REVIEW: More places to eat in Lima, Peru

I'm shocked that a year has passed since I last went to Lima and I've only written two articles since then! As anyone who knows me knows, I'm in the running for being the least Peruvian Peruvian having never been anywhere outside of two cities there. On the plus side that means I do get to know Lima quite well and have reviewed some more restaurants this year! Click if you haven't already read my 2016 Lima Restaurants Review.

Segundo Muelle *****

We ordered causa de pescado for starter which is basically mashed potato with fish in a sauce on top. This was really nice and the only thing I could fault were huge chunks of onion that were still a bit on the raw side (which is usually my issue with chinese food). Next up was lomo saltado con quinoa a la huancaina. Lomo saltado is a really fail safe dish in general for Peru, so I was intrigued to see it served with quinoa a la huancaina as I'd never heard of that combination before. The lomo was delicious and had plenty of sauce and while the quinoa was equally scrummy but very liquid so it became somewhat of a soupy stew. Which is fine but I wouldn't have minded some more stodge to the base. The Segundo Muelle faces out to the sea and is quite chic so that makes it one of the pricier options. Peruvian portions are fairly generous (not to the extreme like Americans) so a starter and a main fed both my mother and me, along with some chifle to nibble (thinly sliced plantain dried into crisps).

Mirador, Club Nautico de la Marina *****

This was the final meal I had with my family before me and Mum headed to the airport. The location of this restaurant was lovely, overlooking the sea near to a Naval school. Mum was nervous and said we had to look smart to get in but she was just being over the top as usual. We ordered causa chorrillana which was like the one in Segundo Muelle, sushi, arroz chaufa, tacu tacu del maitre. Can you tell my uncle likes to eat a lot? All of them were great classics and I'll focus on the tacu tacu which I had been curious about for my entire holiday. As it turns out, tacu tacu is rice and beans smushed together into a rectangular blob. My particular variation was covered in a sauce that none of us could work out and also plenty of mozzarella cheese. It was comforting and a filling kind of dish however as I like to food spicy I found I had to add lime and aji to get a proper flavour kick.

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Doña Evita,  Mercado  de Jesús María ****

This is a stall based in the middle of the market where you can get good value and soak in a bit of local ambiance while you simultaneously sweat. I ordered a ronda which included arroz de marisco (seafood rice), chicharrones (basically calamari) and ceviche. It was a hearty dish for S/14 and I ended up taking home another meal's worth. It's great value but as you sit at a counter in a corridor of the market (keeping an eye on your handbag) its not the most relaxing or intimate of places.

Anita's Restaurant ***

Located on Pasaje Jose Olaya which is directly off of the Plaza Mayor de Lima. We went here for a cheap lunch menu at only S/10 and were even able to see the main square from our table. For starter I got tequeños (sticks of a won-ton pastry wrapped around cheese) which came with a nice salsa that said it was guacamole but it wasn't like what we are used to in the UK so either they ran out of guac or have a very different interpretation. My main was a causa de polla which was similarly pleasant. That with a big glass of chicha morada and ice was a perfectly acceptable meal to refuel after a long day out and about in the centre of town. The only negative I would say is that a cockroach scuttled into the premises which meant I had to call a waiter.

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For anyone who knows anything about Peruvians, we are super proud of our food and many genuinely believe it is the best cuisine on the planet! Therefore please take my star ratings as relative to each other - Anita's with 3 stars is not bad at all, it was a starter and a main for £2.38 in the centre of Lima which was perfectly acceptable and great value! Peru has a very clear class system (which maybe one day I will write about) which dictates the kinds of restaurants that people can afford to go to and how they will be perceived. Tourists are fortunate in the sense that they can come and go as they please with less judgement in various establishments so I like to show a variety of low to upper cost options in my reviews. Thanks for reading, hasta luego!