Corn.

  • Tiradito #6

    RareCoast (Costa)

    Fish cut like sashimi, in a citrus chili sauce. A Lima habit with a Japanese cut. Eat it the same day, same rules as ceviche.

    Thin sashimi-style fish in spicy citrus sauce.

    Ingredients: Fish, Lime, Ají amarillo, Ginger.

  • Causa Limeña #5

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Cold mashed yellow potato, layered. The catalog filling is chicken. Ask if you do not eat meat. The name is already telling you the city.

    Layered yellow potato terrine with chicken or tuna.

    Ingredients: Yellow potato, Ají amarillo, Lime, Avocado, Chicken.

  • Lomo Saltado #2

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    The wok plate: beef, tomato, onion, soy, fries and rice. One of the clearest criollo-and-Chinese meetings on a menu.

    Wok-fried beef with tomato, onion and fries.

    Ingredients: Beef, Tomato, Red onion, Soy sauce, Potato, Rice.

  • Ají de Gallina #3

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Mild yellow chili and shredded chicken. A good order for the person who wants flavor without a pepper contest.

    Creamy shredded chicken in yellow chili sauce.

    Ingredients: Chicken, Ají amarillo, Bread, Milk, Pecans, Rice.

  • Arroz Chaufa #17

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Chifa fried rice. Ask if you need it without chicken. The egg and the soy are the base. The meat is a choice in better rooms and a default in busy ones.

    Chinese-Peruvian fried rice.

    Ingredients: Rice, Egg, Spring onion, Soy sauce, Chicken.

  • Tallarín Saltado #18

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Wok noodles with beef. If you already ordered lomo saltado, this is the same idea on pasta. Pick one on a short stay, or share both.

    Wok-tossed noodles with beef and vegetables.

    Ingredients: Noodles, Beef, Soy sauce, Tomato.

  • Pollo a la Brasa #19

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Quarter chicken, fries, green sauce. Dinner. A pollería will do this better than a place that also does fifteen other things.

    Rotisserie chicken with fries and green sauce.

    Ingredients: Chicken, Potato, Ají, Salad.

  • Anticuchos #83

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Beef heart skewers after dark. Street grills and small bars. Not a starter you accidentally order. The menu says anticuchos.

    Grilled beef heart skewers.

    Ingredients: Beef heart, Ají panca, Potato, Corn.

  • Leche de Tigre #139

    RareCoast (Costa)

    A small glass of the ceviche marinade: lime, fish, chili. People drink it beside the plate or on its own. It is fish, not a palate cleanser of juice.

    Ceviche's spicy citrus marinade, served as a shot.

    Ingredients: Lime, Fish, Ají limo, Celery.

Something sweet, still Lima

  • Suspiro a la Limeña #104

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Dulce de leche under a port meringue. The name means a Lima woman's sigh. Order one for the table.

    Dulce de leche topped with port meringue.

    Ingredients: Milk, Egg, Sugar, Port wine.

  • Picarones #105

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    Squash and sweet potato doughnuts in a chancaca syrup. Night-market and fair food. Eat them hot.

    Squash and sweet potato doughnuts with syrup.

    Ingredients: Squash, Sweet potato, Flour, Chancaca.

  • Butifarra #85

    CommonCoast (Costa)

    A ham sandwich with onion salsa, if you want something smaller than a chicken. It is a Lima counter classic, and it is not vegetarian.

    Ham sandwich with salsa criolla.

    Ingredients: Bread, Ham, Red onion, Lime.

What Lima should not be blamed for

Rocoto relleno is Arequipa. Juane is the jungle. Pachamanca is an Andean pit, not a Miraflores technique. You can find versions of all three in the capital, and you should still read the city that owns them: Arequipa, Iquitos, Cusco.

If you do not eat meat, Lima is workable and full of traps. The vegetarian guide is the filter. Fish eaters can stay inside the pescatarian list and have a very good weekend.

Questions

Where do I eat ceviche in Lima?

At lunch, in a cevichería that is already crowded. Miraflores and Barranco are convenient. A full room in a less famous district is a better sign than an empty terrace.

What is chifa?

Chinese-Peruvian cooking, developed in Peru and eaten like neighborhood food. Fried rice and soy-sauce noodles are the entry. It is not a rare fusion tasting. It is Tuesday.

What is a huarique?

A small, unfancy place that cooks one thing seriously. The room may look plain. The plate is the reason people crossed town.

Is Lima only ceviche?

No. Ceviche is the lunch people tell you about. The city also runs on chicken, chifa, sandwiches and criollo stews. Give it three meals before you decide you understand it.

Keep reading