Punto Azul / Miraflores / Cevicheria

Punto Azul
San Martin 595
Miraflores – 445-8078
Also four other locations around Lima (see below)
http://puntoazulrestaurante.com/
Open daily for lunch 0nly - Closed Mondays
Link to thread in Spanish Forum





Last May, I rented an apartment about 150 feet from this restaurant. I saw that the restaurant enjoyed steady traffic, but I never got around to eating there. I just mentally filed the restaurant for future reference. It is in Miraflores, and hell, I’m in Miraflores 90% of the time, too.

Then, just yesterday, I was dropping my laundry off (it’s a good way to store clothes for my next trip) and realized that a) I was right next door to Punto Azul and b) it was lunchtime.

The second item was a no-brainer, as was evidenced by the crowd of people milling about in front of the restaurant. I finally got the attention of the hostess, told her I was eating alone, and received a ‘seating ticket’ and was told it would be 20 minutes for my table. It took 25 minutes to be seated, and there was still a wait for a table when I left at 2:00 pm.

As far as I can tell, there are three ‘levels’ of cebicherias in Lima – the street corner/Mercado types, the High End places (La Mar, La Red, Pescados Capitales, etc.), and the Mid-Priced options, like El Pez On and Punto Azul. Part of me wants to say that ‘you get what you pay for’ – especially in the high- vs. low-end places. You’re paying for a higher quality of fish, higher rents, quite possibly more hygienic installations, advertising, and the like. It’s a little more difficult to see the difference between the mid- and high-priced places, at least for me. In cases like this, I believe that you’re paying for reputation more than anything else. At Costanera, for example, the cebiche was delicious, but not more so than at El Pez On, and it probably cost 20 Soles less. OK, the hostess wasn’t as pretty as the two at Puerto Mancora, but there’s plenty of pretty girls walking around Miraflores, so I didn’t mind.

That last paragraph is a lot of words to say that the food was excellent at Punto Azul, and I felt that I got a bargain in the process. I don’t think that I’m alone in that opinion – there was a 20 minute wait for a table on a Tuesday.

My problem in these places is that I always order too much, thinking I will just ‘sample;’, and then I wind up scarfing down everything that is not bolted to the table. Along with my pitcher of chicha morada, I ordered Chicharron de Pescado & Calamar and Arroz con Mariscos. When I placed my order, the waiter said, “You know, the fish and calamari are plenty for any normal person.” I thanked him for sharing, and continued on my gluttonous path.

Both dishes were delicious. I ate some of the calamari and fish first, as they were piping hot, and didn’t hold the heat very long. The waiter was right; there was plenty. The other dish was equally good – I wound up picking out all the seafood and leaving over half the rice. And miracle of miracles – I was able to get a whole bucket of ice for my drink by just asking the one time! That usually takes an Act of Congress all by itself.



The three dishes ran a total of either 43 or 46 Soles (another thing you’re not paying for at Punto Azul is a computerized receipt), I don’t remember which. The chicha was six Soles, and both the dishes fit into the 18-25 Sol price range of almost everything there. I’m used to paying 29 to 40 Soles for this quality food, so that’s a substantial savings, based on your percentage of Soles spent.

One of the waitresses must have pissed off the manager, because it was this poor girl’s job to walk around the restaurant with the dessert tray and offer it to every table. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but I didn’t see anyone order a dish from her. She has to go home all bummed out every day after hearing ‘no’ a thousand times, I suppose.



Usually, I don’t outright recommend a restaurant – I let the reader decide for himself. But I wholeheartedly recommend Punto Azul. The combination of location, food quality and price is unbeatable. Hell, even if it wasn’t, I would go back just to get another pitcher of ice.

 

I went through my notes. The total was 43 Soles.

 

RT here. I have been negligent in posting photos from Punto Azul... I eat there a lot.

Here's the Ceviche Punto Azul. It's your basic ceviche mixto (all different seafood), covered in a rocoto sauce, rather than the normal lime juice. Here are before and after pictures, so you can see what's involved.

 

Here's a Parihuela from May. Awesome.

 

From February... I was feeling Oriental, so I had a Sushi Roll, except they used causa instead of rice, and (I think it was called) Cebiche Oriental. The roll was stuffed with cooked salmon, avocado and (I think) cream cheese, and the cebiche was in a sauce with a heavy sesame flavor. They were both very good and filling.



That's my new Kindle in the upper left hand corner of the first photo... I am really happy with it.

 

I went early, like about 12:15. I had to work all morning in the apartment, so it doubled as breakfast, too.

 

RT here.

According to the signs in the window (I took this 20 minutes ago), Punto Azul on Av. San Martin is now open for dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

 

RT here. As I reported above, Punto Azul now serves Dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. One night last trip, my eating schedule got all screwed up, and I didn't start to even think about Dinner until about 10:00. Punto Azul was on my corner, so in I went.

They have a separate menu for Dinner with less items on it, but I got the impression that they would make you anything you asked for, if you knew their menu and asked nicely. I was happy to stick to what they offered me.

On thing that isn't on the lunch menu are the small plates. There were about a half-dozen of them, and I ordered two to start.



You are looking at Eggplant Parmigiana (if I remember correctly) and a Brochette of Fish with A Lo Macho Sauce. Both were freshly made and delicious. They also would have been enough food for a late-night dinner for a normal person, or for me if I wasn't out of control.

Since I am Out of Control, I also ordered a main course, Pescado A Lo Macho.



This is a Fish Filet smothered in a not very spicy sauce filled with mixed Seafood. Normally, the filet is fried, but I asked the waiter to have the chef grill the fish for me. That was no problem at all.

There were two whole filets under the mound of seafood. I ate it all, but I had trouble waddling to my next stop of the evening.

And not 0nly was it all delicious, it was fairly cheap.



The Appetizers were 9 Soles each, and the main dish (enough for two normal people with leftovers) was 31 soles. This was Way Too Much Food for twenty dollars.

Punto Azul is cash-0nly, so keep that in mind. There was no line for Dinner, which was a pleasure.

 

RT here. BIG NEWS!

Punto Azul now accepts credit cards (Visa & Mastercard). They've entered the 1980s!!!!

I made them my first Lima stop last night. Had an old favorite -- Cebiche Mixto en Salsa de Rocoto and a Sudado de Mariscos (I ddin't want to get all messy with a Crab in the Parihuela). Click to enlarge.

I couldn't have said it better, Joe. While I was eating last night, I was thinking that -- since they now serve Dinner -- there's not a lot of reasons I couldn't eat every meal there. The food is great, they have a large menu (including Arroz con Pato), and the prices are right.

But I feel that way in a lot of restaurants!

 

I agree with me. As do apparently, a lot of other people.

Last Friday at 1:15 pm (prime time), I was walking down Av. San Martin, and I checked out first, Embarcadero 41, El Pez On, and finally, Punto Azul. E41 has a stellar reputation (I think that I heard that they just opened a Miami outpost), and El Pez On has its following as well.

But yet, check out the 'crowds' at the first two places, and compare it to the masses trying to get into Punto Azul. As always, click to enlarge.



I was willing to wait the 40 minutes, and was well-rewarded. Here's a Cebiche Punto Azul (just Pescado) and a Pulpo a la Parilla.

 

Crab on the side... that's genius!

Did you invent that? You should get an award.