Adventures for us aren’t only the physical kind. We love food and it can be just as thrilling to explore the world through its culinary delights, one bite at a time. The tasting menu at Central is quite literally, a journey through Peru’s diverse ecosystems as defined by different elevations. It’s also currently ranked as the best restaurant in South America.
We had snagged an early dinner reservation for our last night in Lima. This was in October 2021, a few months after the country had re-opened to tourism. I think we were lucky that the restaurant was even open. Mil, its sister restaurant near Cusco, where I had also hoped to eat, was still closed.
Central was less than 2 miles from where we were staying at the JW Marriott Hotel so we decided to head out on foot and make an afternoon of it. We walked south along El Malecón, the paved, cliff-top trail that runs about 6 miles with stunning vistas of the Pacific Ocean. It ended in Malecón de la Reserva, where we crossed the freeway and officially entered the Barranco district. Here, we continued down Avenida San Martin until we reached a little greenway and stopped at an eclectic shop called Dédalo. It’s a fun store to browse (or buy) unique arts and crafts.
After walking around the area circling Barranco’s main square, we headed for the restaurant. We walked past what we thought was the address 3 to 4 times but we couldn’t find it. As it turns out, the sign is covered and removed right before the restaurant opens and the gate is pushed back. It’s a good thing to know we weren’t going crazy.
We walked up the driveway, through a small garden, and entered the restaurant, a modern, glass-enclosed space. Our table was towards the back, not far from the kitchen so we could catch glimpses of the action in between courses.
We chose the mundo mater tasting option—14 courses through 14 ecosystems —and paired it with spirits and wines from South America.
There were so many things that I loved about the Central experience, and what differentiated it from other fine-dining restaurants we’ve eaten at: first, the menu told a story and paid homage to hyper-local ingredients—it’s not just a collection of superbly well-executed dishes; second, each course was introduced by a different member of the team; third, they brought out the ingredients so you could see the key elements used to prepare each dish; and lastly, the unique, often whimsical, presentation of each course had us wondering how they were going to showcase the next item on the menu.
For example, the maitre’d brought out a tray that included a section of an arapaima, a large, freshwater fish native to the Amazon river basin, so that we could see what was in the dish called Amazon Connection. He then finished the plating table side.
The course called mil centro showcased the oca, a potato-like tuber that’s popular in South America but relatively unseen on menus in the USA, cooked in chaco clay—a mini pachamanca! It was so clever.
Desserts were no less feasts for the senses. Sacred Valley came in a serving bowl that looked like a tree stump filled with shades of green. The muña, or Andean mint, combined with the chirimoya and shaved ice served as a great palate cleanser before we were presented with our final dish of the evening.
Cacoa Chuncho was a tribute to the whole cacao fruit, utilizing the membrane that covers each seed, the shell and the seed itself to create several mini-courses that are a chocolate lover’s dream.
I bought a copy of their cookbook for my brother. We kept our menu, and they gave us handmade paper produced from plants that represented different ecosystems of the country. After settling the bill, we posed for some pictures at the entryway before calling an Uber to take us back to our hotel.
Our meal lasted about 3.5 hours. With the exchange rate, it was quite a steal compared to how much restaurants of similar caliber in the US charge for their prix fixe menus. Overall, what an amazing, worthwhile and unforgettable experience.
Dinner at Central was one of many great meals during our stay in Lima. Read about the rest here and learn more about our Peru adventures here.