Peruvian food has stood out in recent years from the rest thanks to its wonderful dishes. However, all this fame and recognition would not have been possible without thanks to people like Gaston Acurio, Virgilio Martines and Mitsuharu Tsumura. Who thanks to their influence made it possible for the world to take a look at the food that Peru had to offer. These great chefs own the best restaurants in Peru and each one of them has a restaurant that is among the best 50 restaurants in the world. If you are in Lima and want to try the best of Peruvian cuisine, we recommend you book a tour with Food Tour Lima.
1. Central Restaurant
Central is the restaurant of chef Virgilio Martinez. This Peruvian chef was interested in all the varieties of plants that existed in Peru but were not yet used in gastronomy. In this way, inside his central restaurant, he created dishes with ingredients from different altitudes in Peru, this means that with ingredients that he found from 0 to 99 meters above sea level, he made a dish. With ingredients that he found from 100 meters to 500 meters above sea level, he made another dish and so on.
This caught the attention of food experts around the world and made the fame of his restaurant explode. The central restaurant is located in the district of Barranco, in Lima, very close to the sea. The location of this restaurant is perfect since the Barranco district is a bohemian neighborhood where art flourishes and this can also be seen expressed in the streets with the beautiful murals and in all the new businesses that open every month. Virgilio Martinez for his part is currently a gastronomy star and his face appears in several Netflix series.
2. Maido Restaurant
Maido is the restaurant of chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, who is Peruvian but of Japanese origin. This talented cook put together his experiences and turned them into food. His food is a true fusion between what is known as Peruvian gastronomy and Japanese food. With this excellent fusion nothing can go wrong. This chef knew how to perfectly combine the flavors to prepare dishes that in Peru are known as Nikei, a word used to refer to people who immigrated from Japan to Peru and also to their relatives.
The Maido restaurant is located in a privileged area of Lima, in the Miraflores district. This restaurant is beautiful inside and out. Many people even visit this place to take photos at the entrance next to the “50 Best Restaurants in the World” plaque. To get a table at Maido you must make a reservation at least 2 months in advance. However, if you find yourself in Lima and want to go spontaneously, you can try your luck and maybe you can eat at the bar.
3. Astrid & Gaston Restaurant
Astrid y Gaston is the restaurant of Gaston Acurio and his wife Astrid who together have built a gastronomy empire all over the world. This couple has more than 50 restaurants in almost all continents and some of these restaurants have become franchises such as “Tanta”, “Chicha”, among others.
Gaston Acurio is one of the most important people when it comes to Peruvian gastronomy. He was the person who started the entire culinary revolution that managed to position Peruvian food as one of the best in the world and thanks to him today thousands of tourists visit Peru in search of delicious flavors.