Astrid y Gaston / Miraflores / 'Nouvelle' Peruvian Cuisine

MODERATOR'S NOTE: The first five posts in this thread have been cut out from a thread called Gaston's Restaurants???? This restaurant should have its own thread.

ASTRID Y GASTON
Calle Cantaurias 175, Miraflores
242-4422 / 242-5387 - Reservations are strongly encouraged
Open daily for Lunch & Dinner from 12:30 to 3:30 and 7:45 to 11:45
Closed Sundays
http://www.astridygaston.com

 

From a recent visit to Astrid y Gaston in Miraflores (I did not have a reservation, so I ate at the bar), here are the olives that they put in front of me when I sat down, the Pulpo al Cilandro, and the Saltado Otonal, which was really a Tacu Tacu with both fish and seafood in the Saltado mix.

Both dishes were perfect, and the main course was so big that I couldn't finish it. The service at the bar is not what I have come to expect from Astrid y Gaston, but that's why I like to sit at a table.

 

RT here. I visited Astrid y Gaston during both my May and August trips. The place is expensive by Peruvian standards, but, boy... you get what you pay for. Everything was more than fabulous. I was so overwhelmed in August that I took some really crappy pictures, and forgot to take some others. These pictures are the mixed causa appetizer, the scallops appetizer and the lomo saltado. I forget what else we had in May. In August we had the causa appetizer again, some sort of raviolis in a great sauce, a fish dish, and -- if I remember correctly -- a veal cheek that was marinaded/cooked for 20 hours before serving. I tried my friend's veal cheek, and I *almost* regretted ordering anything else in my entire two weeks in Lima. As always, click to enlarge.

 

RT here. Below is the receipt for our dinner referenced above. Click on it to enlarge.

The reason I am posting this is -- aside from this being the best 110 dollars we spent all week -- notice that we were not charged a cubierto (cover charge). I am pretty sure that this has been added to my check in the past, so this can certainly be considered 'addition by subtraction'.

 

Hi JA. RT here.

The check included the 'normal' 10% service charge that is included at all restaurants. If I remember correctly, we gave them 310 Soles. The 19 extra soles is just around the additional 5% that is customary at nicer restaurants.

As far as I can tell, there was no cubierto charge. Normally, it is included as a line item. I wasn't about to say, "Hey! You forgot to add a totally meaningless charge to our check."

Here, you can see a receipt from a different restaurant (write-up to come), where the cubierto has been added. Click to enlarge slightly.



Astrid y Gaston charges enough for their food; I guess that they don't need the extra five bucks per person. Or maybe, they just forgot.

 

I like you, Juan... you think quick on your feet! I remember when you first told me that story.

If you put aside the little lunch places for a second, just about all of the 'better' restaurants include 10% for servicio in the menu price. And in every one of them, the non-tourist crowd just about always leaves some cash on top of the check... usually, whatever coins come back when you pay with bills.

The one exception that I have noticed is at La Mar (more problems for you there... you should just avoid the place). Their prices do NOT include any servicio. However, the blackboards, and the check all indicate that (I believe that they say, "Que vivan las propinas!").

There was a thread a while back where we discussed the entire tipping situation. Homo Lo Gato's post (#4 in the thread) pretty much sums it up.

 

RT here.

Well, Gaston debuted the 'new' Astrid y Gaston the other day at its new location in San Isidro, Casa Moreyra. It was a big-time gala with all of the creme de la creme attending, and having a great time, as far as I can tell. This blog post has a lot of photos from the event.

You can click here for an article that talks about the new project... it seems that Gaston wants to jump 13 places on the 'best restaurants in the world list.' I hope that he does.

That official Grand Opening for the public is March 12. I will try to get a reservation from my upcoming trip and report back, but I may have to wait until May.

I found this eight-minute interview with Gaston (in English!!!) where he talks about the new place, and Peruvian food in general. At the very end, he even addresses the "Gaston For President" discussion.

 

RT here. I have been to Astrid y Gaston a few times since they moved last year. They have two restaurants -- the one with the tasting menu, and the "bar"-- which is nothing like a bar... there's a full, gourmet menu. Here's some bar pictures:

March, 2014: Shot of the building, Courtesy items, Causa, Clams a la Chalaca, some sort of wonderful Croquettes, and then Scallops Saltado.




From May, 2015: Langostinos Saltado, and then Hummus. After that, my date and I split the Arroz con Pato. And a couple of shots of the kitchen.




From November, 2015: A Scallop dish (don't remember what), Langostino Croquettes, Aeropuerto (which was -- as far as I can tell -- really good fried rice), and finally, the Chocolate Bomb.





From last week: Free stuff to start, Langostino Croquettes (again), the whole Fish with Vegetables, and the Chocolate Bomb (again)