Falstaff Magazin International Nr. 1/2022

food / PERUVIAN

food / PERUVIAN RESTAURANTS summer on the patio next to the swimming pool. Pacifico also has outlets in Milan and Porto Cervo, Sardinia. BERLIN LILA, lilarestaurant.com If you prefer an intimate place and great cooking, join Peruvian chef Omar and his Spanish wife Carlotta in this small, lively spot in Berlin’s centre, either at the open kitchen bar or at one of the ten tables. Enjoy lots of seafood and a tender pork belly in Cognac jus. ZURICH BARRANCO, barranco.ch The owner is Swiss, the chef is Peruvian. Of course, you can order ceviche, tiraditos and chicken – but the vegetarian samplers are the sensation here: coriander stew with mushrooms, pickles, corncake or crispy marinated aubergine cubes with pecan nuts. LONDON LIMA, limalondon.com/floral-by-lima Founded 10 years ago, Lima undoubtedly serves the best Peruvian cuisine in the UK. Order the tasting menu with scallop tostada, seabream ceviche, beef tartare causa and suckling pig. If you prefer it less formal, book at sister restaurant Floral: same owner, same quality. PARIS VILLA MIKUNA, villamikuna.fr Opened late last year, this is the Peruvian in-place at Pigalle. A tapas and cocktail bar with live South American music and a restaurant with spicy guacamole and lots of ceviche. Go for the king shrimp ceviche with coconut and pineapple and plantain fritters filled with pulled veal. ROME PACIFICO ROMA, wearepacifico.it In an Art Nouveau palazzo, a stone’s throw from Piazza del Popolo, one can find fine dining at its best. Start at the Pisco bar and then enjoy nikkei tapas and tacos – in winter in the magnificent dining hall, in One of Lila’s colourful seafood creations in Berlin. MADRID TAMPU, tampurestaurante.com The best Peruvian restaurant in Spain – in the heart of Salamanca. Wooden tables, impeccable design and great food. Order raw scallop in cream made with coconut, chilli and jungle turmeric to whet your appetite, then sea bass with leche de tigre in a nest of green plantain. Spectacular. DUBAI COYA, coyarestaurant.com/dubai Coya promises to bring the spirit of the Incas to the Middle East – and it delivers: from patata frita (sweet potato with tamarind, soy and mint) to rey congrejo Inset: A novel way of presenting lamb shanks at Lima London. Below: The restaurant’s blue-themed interior. Photos: Lila Berlin, Safia Shakarchi, Richard Haughton, Pastuso/Leigh Griffiths, supplied 82 falstaff mar – jun 2022

Diners enjoy punchy décor and an open kitchen in Melbourne’s Pastuso. Inset: Fresh scallops at Pastuso. (Josper grilled King crab with red miso and ajo) and pollo a la parilla (poussin with coriander). You also find Coya in Abu Dhabi and Doha. SINGAPORE CANCHITA, canchita.sg Close to the botanic gardens, this oasis of calm is waiting to be discovered. Try the five-course tasting menu which features Peruvian highlights like ceviche clásico, arroz con mariscos and conchinito criollo. SHANGHAI COLCA Cocktail bar to the left, private dining to the right plus a room with 100 covers at the end – an impressive Peruvian place with a Shanghai accent. Enjoy dinner, but leave room for Eduardo’s special flan for dessert, offered in all of his nine Shanghai restaurants. SYDNEY NIKKEI BAR & RESTAURANT, nikkeibar.com.au Small, but impressive quality in Surry Hills – take a seat at the sushi bar or at the communal table. Most nikkei dishes are served tapas-style. Order octopus ceviche, Hokkaido scallop, potato croquettes, pork rib eye and dulce de leche ice cream – all served family-style to share. MELBOURNE PASTUSO, pastuso.com.au Street food and ceviches are central to chef Samuel Riva’s cooking in this restaurant gem close to the Yarra River and Docklands. Stick to the Feast of the Andes menu and get a taste of sea, mountain and jungle produce – start or finish with one of the eleven Pisco cocktails. NEW YORK MISSION CEVICHE, missionceviche.com Starting out with a string of small ceviche bars, chef Luis Chavez has finally opened his first sit-down restaurant on the Upper East Side. Of course, ceviche is central to the menu, but don’t miss out on the arroz con mariscos or the seco norteno, delicious short ribs with coriander sauce. SAN FRANCISCO PIQUEOS, piqueos.com This Peruvian gem hides in suburban San Francisco, specialising in serving tapas-sized delicacies mostly from the nearby Pacific. Don’t miss their famous ceviche mixto with red snapper, mussels, clam, shrimp, red onions, rocoto peppers, coriander and lime. It tastes as good as it sounds. MIAMI LA MAR, mandarinoriental. com Chef Gastón Acurio has created his most enjoyable restaurant outside of Peru here at Biscayne Bay, with an unbeatable sea view. Everything you dreamed about Peruvian cuisine is on the menu – from ceviche and tiradito to empanada and a jumbo tiger shrimp with anticuchera sauce, chimichurri and yellow potatoes. HONOLULU MIMI’S PERUVIAN CUISINE, mimisperuviancuisine.com This place, close to Ala Moana beach is run by the eponymous Mimi, a Peru national who knows how to do ceviche and – if seafood is not enough – arroz con pollo, the famous coriander chicken. Hans Mahr is our resident restaurant expert. He has eaten his way around the world several times and we love his wry and often refreshingly sideways take on the international world of dining out. < mar – jun 2022 falstaff 83