I came to Lima to eat, and eat I did. I was only visiting for a few days but the small sampling of local and national dishes I got to try will be sure to bring me back in the future for more.

While this is by no means a comprehensive list of what to eat in Lima, these are just the highlights from the Lima food tour my Peruvian friend and Lima resident took me on that I’m sure you’ll find delicious as well!

Anticucho

If there is a food cart, I will be there.

The sights, sounds– and more importantly– the smell of grilled food steaming out of a tiny street stall is the universal language of good eats and international gastronome heaven. 

Anticucho is grilled meat. Most commonly here, the meat of choice is beef heart.

The dish comes heaped with smothered potatoes and large kernel Peruvian corn (choclo). Fun fact: Peru has over 50 varieties of corn, one of which is used for its traditional drink Chicha Morada. 

Once the dish was cooked and acquired, there was just enough time to take a quick picture before it needed to be inhaled.

So there my friend and I were, just two grandmas at heart glamorously stooped over on a park bench next to the trash can, manspreading like no tomorrow with our plate hovering in between our legs so as to not fall victim to any of the mess that dripped from our ravenous hands, wolfishly devouring the plate of anticucho within minutes. 

Butifarra Sandwiches at Bar Restaurante Cordano

In the heart of the capital right across from the Government Palace lies the famous Bar Restaurante Cordano.

An establishment etched into Lima’s history since 1905 and having served nearly every Peruvian president in the last century, this eatery is a popular stop for both locals and tourists alike.

If there’s only time for one restaurant you have to go to while in Lima, Cordano is it.

Their specialty is the butifarra, a sandwich made from french bread that is stuffed with slices of pork and topped with salsa criolla (onion, lime, and pepper).

Simple, but satisfying with the salsa adding just the right kick.

Ceviche

Can you even say you went to Lima if you didn’t have ceviche?

I barely squeezed this in on the last night as we had been distracted with eating everything else in sight.

Thankfully, I got my beloved plate of ceviche and it was everything I had hoped and dreamed for my visit to Lima.

Soup

Disclaimer: I like, nay— love soup probably more than most people.

Cold weather? Soup. Hot weather? Soup.

At a popular Cuban restaurant in Miami specializing in sandwiches in the humid, smothering heat of summer? Soup.

So naturally, no visit to a new city would be complete without tasting the best dishes you can slurp.

Soup has only let me down once before in Mexico in which I got a bit of food poisoning, and Lima was far from it. 10/10 soup emojis.

Dessert at Tanta

I don’t really know how to preface this, but basically everything I write about from here on out was all eaten in one long, questionably gluttonous morning.

And this isn’t even everything we ate, just the ones I photographed before the food coma hit and I evolved into a zombie droid simply putting whatever food was placed in front of me through the mouth chute.

But we won’t talk about that. 

Anyway, it all started by heading to the Beverly Hills of Lima, the uber tourist district of Miraflores.

We began our caloric intake marathon at Tanta, a Peruvian hotspot for national dishes and fusion inspired concoctions alike.

But we weren’t here for the food.

We were here for dessert. At 10 a.m.

Enter a plethora of seemingly endless sweets and decedents.

Luckily, my friend was able to contain my “I need to eat everything” gene and we settled on these three winners: 

• Pie de limon: lemon mousse and custard with an almond crumble and meringue
• Mousse de chocolate fortunato: Peruvian chocolate mousse with cacao chips and meringue
• Alfajores: A shortbread cookie sandwiched with dulce de leche and topped with powdered sugar. 

Be still my heart.

Churros and Salchipapas at Manolo

Carrying on with our food tour through Miraflores, we walked down the main street and over to Manolo, a popular diner that specializes in cream-filled churros.

Freshly fried goodness rolled in sugar and stuffed with even more sugar? Count me in.

We came to Manolo for the churros as we were on our way to lunch with my friend and her family, but the fries and sausage combo that is salchipapas at Manolo were calling our names… so we got some to go along with our ever-growing pre-lunch churro appetizer too.

Picarones

Picarones are Peruvian donuts of sorts.

They’re made from sweet potato and squash, cut into small circles, and fried before being doused with a generous covering of syrup known as chancaca.

Not as fluffy as donuts but just as delicious.

Until next time, Lima, you delicious gem.

I hope this Lima food tour guide helps you navigate through the Peruvian capital’s many wonderful epicurean offerings.

May you eat to your heart and taste buds’ content and maybe even find a few more amazing places to eat along the way!

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