Lima · PerúTravel Food Guide
Eat Lima
like a Limeño.
The honest, practical guide to real Lima food — from the $5 menú del día to the cevicherías locals actually queue for. No tourist traps. No upset stomachs.
Written in Lima · Updated 2026
The Essentials
Eight guides to eating in Lima — without the rookie mistakes.
№ 01 · Food Culture
The $5 Lunch: How to Eat Like a Local with the Peruvian Menú del Día
Every weekday from noon to 3pm, Lima offers a near-secret deal: a three-course homemade lunch for the price of a Starbucks coffee. Here's how it works, what to order, and how not to be charged the gringo price.
№ 02 · Safety
Is Lima street food safe?
An honest, location-by-location guide. What to eat, what to skip, and how to read a cart in five seconds.
№ 03 · Practical
How to order food in Lima.
The 18 Spanish phrases that get you the local menu, the local price, and the right amount of chili.
№ 04 · Beginner
Peruvian food, 101.
The ten dishes you'll meet first, in plain English. What's in them, what they cost, where to find a real one.
№ 05 · District
Miraflores food guide.
Where to actually eat in Lima's tourist district — and which famous spots to walk past.
№ 06 · District
Barranco food guide.
Bohemian eats, ceviche bars and the local cafés behind the murals.
№ 07 · Safety
Food safety, advanced.
Beyond ice cubes — what to look for in a Lima kitchen, ceviche counter, or carretilla.
№ 08 · Mornings
Breakfast in Lima.
Pan con chicharrón, tamales, café pasado — what Limeños actually eat before work.
Where to Eat
Two districts, two universes.
You don't need to see all of Lima to eat well. You need to know which two neighborhoods to plan your days around.
Field Notes
Four things to know before you order.
01
Menú del día
A full three-course lunch for S/15–25 at almost any local restaurant, between 12:00 and 15:30.
Read more →02
Food safety
Lima street food can be excellent — if you know what to look for. Our honest take, by location.
Read more →03
How to order
A handful of phrases will change how every restaurant treats you. Learn the right ones.
Read more →04
Breakfast
Skip the hotel buffet. Pan con chicharrón and other morning rituals worth setting an alarm for.
Read more →The Canon
Ten dishes you came to Lima for.
Order these in the right place, in the right order, and you've eaten Lima.
№ 01 · Cold
Ceviche
Lima's signature dish. Fresh fish, lime, chili, onion. Order it before 3pm.
№ 02 · Cold
Tiradito
Sashimi-cut fish in leche de tigre, no onion. Ceviche's elegant cousin.
№ 03 · Wok
Lomo saltado
Stir-fried beef with tomato, onion, fries. The most ordered dish in Peru.
№ 04 · Criolla
Ají de gallina
Shredded chicken in a creamy yellow chili sauce. Comfort food, perfected.
№ 05 · Wood Fire
Pollo a la brasa
Wood-fired rotisserie chicken. Peru's national bird.
№ 06 · Charcoal
Anticuchos
Grilled beef-heart skewers. Don't ask what it is until after the first bite.
№ 07 · Cold
Causa limeña
Cold yellow-potato layers with tuna or chicken. Light, fresh, Peruvian.
№ 08 · Wok
Arroz chaufa
Wok-fried Cantonese-Peruvian rice. The cheapest hot dinner in town.
№ 09 · Morning
Pan con chicharrón
The Lima breakfast sandwich — crispy pork on a francés roll with salsa criolla.
№ 10 · Sweet
Picarones
Sweet-potato + pumpkin doughnut rings drowned in chancaca syrup. Eaten at night.
Glossary
The eight kinds of Lima restaurant.
Knowing what's behind the door tells you what to order — and how much it should cost.
№ 01
Huarique
A hidden, locals-only joint. Best food in Lima is here, not on Av. Larco.
№ 02
Chifa
Cantonese-Peruvian. The cheapest serious dinner in any neighborhood.
№ 03
Pollería
Wood-fired chicken specialist. Where Lima families eat on Sunday.
№ 04
Cevichería
Lunch-only fish house. The format is built around morning-fresh seafood.
№ 05
Nikkei
Japanese-Peruvian. Maido and Costanera 700 invented half of modern Lima.
№ 06
Sanguchería
Sandwich shop. Pan con chicharrón, butifarra, asado — the other lunch.
№ 07
Picantería
Andean cooking. Adobo, ocopa, chicha de jora — the regional canon.
№ 08
Carretilla
Street cart. Anticuchos, picarones, emoliente — Lima after dark.
The Address Book
Where we actually eat.
Seven honest fichas — from a S/20 Surquillo huarique to the world's #5 tasting menu.
Surquillo · Cevichería · S/20–35
Al Toke Pez
Tomás Matsufuji's 12-seat counter. Lunch only.
Miraflores · Criolla · S/35–60
Rincón Chami
The Calle Esperanza lunchroom since 1957.
San Isidro · Pollería · S/45–80
Tori
Yaquir Sato's wood-fired chicken. Reservations advised.
Miraflores · Nikkei tasting · USD 280+
Maido
World's #5 in 2026. Book three months out.
Miraflores · Casual nikkei · S/40–70
Doomo Saltado
Lima's best mid-range lomo saltado.
Cercado · Chifa · S/15–28
Chifa Chung Tong
A real Barrio Chino lunch.
Breña · Anticuchería · S/20–35
Anticuchos Bran
Sit-down charcoal anticuchos. Open since 1956.