Gaijin Cocina Nikkei — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

There appear to be a lot of very positive reviews, largely from tourists. I was interested to give this Nikkei place an go. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Despite being almost empty when I arrived at 8pm on a Friday, service was very slow. Took half an hour for my starter — a small, tasty but nothing more pair of Taiwanese-style baos — to arrive. It took another 30 minutes for the main, char siu pork with rice, to arrive. Really average; you’d find better in almost any Hong Kong restaurant or indeed any city with a large Chinatown like London or Vancouver. I was told the chirimoya/custard apple dessert (small and a bit of a mess) would take 10 minutes to arrive, but it took, you guessed it, another 30 minutes. I know the restaurant recently underwent a revamp, but it’s really difficult...

We had a great experience at Gaijin from start to finish. We secured same-day booking for the omakase for 2 adults and 2 kids, and the maitre'd made sure we were well taken care of.

The Nikkei omakase blends Peruano and Japanese techniques and ingredients very well, giving us very nice surprises in each dish. The drinks are also excellent and highly recommended, combining Peruvian ingredients from different parts of the country.

The maitre'd made recommendations throughout the dining experience and gave really good information and adjustments to make sure we had the best dinner.

Gaijin is clearly very proud of their Peruvian and Nikkei heritage, and we thank them for a...

I’ve never written a review before, but I’m compelled to after having the best meal of my life…(?!?!)

My husband and I had the tasting menu, and they accommodated a vegetarian version for me, which was incredible and didn’t feel like an afterthought version of the seafood/meat menu at all. Each course (and even each cocktail we tried) was so balanced, wonderfully flavorful, and meaningfully blended Japanese and Peruvian flavors and ingredients. And the service was so warm and lovely; we felt right at home. I’ll be thinking about this meal for a long time - would fly back to Peru from New York to eat...