Osaka Pardo y Aliaga — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

Service : 50/50, reservation was for outside, was seated inside with no option to be out. Did not mind because we had previously rescheduled and figured it had just slipped that we would have to be inside. They gave us a time- limit, which was also not previously mentioned, just under 2 hours. Which i found odd.

The bussers were attentive to clear tables fast. Not all servers could explain what they were serving. Our waiter hustled and we appreciated his work ethic but he was just someone we had started to hail. We didnt feel as though we were ever really assigned one otherwise.

Food and drinks:

Lychee infused pisco sour - ice cube was pretty and of high quality water. Strong. Presentation was unnecessary and bordering tacky. Served with a spoon of fish eggs, interesting.

Companion had a tea infused drink of some sort poured into some kind of compote, we forgot what it was and it arrived in 2 parts and was never really explained to us even after we asked. Honeyed but, slightly on the over sweet side. Slightly alcoholic but more watered down than balanced.

Nice sake selection. Tried a few.

Amuse was a small bite of a sort of fried dumpling wrapper stuffed maybe with a white fish, doused in what seemed like a hoisin sauce and topped with togarashi. Too salty, this would become a theme.

Wasabi ceviche - corvina was very good and very fresh as were the baby scallops. The leche de tigre was fantastic and the wasabi notes played very well. I enjoyed the pairing and was glad they didnt pare back on the limo even with the wasabi infused. Best item we had all night and set a high bar that the rest of the meal fell far short of. Maybe slightly overseasoned but i enjoyed the flavor and overall composition and appreciated what they were going for.

Hot plate mixed vegetables - interesting assortment of local veg doused in (too much) teriyaki and soy. The asparagus worked well for me, the tomatoes not as much. The potatoes were an odd addition but i didnt dislike it. All over a bed of lettuce leaves that seemed very out of place and a little less appetizing. The seasoning was very much on the salty side. I personally am not the biggest fan of the sour component added in to the sauce and how it played with the umami flavors of the bonito flake.

Inca gyoza - fried gyoza stuffed with roast duck sitting in a pool of aji amarillo. Not at all to my liking. The textures did not play well and visually came across as interesting but in practice felt closer to a strange boxed mac and cheese. Wish they were the use of the aji was more intentional, blotting the plate wouldve in my opinion created a more appetizing dish visually as well. Again leaning over salted.

White fish in a spring roll with chopped nuts, almost like a tequeno. Served on a bed of white pebbles. Over use of togarashi and salty. Long review short, texture and taste was very similar to a very good mcdonalds chicken nugget. Like the kind you remember enjoying after a day muddied on a soccer pitch. Great but also really weird to give that effect.

Salmon belly nigiri - nice touch of ginger. Standard nigiri not much to comment on.

Dessert 1- matcha ice cream over chocolate covered matcha souffle? (Per menu) and a dark chocolate crumble. the ice cream was very good.

Dessert 2- a dragonfruit? Meringue with maracuya sherbet and slivers of chirrimoya. Fantastic. The meringue candied the flavour too much without doing anything too texturally necessary, could do without.

Atmosphere: outside looks nice, decor is fresh and modern. Inside was very dark however. Not too loud, well maintained but again it was very dark but nothing felt too off.

Price: all said i expected to pay higher, bill came in almost half what i thought i would pay for the experience they seemed to be selling but im not local and might have just been gauging/ computing wrong.

Good things and bad things. Id actually go back just for that ceviche though even if the rest of the review may have led to...

Ah, where to begin? Walking into this establishment felt like being thrown into a poorly planned social experiment designed to test patience and logic. We arrived with optimism, ready for a pleasant evening, only to be met by the front desk lady who informed us, with all the warmth of a parking ticket, that there were no available seats—except for the bar. That’s perfect, we were killing time before dinner reservations, and the bar next door was closed.

But then the journey began. We were led down the stairs, past a collection of empty tables and an inside bar with 8 seats, 6 of which were visibly unoccupied. Instead of stopping there, we were escorted outside to an area so barren it felt like the set of a post-apocalyptic drama. Zero people. Not a soul. Just us and the distant sound of crickets. Ushered outside away from the view of any attending customers, wildly obvious.

Still, we tried to make the best of it. After not too long, a bartender arrived to the empty bar and empty outside dining area—emerging from inside where he and three other bartenders were valiantly serving the main bar’s only two patrons. Let me say, this bartender was the highlight of the experience: polite, professional, suggested drinks. Was all around appreciated. We requested to move indoors, without question, he accommodated us, moving us to to fill 2 of the empty 6 seats at the bar (none of which filled up during our stay, neither did the empty tables)

Once inside, the bartenders continued to be stellar. Drinks were solid, service was attentive, and for a brief moment, we almost forgot the Kafkaesque seating ordeal we had endured. But then reality set back in. The vibe was clear: we were being judged. Maybe it was our tattoos. Maybe it was our casual attire. Whatever the reason, we felt out of place, unwelcome to say the least. like the mere sight of us disrupted their carefully curated aesthetic.

The final blow came on our way out. I approached the front desk lady and asked, “Why would you do that?” Her response? “All the seats were reserved.” Really? Because as we left, zero people were using the inside bar seats. Zero. Do the math.

So here’s the summary: the bartenders? Wonderful. The drinks? Wine was aces, cocktail was great. The front desk and seating policies? A masterclass in absurdity. If you enjoy being treated like an eyesore for daring to exist outside their aesthetic, then this is your spot. But if you value basic human decency and logic, take your money somewhere else. There are plenty of places where tattoos, casual outfits, and actual paying customers are welcomed with open arms. This is not one of them.

If I could in a sentence. Get off your high horse, you would be better off simply telling people that you don’t want in your restaurant that you’re full rather then doing what you...

I’ve seen this restaurant highly recommended on various platforms and social media, so I decided to try it myself. Here are my thoughts:

Positives:

• The food is absolutely top-notch, no doubt about it. I was genuinely surprised by the quality. • The cutlery and utensils were of excellent quality. • The ambiance and location were beautiful and well-maintained, which is a rarity in Peru. • While the drinks didn’t completely meet my taste, they were very well-crafted. The large, clear ice cubes and the cocktail garnishes were impressive. • The service was friendly and attentive.

Negatives/Questionable Points:

• The hostess at the entrance, holding a tablet, had an attitude as if she were working in a three-star restaurant in Paris — the same level of arrogance. A gentle reminder: this is Peru, so perhaps she should bring herself back down to earth. • Even downstairs, the staff with tablets had a similar attitude, which I found unnecessary. I fail to understand the purpose of having so many “tablet ladies” whose only role seems to be guiding guests to their tables, without being able to properly address questions. • The waiting area near the entrance was a bit uncomfortable and could benefit from being more welcoming. • The classic Negroni I ordered didn’t meet my expectations; it didn’t quite taste like a proper Negroni. Moreover, the drink came in a water glass rather than a proper tumbler, and it lacked the large square ice cube. • I understand the restaurant’s dark ambiance extends to the restrooms, but having slightly more light in there would make it easier to see in the mirrors. • When making an online reservation, it would be helpful to clearly indicate whether you’re seated at a proper table or at the sushi bar, where the seating isn’t very comfortable. Additionally, clearer information on there being two locations would be useful to avoid confusion, especially for tourists or foreigners. • Drinks should be served first, followed by appetizers, then the main course. In our case, the appetizers arrived first, with the drinks coming much later, which is not in line with the standards of a restaurant like Osaka.

Conclusion: Osaka is undoubtedly one of Lima’s very good restaurants. However, it has several shortcomings. While these might not be obvious to the typical local, for someone familiar with both Western standards and Peruvian ones, these points are worth mentioning, especially given the price point. Would I return? Definitely, but only if I manage to secure a proper...