Amazing is the most accurate description of just how good ceviche is in Peru. If you haven’t had the good fortune of travelling to Peru and trying ceviche, then the best way to describe this national dish is as a combination of fresh sashimi, mixed with sweet lime and spicy chile based sauces, accompanied with freshly cut peruvian aji peppers and onions. The ceviche is then garnished with succulent giant corn kernels and baked sweet potato. And one more thing…Once the ceviche is eaten, you are left with a delicious soupy concoction that perfectly combines all the sweet, savory and spicy flavors. The Peruvians call this Leche de Tigre (Tiger’s Milk). This soupy leftover is a mix of fantastic flavors and is the perfect way to finish off your ceviche meal.
Following is a short list of some of our favorite ceviche restaurants in Peru. The capital Lima is the country’s gastronomic center, with several restaurants that regularly make the Top 10 List of the world’s best restaurants. Most of our list is therefore in Lima.
Click to open the Interactive Map of Ceviche Restaurants in Lima, Peru
But also included are several lower profile but excellent restaurants in the country’s northern provinces. In El Norte (The North), the ceviche is just as good, only the ambiance will change from a more polished Lima establishment to a bungalow on the beach with your feet in the sand.
Eduardo El Brujo
Auxiliar Panamericana Nte. 1973, Zorritos
There’s a hidden gem for ceviche lovers in the tiny coastal town of Zorritos in northern Peru (see image above). A short turn off the main road towards the beach, a block or two down the unpaved road, you will find Eduardo El Brujo (Edward The Witch).
They serve platters of ceviche that would cost you 3 times the price in a slick Lima restaurant. The ceviche crab claws are outrageously delicious, and would fetch $10 dollars a piece in any restaurant back in the capitol city of Lima. If your fortunate to make the trip to Northern Peru, El Brujo serves an entire bonanza platter of ceviche for about $20 dollars that will satisfy 2 or 3 hungry ceviche lovers. You also probably won’t mind having a cold 20 oz Pilsner beer with your feet in the sand. And if your a surfer, you might get lucky and catch the firing left point break (add surf icon) directly in front of the restaurant.
La Mar
Av. Mariscal La Mar 770, Miraflores, Lima 15074
La Mar is the flagship restaurant of Peru’s most accomplished chef-restauranteur, Gaston Acurio. The food, presentation and ambiance are equally creative and excellent. La Mar’s dishes and decor are full of flavor and color.
This would be our recommendation as the first ceviche meal for any first time visitor to Lima. Eating at La Mar is a one of kind experience for its all around sensory enjoyment. Eating here will give you a sense of the rich and varied culinary culture of Peru. The restaurant, not surprisingly, is very popular with locals and tourists. So there is a good chance you will have to wait a little while for a table. However, the wait will give you time to drink a wonderfully refreshing pisco sour at the bar, where you can contemplate the parade of exotic and beautiful meals being served.
Isolina
Av. San Martín 101, Barranco, Lima
A mix of traditional and modern Peruvian cuisine, Isolina is a must stop food destination in the trendy Barranco district of Lima. The restaurant has a modern tavern style decor and ambiance, with the bar and a few tables on the first floor, and the full dining area on the second floor.
The ceviche is no doubt excellent. However, at Isolina their specialty is a range of traditional Peruvian dishes, many of which are not seafood based. Potatoes originated in Peru, so you certainly should try their mouth watering papa rellena (stuffed potato). Another traditional staple of Peruvian cuisine is lomo saltado (saute filet), which is filet cooked in a wok with aji peppers, onions and potatoes, and is a good example of Peru’s rich culinary heritage of incorporating the cooking of Chinese immigrants into their own local traditions.
Canta Rana
Genova 101, Barranco, Lima 15063
Another tavern style restaurant in Barranco is Canta Rana (Singing Frog). Like most Lima restaurants, you will have a variety of great ceviche, from various fish to shelfish options. Canta Rana is a great option for a very casual dining experience. The restaurant takes on a more cantina like ambiance on the weekends, when it can be crowded with patrons equally interested in food and drink. The main location is in an old building square in the middle of Barranco, but they also have a small food booth with tables in one of the alleys of Barranco’s market. The market location is a great option if you want to avoid the crowds and have a ceviche or Leche de Tigre all by yourself.
Barra Chalaca
Av. Camino Real 1239, San Isidro, Lima 15073
Barra Chalaca is Gaston Acurio’s latest addition to Lima’s booming gastronomic scene. A small restaurant and bar with patio seating, located in the heart of San Isidro’s wealthy business and residential district.
While the venue is small and casual, the food is outsized in terms of it’s quality and presentation. The ceviche soup concoction, Leche de Tigre, is served in a massive cocktail glass and is a must order if you dine at Barra Chalaca. Although not expensive, the restaurant is geared more towards the well healed lunch patrons of San Isidro and is open only until 5 pm.
La Picanteria
Francisco Moreno 388, Surquillo, Lima 15047
Picantería in Peruvian Spanish means something along the lines of a traditional lunch restaurant. These type of restaurants often serve different set menu meals, often spicy as the name picantería would suggest.
The restaurant La Picantería is a more modern take on this traditional style restaurant. The owners converted a city block home in the Surquillo district into a restaurant, much as you might find in any Peruvian neighborhood. However, the ambiance is geared to the upper middle class with a more sophisticated taste. They have a small, charming and hip bar at the front of the house.
The specialty is fish, seafood and ceviche selected from each day’s fresh catch. The restaurant has a large selection to choose from for their catch of the day menu. Guests can decide how they want their fish or shellfish prepared. Ceviche variations, grilled, baked or a combination of different preparations.
Chez Wong
Enrique León García 114, La Victoria, Lima 15034
Old school. Made famous by Anthony Bourdain in one of his trips to Peru. Out of the way. But worth the visit if your on a foodie tour of Lima.
Javier Wong, the owner-chef of Chez Wong, serves his daily selected menu without any input from his patrons. In other words, you’ll be eating whatever Chef Wong sends to your table, located in his private home’s dining area. And he will prepare and cook everything right in front of you in his open kitchen, flaming wok in hand. You can count on platters of ceviche, cooked fish of the day and delicious fresh local ingredients of his choosing.
El Tranqui
Barrio Centro 994, Lobitos 001
This small patio restaurant, family owned and run by the man known as El Tranqui (The Chill Guy), is located in a semi-ghost village square on the north side of the town of Lobitos. If you venture to Lobitos in the north of Peru, you are most likely an avid surfer or adventure traveler. The town is famous in the surf community for its world class waves and laid back community of surfers, back packers, ex-Lima residents looking for solitude, etc.
El Tranqui himself is a small and jovial man. Even if you don’t speak any Spanish, El Tranqui will make you feel very welcome. The restaurant is very modest home converted into a restaurant. Only a few tables on the patio that overlook the remnants of an old square, which in the 1940’s and 50’s was the town center for a British expat community of a large petroleum company. The oil and gas industry was nationalized by the Peruvian government in xyx, but many of the old company homes and functioning oil rigs still remain. This is a surreal place to have such an amazing ceviche meal, but nonetheless, this is a simple and wonderful place to eat platters of spicy ceviche.
For more on Ceviche in Peru, see our interactive map on our favorite Ceviche Restaurants in Lima