The Cat's Guide To Lima

All,

Welcome to my thread and thank you for stopping by.

I am a regular visitor to Lima and will use this thread to post my thoughts on mongering in the Peruvian capital. I will also post photos from my trips and do my best to answer Lima and Peru-related questions. It is my hope that The Cat's Guide To Lima becomes a useful resource for members planning their first or second trip to Lima and the first place they look for relevant information. I also hope that those same members post their Lima experiences on this thread so that we can all share in their learnings.

My primary focus will be on relatively high-end mongering opportunities. Places like Trocadero's and the cheap strip bars in central Lima are of no interest to me and are, quite frankly, outside my range of experience. Consequently, my reporting will focus on locales like Tequila Rocks, Eclipse and the numerous non-pro/semi-pro opportunities that are available to Lima visitors. In this thread you will read about things like:

1) weekly sex parties / swinger parties organized by an ex-pat who lives in Lima,
2) a reliable Lima outcall service run as a Yahoo group by a Peruvian lady,
3) field reports from places like Tequila Rocks and Eclipse,
4) Banos Turcos,
5) escort websites,
6) regular bars and clubs to try in Miraflores and beyond,
7) why non-pros and semi-pros are a viable option in Lima,
8) where to stay: apartment rentals in Miraflores and why the JW Marriot is my favorite hotel,
9) my encounters with the chicas,
10) some of the things you should do to prepare for a trip to Lima,
11) whatever else comes to mind.

Enjoy and please feel free to provide constructive feedback so that I can improve the quality of the information being shared. Members are welcome to post questions/experiences/information on this thread providing that the tone is positive and the content is relevant.

The Cat

 

All,

I visited Lima for a week at the end of January. I will write about the highlights of my trip- and there were several- over the next few days but for now I just wanted to post some information about an interesting Lima outcall service that I came across. The service is called Gatitas Apasionadas and is run by a lady by the name of Karla. Gatitas Apasionadas is run as a Yahoo Group which you have to sign up for. I do not remember how to do this but you can e-mail Karla on [email protected] for instructions.

Once you join the group, a few things happen. Firstly, you get access to photos (though, admittedly, the photos posted are incomplete as there is churn and they are not kept fully up to date). Secondly, you get e-mails informing you of specials, new girls and other items of interest. Thirdly, you get feedback reports from other group members. This is particularly valuable in helping you get a feel for the strengths/weaknesses of the girls and in making a choice.

The rates vary, depending on the quality of the girls, anywhere between 100 soles to 300 soles per visit for the high end girls in the portfolio. Following are descriptions of a few of the girls currently on roster, just to provide an idea of the available spectrum of choices:

JULY edad 18 con DNI previamente verificado (lo digo para los paranoicos) es una gata que aparenta mucho menos edad asi que para todos aquellos que me piden chicas muy jovencitas ella es una buena opcion. July es de 1.58 delgada medidas 90 60 90, trigueñita de carita normal su fuerte es la inocencia ah no sabe hacer oral. Asi que con paciencia esta nena. Costo: 100 soles la hora

LORENA edad 19 años es de tes blanquita contextura media, cintura pequeña delgada, quebradita buena cola sus medidas son 98 65 97, de carita normal. Su fuerte es el 38b que tiene, para todos aquellos que me piden chikas de pechonalidad amplia es buena opcion. Costo: 140 la hora

NICOL edad 20 años es de tes clara es delgada bonita figura, cintura pequeña. colita dura, nalgas redondas firmes, bonitas piernas, medidas 95 65 97, carita normal. Su fuerte es goloza y es travieza. Suguerencia solo para los q esten en buen estado fisico. Costo 200 la hora

CLAUDIA: edad 19 años, blanca, alta de 1.74, atractiva figura, cara bonita, medidas 94 64 98, cabello castaño lacio, todo en ella es bello. Su fuerte dulzara y candidez. Costo: 300 soles o 100 dolares.

ALEIKA: edad 19 años, blanca de 1.63, figura de impacto, cara bonita. cabello lacio castaña clara, medidas 98 65 98. Su fuerte es la inocencia. Costo: 300 soles o 100 dolares.

CAMILA: edad 25 años, blanca leche de 1.60, carita normal, castaña ondulada medidas 94 60 94. Ella da la primera cita a los nuevos integrantes, haces las cosas con calma. Costo: 100 soles.

DANIELA; edad 19 años es canelita de 1.62, carita normal, medidas 93 65 100. Tiene una lengua muy atrevida. Costo: 120 soles.

In closing, I would like to say that I have not actually used this service due to a scheduling mix-up. I had planned to have Claudia over on my last day in Lima but she was not available at the time of day when I needed her. Also, all of the correspondence is in Spanish. Karla does speak English but she is not always there to pick up the phone so it a little hit-and-miss. For sure, speaking Spanish facilitates communications and when I IM back and forth with Karla, it is in Spanish. Karla can also be contacted, and appointments can be scheduled, on the following cell phone numbers:

CLARO: +51 1 9711 8184
MOVISTAR +51 1 9934 0333

Dial 0nly the last eight digits if you are calling from Lima.

If anybody uses them, I would be curious to hear how it works out.

The Cat

Photo 1 - Camila
Photo 2 - Claudia
Photo 3 - Unknown
Photo 4 - Margot

 

There is an ex-pat in Lima who organizes swinger parties/orgies most Saturday evenings. His nickname is Sly One and he lives in Miraflores, close to the JW Marriott.

The deal is that anywhere between 7-10 local chicas, and a similar number of guys, are invited to the party. Swinger couples are also invited. Sly One pays the single chicas to attend on the understanding that they are there to please. In a subsequent post, I will submit photos of some of the girls that were in attendance at one of the recent parties.

In order to cover his expenses, Sly One charges an entrance fee. The fee for gringos visiting Lima is USD 80. This may sound high but it is quite reasonable for several reasons. Firstly, USD 80 is around 235 soles which is about what you can expect to pay a decent escort in Lima for an hour of her time. Secondly, it includes drinks. Finally, and most importantly, the parties last about 3-4 hours during which time you can fuck as many of the girls as you like.

I attended a party that Sly One organized while I was in Lima and had a blast.

If you are in Lima, or are planning to travel to Lima and are interested in attending one of Sly One's parties, please send a PM to Sly One directly (on perutops) for contact information. Lima can be intimidating to first time visitors and these parties are an excellent point of reference. They are also a great way to meet and make contact with the locals as most of the girls are available for extra curricular activities outside of the parties.

The Cat

 

I cannot stress enough that if you are new to Lima and are looking to get your bearings, Sly One's apartment is the place to be on a Saturday night. Public sex / group sex is not my biggest turn-on but the parties get better each time I attend. This is a great way to spend an evening and the quality of the talent has improved dramatically since my first party about 5 months ago.

Sly One organized a private party with some of his girls while I was visiting Lima at the end of January. He had recently moved into a new penthouse apartment which features a jacuzzi and a curtained off fuck-room. There were about 6 girls and 5 guys at this one, including the girls in the attached photos. I banged the girls in photos #2 and #5. They were both great performers.

Please send a message to Sly One, via the perutops PM system, if you are interested in attending a party. He will reply with an invitation.

The Cat

 

All,

Lima Busy, one of the ex-pats living in Lima, rents apartments in Miraflores. He and his wife, Rosita, rent out two properties: the Penthouse and the Bachelor Pad. On my last trip, I stayed at the Penthouse for a week and have no reservations about recommending it to other visitors.

The location of the apartment, on Malecon Balta, is great: a 2 minute walk to Parque Kennedy, a 3 minute walk to Calle Pizza, a 5 minute walk to the famous Tequila Rocks and a 10 minute walk to the Larco Mar entertainment complex. In other words, it is perfect for someone who wants to be in the thick of the Miraflores bar/restaurant/nighclub/shopping scene.

The apartment includes 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It is not large but is big enough and small enough to be cozy. The rooftop deck has great views of the city and is very romantic in the evenings. Needless to say, it is a great way to impress the chicas, especially when the oil torchlights are lit up.

Bottled water, towels, bedding, and kitchen utensils are all provided. One of the girls I brought back spontaneoulsy decided to prepare a romantic dinner for two. The kitchen was sufficiently equipped for her to do so without a problem. Also, the Metro supermarket is within walking distance, so there was no problem buying the groceries we needed.
Maid service is available on request. It costs extra but is reasonably priced. The service includes laundering of clothes and bedsheets.

You can get an idea of the layout and furnishings of the bachelor pad, as well as its location, at the following blogspot: Miraflores Bachelor Pad. The Penthouse is equally well appointed and in a similar location.

If interested, please contact me for details and I will forward your inquiry to Lima Busy. Plan well in advance as these properties get booked up very early.

The Cat

 

There are four Tequila Rocks (TR) in Lima:

The freelance disco in the Miraflores district:
Calle Diez Canseco 146, next to Parque Kennedy.

The regular discos:
Avenida La Marina in the San Miguel district of Lima (a 7-8 soles cab ride from Miraflores).
Two locations (in San Isidro and Brena) which are less well known and for which I do not have addresses.

The Tequila Rocks in Miraflores is the famous one that is frequented by free-lancers who are available for take out. The entrance fee is 20 Soles, which includes one free drink. Unlike many of the high-end Lima nightclubs, such as Suites de Barranco and Emmanueles, there is no salida (bar fine) to be paid in order to take out a girl. You negotiate directly with the girls, many of whom are students and part-timers rather than hardened pros.

I went to TR one evening on my recent Lima trip and spoke with 3 girls: Cara, Carla and Rosemarie. Cara and Carla were the two most attractive girls in the place (7-8 on the 10 scale) and they quoted me USD 100 for two hours. The third girl (Rosemarie), who was not quite as good looking as the first two but still very doable, agreed to USD 100 toda la noche (TLN). I did not try and negotiate any of the girls down but probably could have done so. I have heard of girls agreeing to as little as 200 soles TLN.

I should also mention that it is possible, though not very common, to pick up freebies at Tequila Rocks. In addition to working girls, the locale is frequented by regular chicas on the town and cabin crews on layovers looking to let their hair down. I have never had the good fortune of pulling a non-pro from TR but know of 2 guys who claim they have.

Tequila Rocks is not as famous, or as well stocked, as somewhere like Help in RDJ (which is soon to close, by the way). The quality varies greatly from night to night and some of the girls are hardened pros (and you need to steer well clear of them). In all my trips to Lima, I have visited TR a handful of times and 0nly once taken out a girl (see photos below). I treat TR more as a last resort than a staple part of my mongering diet. However, it is good to know that it is there in a pinch and is useful when time is a factor, such as when you get into Lima late at night and do not want to waste time getting down to business.

The Cat

PS The attached photos are of Kaory, a Tequila Rocks regular for the past two years. Before anyone asks: yes, she does have Japanese ancestry. I spent an evening with Kaory in April 2007 and she remains, to this day, the 0nly chica that that I have picked up at Tequila Rocks.

 

Hi Cat,

I don't intend to spoil your thread. Quite the contrary. I've been to one of Sly's parties, and fully agree with your comments.

We've probably met there, although we might have been more focused on banging the girls (who, by the way, I found better looking in person), than in meeting fellow mongers.

Anyway, keep posting your field reports and thoghts. I am willing to contribute with further information, or maybe just starting a discussion.


Good luck,


Gunslinger

 

Gunslinger,

You are not raining on my parade. Quite to the contrary, constructive/positive dialog is always welcome and actively encouraged.

I am glad you enjoyed Sly One's party. I attended one of the very early parties about six months ago and there were some problems. However, Sly One has now, for the most part, worked out the kinks. The party I attended in January was an absoloute blast. The truth is that orgies and gangbangs are not high on my list of sexual fantasies but the parties genuinely offer something different in Lima and I plan to keep frequenting them when I am in town.

The Cat

 

On my recent trip to Lima in January, I visited the Eclipse night club in San Isidro. The details of the club are:

Address
Augusto Tamayo 158
Espalda de Centro Comercial de San Isidro

Telephone number
+51 1 440 4913

URL
Bienvenidos a

The landmark for taxi drivers is that Eclipse is located right next to the Centro Comercial in San Isidro.

When I walked in, there were about 10 girls working, a group of 4 Peruvian guys at one of the tables and one other gringo in the place. The first thing you should know is that these places are out to get your money. Here is a breakdown of the potential costs. I say "potential" because if you are smart you can avoid some of them (more on this later):

Entrance fee: 50 Soles
Cost per drink: 20 soles
Cost of ladies drink: 42 soles
Salida (Bar Fine): 140 soles
Cost of lady: 300 soles or 100 USD for 2 hours

As you can see, a night at Eclipse can easily cost 500-600 soles. This makes it poor value for money compared to some of the other options in Lima. Fortunately, there are ways to manage your outlay.

The girls were in the 6-8 range. The best looking girl working on the night I visited was named Melody. She had a smoking body with a great pair of tetas. I rate her an 8.

The club has a periodic floor show in which a girl gets up on stage and does a dance/strip. However, anyone who has visited an even half-decent go-go bar in the US would consider the show to be somewhat amateurish.

I do not consider myself to be cheap but I hate giving money to places, such as this, that are clearly geared to separating you from it. Consequently, this is how I approach a place like Eclipse and I suggest that you do the same:

1. Avoid the entrance fee. In the case of Eclipse, I was able to do so thanks to the free entrance pass that I found on their website a while back. They honored the pass and it has no expiration date. A copy is attached to this post for fellow mongers to print out and use.

2. The pass also entitles the bearer to a second free drink, which brings the average cost per drink down from 20 soles to 10 soles.

3. Pick your lady and purchase her a ladies drink (42 soles). In my case, this entitled me to spend 20 minutes with Melody in a private area. I fondled her tits, rubbed her pussy but most importantly of all got her cell number. Of course, you have to be discreet but the bottom line is that most, if not all, of the girls that work in places like Eclipse are prepared to meet you outside the club, on their own time, for a private session.

At a minimum, this approach will save you the 140 soles salida. You can, of course, also negotiate with the girl and try to lower her price from the asking price of 300 soles. Personally, I am quite content to pay 300 soles to an 8 or 9 if she shows me a good time.

With this method, the total costs for banging a hot chica, in the comfort of your hotel or apartment, and at a time of day that suits you, is: 362 soles + taxis or about USD 120-130. This is not cheap by Lima standards but it is not prohibitively expensive either. The most appealing aspect of this approach is that you get to bang a high quality chica without too much wasted time and effort. This should not be discounted. Lima is full of 6s and 7s but 8s and 9s are harder to come by and even harder to bang.

The Cat

 

Stephanie (name changed to protect the innocent) hails from a town North of Lima by the name of Piura. She is 20 years old and about 1.65m tall, which is typical for a Peruana.

Stephanie is visiting Lima for about a month. She is staying with a friend, works as a store sales girl during the day and works the streets around Parque Kennedy at night. This makes her different from the hardened street-walkers that are found at the bottom of Calle Pizza. Stephanie is what I call a semi-pro, working temporarily to make a few extra bucks before heading home.

I ran into Stephanie at around 10:00pm in the evening and had her in my apartment not long after that. We agreed on 200 soles for about 2 hours of fun including a photo session.

The sex was great and included a BBBJ, a great fuck with cum on face as the finish. Wonderful stuff and well worth the cost of admission. I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

The Cat

Photo 1 - Typical Peruvian face/looks
Photos 2 & 3 - I am a legs man and had Stephanie posing in stockings before the main event
Photo 4 - A preview of things to come
Photo 5 - I love the way she invitingly thrust out her ass for this photo

 

Photo 1 - Teasing me
Photos 2-5 - Great perky tits that remind me of torpedoes.

 

Photo 1 - More of those fabulous assets.
Photo 2 - The prize
Photo 3 - Open wide as the guys on perutops need to get a good view
Photos 4-5 - The way her pussy lips stood up and away from the pussy fascinated me. I took half a dozen shots of the pussy lips alone. Great stuff.

 

All,

The following Banos Turcos is the very first massage center I visited in Lima. This location offers great non-sexual massages (my masseur was an old blind guy). This info is a couple of years old and the rates may have changed:

Banos Turcos
Calle Ucello 260-104
San Borga (Centro Comercial)
Al costado de Wong (Supermercado)
Tel: 225 9722 / 475 1997 / 475 0116
M-F: 12pm-11pm
Sat: 7am-11pm, Sun: 6am-6pm, Holidays: 8am-8pm

Entrance fee: 45 sols
Massage:
55 sols for 55 mins corporal,
50 sols for 60 mins shiatsu

Many Banos Turcos in Lima offer additional services all the way up to full service. Thre are already tons of reviews on perutops and I will not attempt to repeat or summarize that information.

However, I will mention one location that I have personally visited on several occasions, namely Relax y Vida. The post immediately following this one is a RyV field report I wrote on a different board last year. The reason that I do not often visit Banos Turcos is that I have a couple of "personal" masseurs who visit me at my hotel or apartment when I am in town. These girls are trained masseurs who I have retrained to provide me with extra services delivered to my exacting specifications .

Banos Turcos Relax y Vida
Carlos Villaran #121
Santa Catalina – 265-5370
Open daily from 10:00 AM until 10:00 PM
Relax y Vida

The Cat

 

All,

What is there to say about Relax y Vida that has not already been said? My last visit (which was also my first) was somewhat of a disappointment as they assigned me a new girl who did not deliver the kind of service I had come to expect based on the reports posted on this site.

However, the consistently glowing reports convinced me to try it again and this time around the results were far more satisfactory. When I called to make the reservation earlier today, I made a point of telling the Mamasan (her name is Sra. Miluska for those of you who keep track of such things) that my last visit was a dud. This ploy had the expected effect; she assigned me a top drawer performer in order to make up for previous deficiencies. Her name is Caterina and she is a 24 year old medical or nursing student. I would rate her a 6-7 in looks and though she does not have a supermodel body, like some of the other girls at RyV, she is sexy enough. The mini falda and puta heels that all the RyV girls wear help in this regard.

Caterina told me she plans to quit in a few months, once she graduates, in order to pursue her real career. I will not provide all of the sordid details as the RyV routine has been described often enough. Suffice to say that she really knows what she is doing and that I left the place spent but fully satisfied. I have read somewhere on this site that Camila is the "best of the best" at RyV. I asked for her but she was not on duty today. However, Catherina must be pretty close to the top of the totem pole if my experience is representative of normal service.

If it has not already be reported, I should mention that the entrance fee at RyV has increased from 70 soles to 80 soles. Combined with the strengthening value of the Nuevo Sol, this equates to about USD 26 (I paid closer to USD 21 on my last visit). The propina for the girl remains discretionary although I have seen 50 soles regularly mentioned. Catherina provided wonderful service and, accordingly, earned a generous tip.

The Cat

 

on your new thread! I am sure it will create a little interest.

You mentioned Camila as the ¨best of the best¨ and although she had quite the well deserved reputation, I have had equal and in some respects better experiences with my current fav´s.

Camila has not been at R&V 1 in quite some time. I did session with her at R&V 2 several months back and to be honest I was disappointed. I do not know if she is still there or maybe is at R&V 3 now for all I know?

I had a disappointing session at 1 awhile back (my own fault) and did not venture back for 6 weeks or so. Recently I have brought guys that were staying at the Penthouse and Bachelor pad on quite a few occasion´s and the experience has been very satisfactory.

LB

 

All,

I somehow ended up on the caramelitosdelperu website (CARAMELITOS DEL PERU) and noticed Samira, or more precisely her ample chest. Those of you who follow my posts know that I like leggy girls but every now and then I get the urge to lay my hands on an oversized pair of tetas. Sometimes, in moments of weakness, I get to thinking that if I could find a tall, leggy girl that has tits the size of Africa and is trained as a professional masseur, I would marry her on the spot. Anyway, I digress.

And so it was that Samira ended up in my hotel room for a photography and balling session. Samira is a 21yo pharmacy student from out-of-town (I forgot where) who works on the side to pay for her studies. The rest of her is not as compelling as the tetas but who cares. The best part was watching them swing back and forth in the mirror, like pendulums, as I took her from behind. Now that is a memory.

Total damage: 200 soles for 90 minutes work.

I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

The Cat

March 1, 2008 Update: I just accessed the site and Samira is still being advertised on it so I assume that she is still in the game.

 

Pictures 6-8: Here they are, in all their glory
Picture 9: The money shot
Picture 10: Preparing herself for the inevitable

 

All,

For those of you who want to try your hand at the Miraflores non-pro/semi-pro action, or just want to hang out for a drink with regular folks, check out for the following locales:

The Larco Mar entertainment complex is located at the bottom of Avenida Larco, opposite the JW Marriott hotel. The Larco Mar complex includes shops, an arcade, cinemas, restaurants, discos and bars. On Friday and Saturdays nights, at around 10:30pm, Lima's young and beautiful can be seen lining up at the entrances of the Gothica and Aura discos. If you are a gringo, young (20s-30s) and well-dressed, this is fertile hunting ground. Another Larco Mar locale worth checking out is Bartinis. Mention the owner's name (Che Amado) at the front door and you should have no problem getting in.

There are two upscale locales on Avenida Santa Cruz. The first one is Bohemia (Av. Santa Cruz 805) and the second one is Café Dell’ Mar (Av. Santa Cruz 850). Huaringa Bar (Plaza Bolognesi) is also upscale.

Pub Cubana on Calle San Martin has been known to have its good nights.

There are lots of restaurants and bars on and around Calle Pizza. Though a few street walkers can be found hanging around the area (there are some out-of-town girls that may be worthwhile but the hardened pros should be avoided at all costs), the locales are mostly frequented by regular folks out on the night. You have to use your judgement to determine which girls are approachable but suffice it to say that for some of them, fucking a gringo is a fantasy come true.

Finally, Disco Ethera (Calle Ucello 220, San Borja, Una cuadra de Javier Prado con Aviacion espalda de Plaza Vea) is well known but a little further out, as is the Bierhaus in Barranco.

The Cat

PS I forgot to mention that Cafe Z and Adios Chow, which are located next to each other just off Parque Kennedy on Malecon Balta, are meeting point for gringos at breakfast, lunch and dinner. An Aussie by the name of Eli runs Adios Chow. He is a stand-up guy. You will also meet the likes of Limabusy, his beautiful wife, and other expats / visiting gringos in both of these locales.

 

All,

Peruvian cuisine is one of the best, if not the best, in South America (Don't take my word for it, read the Washington Post article reproduced in the following post) and reasonably priced. Everything is fresh or freshly prepared. Specialities include grilled seafood, ceviche (marinated fish cooked in lime juice) and rice-based dishes.

There are too many small places- where you can eat well for $10-$15- to cover here. You can discover those on your own. However, I will mention the three that I frequent regularly:

1) Cafe Z for breakfast and coffee
Located where Parque Kennedy meets Malecon Balta.

2) Adios Chow for lunch and dinner
Located next door to Cafe Z.

3) sandwich.com for lunch, dinner and fresh juices
On Parque Kennedy about 100 yards from the entrance to Calle Pizza.

Following are my favorite high-end restaurants (Understanding that I have 0nly scratched the surface of what is available) for eating well and impressing chicas. The prices at some of these locations approach what you would expect to pay in the US, so make sure that you budget appropriately.

Astrid & Gaston - ASTRID&GASTÓN
Cantuarias 175, Miraflores
Tel: 444 1496, 242 5387
Considered one of the best restaurants in South America. Founded in 1994, the restaurant's cuisine was largely French. Gradually, as they rediscovered Peruvian flavours and culinary traditions, the kitchen began to incorporate local dishes and ingredients, moving towards the current Criollo-International concept that characterizes the restaurant today. For a lighter version of this restaurant, you can also try one of the Tanta locales (same owners). Cat's opinion: I tried this place once. I cannot argue with the quality of the food but I would describe it as nouveau cuisine and this is not my preferred style. Dinner for two is going to set you back upwards of 200 soles.

La Rosa Nautica - Rosa Náutica
Espigon 4 Circuito de Playas, Miraflores
Tel: 447 0057, 445 0149
The view of the ocean through the big windows and the relaxing sound of waves breaking against the piles make you feel as if you were in the midst of the Pacific Ocean. Preferred by many tourists but not by the local fans. Cat's opinion: If you want to impress a chica with classy and romantic surroundings, this place is second to none (check out the photo on the website to see what I mean). For me personally, many an unforgettable nights got underway with dinner at Rosa Nautica. A little less expensive than Astrid y Gaston but no bargain by Lima standards.

Alfresco (seafood)
Malecon Balta 790, Miraflores
Tel: 242 8960, 444 7962
This restaurant is so successful it has now several branches around San Isidro and Miraflores. Cat's opinion: Very good seafood. I paid 110 soles for lunch for two without alcohol on my recent visit to Lima.

La Mar (seafood)
Av. La Mar 770, Miraflores
Tel: 421 3365
The dishes meet every requirement for success: abundant, inexpensive, and delicious. Indeed, you need to get there quite early unless you don't mind waiting for 2 hours on the bar. No reservations accepted.

La Gloria
Atahualpa 201 , Miraflores
Tel: 455 705, 446 6504
It stands out as one of the most sophisticated and convincing international cusines in Lima. Located in an old mansion in the heart of Miraflores.

Pescados Capitales (seafood) - Mariscos, Pescados y más en Pescados Capitales
Av. Lar Mar 1337, Miraflores
Tel: 421 8808, 222 5731
Caters to the business lunch crowd and not open in the evenings. Closed Mondays. Cat's opinion: I went there for a business lunch, with work colleagues, and was impressed with the quality of the food.

For people that enjoy buffets, check out the Hawaiiano Buffet that is located in Miraflores on the west side of the Paseo de la Republica just before you get to Barranco. It is really world class! Despite its name, the food is not Hawaiian but, rather, it is Peruvian Creole (Criollo).

The Cat

 

• 

By Jonathan Yardley
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, June 10, 2007

In recent years, Jorge Chavez International Airporthas been so spectacularly rejuvenated that it inadvertently reinforces an old cliche about the city it serves: Lima -- the City of Kings, the capital of Peru, home to 9 million people -- is merely a way station for travelers en route to Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Iquitos, Lake Titicaca and Peru's other celebrated attractions.

As to what they're missing, they haven't a clue. Not merely is old Lima rich in history, but new Lima is so rich gastronomically as to put just about all the world's other cities to shame. Today it is not merely advisable but mandatory to come to Lima para la cocina: for the food.

Please don't ask me to be objective about Peruvian food or, for that matter, anything else in what has become my adopted second home. My wife is a native of Lima, and two years ago we bought an apartment in Miraflores, a district of the capital that was a seaside resort when it was founded in the late 19th century but is now a bustling city unto itself. We don't own a car, not 0nly because taxis are plentiful and cheap but also because we can walk just about everywhere we want to go, including dozens of restaurants that range from haute cuisine to home cooking but have one thing in common: The food is indescribably delicious.

My wife and I do not exactly take for granted the food of Miraflores, but during our frequent stays there it is inextricably intertwined in our daily lives. From street-corner vendors we buy mangoes and cherimoyas bursting with sweet juice. At E. Wong, the cornucopian supermarket chain, we get the golf-ball-size limones (tart limes) that are essential ingredients of the puissant Peruvian national drink, the pisco sour, and langostinos (shrimp) so fresh that their heads and tails still twitch. The bakery two blocks away has a startling variety of breads and homemade sandwiches, not to mention splendid beef empanadas.

This is a side of Miraflores that few tourists see. They arrive in taxis or tour buses and are shepherded to the places where tourists are fed: Larco Mar, the lively commercial center cut into the oceanfront cliff a few blocks from our apartment, or the two famous restaurants on the beach below, Costa Verde and Rosa Nautica. These range from okay to fine, but you'll get 0nly a hint of what Miraflores offers if that's as far as you go.

Miraflores is scarcely the 0nly place in Lima where excellent restaurants are to be found. In two adjoining suburbs, Barranco and San Isidro, there are a number of good places, and lovers of the Peruvian twist on Chinese food often head for restaurants known as chifas in Chinatown, in the old center city. But the concentration of fine restaurants in Miraflores is nothing short of remarkable. Add to this that Miraflores has many good hotels and shopping districts, is clean and safe, and offers breathtaking views along its three-mile malecon (oceanfront avenue), and it comes down to this: Miraflores is the perfect place for the traveler to discover and savor Peruvian food.

South America has long known about Peruvian food, but 0nly in recent years has the rest of the world begun to catch on. In large measure this is due to the efforts of Gastón Acurio, now in his late 30s, who with his wife, Astrid, a decade and a half ago founded the most famous restaurant in Miraflores, Astrid y Gastón, but whose influence reaches far beyond that. He is a passionate goodwill ambassador for Peruvian food; he has a popular television show that regularly draws attention to other restaurants both great and small, he has published popular and influential cookbooks, he's opened many other restaurants of his own, and he's far better known in Peru than any celebrity chef in the United States.

Gastón's food (in Peru everyone refers to him as Gastón) is an artful blend of traditional Peruvian with contemporary nouvelle techniques. For generations, Peru's has been a fusion of all the cuisines developed there or brought from elsewhere: native (or criollo), Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Caribbean, Italian, African. Peru gave the world the potato -- it grows thousands of varieties in more colors than you can count -- and the potato remains essential to its cuisine, most nobly in causa, a concoction of potato mashed in lime juice and the fiery indigenous pepper aji, and filled or topped with everything from crab (my favorite) to avocado to boiled egg to shrimp to octopus.

As that suggests, seafood is at the heart of Peruvian cookery. It is from the Pacific that Peru's two greatest dishes come. These are seviche (spelled ceviche or cebiche in Peru) and tiradito. The former is fresh, raw fish, often sole, cut into chunks and "cooked" in lime juice; the latter is fresh, completely raw sole or a native fish called corvina, thinly sliced and covered with one or more of Peru's innumerable sauces, many based in aji or another hot Peruvian pepper, rocoto.

Before a quick tour of the glories of Miraflores, a few pointers for visitors:

· Peruvians eat late, so you can arrive at just about any restaurant by 1 p.m. for lunch and 8:30 p.m. for dinner and be assured of a table without a wait. Virtually all restaurants that specialize in fresh seafood -- cevicherias -- are open 0nly for lunch, usually between noon and 5.

· Dollars are accepted in most places, as are standard credit cards.

· Tipping is not as common in Peru as in the States, and 10 percent is considered generous; at some places service is included in the check, so ask if you're not sure.

· With the exceptions of Astrid y Gastón and Costanera 700, restaurants in Miraflores are cheap by American standards; two can eat gloriously for under $30 (not including alcoholic beverages) at many of my favorite places.

Indeed, that's where we'll start: at one of my favorites. It's a cevicheria called Punto Azul (Calle San Martin 595), a half-mile from our apartment. It's hugely popular in the neighborhood, and after 1 p.m. there are always long lines outside. The food tells you why. Punto Azul (which has four other locations in Lima) uses a fish called palmerita for its seviche and tiradito. It is perhaps not quite as sweet as sole, but it is tender and tasty. I usually order tiradito, half under aji sauce and half under rocoto; it costs less than $6 and is a meal in itself. The most expensive dishes on the menu are under $8. Somehow my wife and I managed to spend $22.50 on our most recent visit, but that was a three-course meal.

There's no such thing as a cevicheria district, but many of the best seafood places are concentrated in an otherwise unfashionable section of north Miraflores centered on Av. La Mar. These include La Red, Pescados Capitales, Costanera 700 and La Mar, an offshoot of the Gastón empire. As to which of these is the best, my honest answer is that though all are excellent, the best is the one I ate at most recently. La Red (Av. La Mar 381) is the least expensive -- our three-course lunch weighed in at $30 plus tip, pisco sours and wine included -- and has an especially good causa, though I'd be hard-pressed to choose between that and the causas at La Mar and Pescados Capitales.

La Mar (Av. La Mar 770) and Pescados Capitales (Av. La Mar 1337) are five blocks apart and look a lot alike, with open, airy dining rooms under bamboo roofs, and roomy tables spaced generously. The causa at La Mar is basically the same as what Gastón serves at his flagship restaurant: four little potato mounds topped with the ingredients of your choice. My wife is especially partial to the wontons packed with shrimp at Pescados Capitales, and we tend to agree (at least immediately after eating there) that it serves the best pisco sours -- Peruvian brandy, lime juice, sugar syrup and egg white -- in Miraflores. At both restaurants the seviche and tiradito are superb, though by the narrowest of margins I favor Pescados Capitales. At La Mar, a superb lunch set us back $90 plus tip, while we got out of Pescados Capitales for $60.

The most expensive restaurant in this part of town is Costanera 700 (Av. Del Ejercito 421), operated by the legendary Japanese chef Humberto Sato. Ask for a table upstairs, where you can look across a small park to the ocean. I recommend the tiradito lenguado ($14) and the causa de centolla ($8). On a recent visit, we shared the house's signature dish, a tender fish called chita baked in a thick crust of salt, and we shared, as postre (dessert), a heavenly plate of three sorbets made from indigenous fruit. It all came to $95 plus tip. A bonus was that as we walked out the rear entrance we saw, eating quietly at a corner table, Gastón himself, checking up on the competition.

Gastón wasn't on the premises when we visited Astrid y Gastón (Cantuarias 175) in April, but the restaurant was at full glory. We were seated in the wine cellar and welcomed by the manager, whom the Easter holiday seemed to have inspired to heights of hospitality. For the somewhat daunting price of $185 we had a meal that can 0nly be called astonishing, beginning with (of course) seviche and causa, continuing through stuffed rocoto, grilled swordfish and shrimp ravioli, culminating in dessert, coffee and the unique jungle-fruit confections with which the restaurant closes all meals. Wow. Or, as we say down there: Guau.