Lima 33 Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

My wife and I spent about 5 weeks in Peru, traveling between Lima, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, and Puno. We sampled the cuisine in all parts of the country. We had street food, hovel food, home cooked food, midling restaurant food, and exquisite food. We even went to a Peruvian Indian (as in India) restaurant. And a French place too.

You would be hard pressed to find food this good in Peru. One restaurant comes to mind -- we sat in a 300 year old colonial dining room where the waitstaff stood at attention by the table and snapped to the instant they were needed. You know what? The food at Lima 33 is better. Does that make Lima 33 authentic or not?

I saw a YouTube video of this restaurant, and apparently the chef is from Trujillo. Unfortunately my wife and I didn't make it as far north as Trujillo so I'm not familiar with northern Peruvian cuisine, but I say Lima 33 is as authentic as can be, even if the average Peruvian would never see such exquisite food in his life.

The restaurant is a little odd: I wouldn't call it upscale, but it does try, and succeed, to be much nicer than the average restaurant in the neighborhood. Between the white linen table clothes, the nice wine glasses and flatware, and very friendly yet attentive waitstaff, this is a restaurant you can take a date to (or go on "date night" with your wife) and feel like you're doing something special and out of the ordinary. The food here is phenomenal. The video I watched implied that guys from Trujillo know how to cook a marinara, but I thought the entire meal was an A from start to finish.

Yucca Fries and Green Sauce: A+ The gratis food they put down on the table before you order, like how Chinese restaurants used to do in the 80's with those fried noodles. Obviously just cooked recently because they were fresh and still very warm, they are seriously addicting, both with and without the green sauce. I thought my baby was going to have a heart attack when we ate them all. My daughter was also unhappy too.

Tamal Limeño: A+ I'll say it simply. The best tamal I've ever had in my life. I've been disappointed with really bad tamals -- some are flavorless, some are so wet they become goopy. Some have a weird aroma from the banana leaves. This one was absolutely perfect. I never order the same thing twice at a restaurant, and I'd definitely consider getting this again. Beautiful flavor with just the right amount of moisture: moist without being gelatinous.

Ceviche de Pescado: A One of the better ceviches I've had. Better than any ceviche I've had in Latin America. This one has just fish, no squid / calamari which I don't care for because it never gets tender in ceviche, so the ceviche de pescado is perfect for me. I'm not giving this an A+ simply because the onions needed to be marinated more; they still had too much of a raw onion bite.

Avocado Salad: A+ Ordered this for my baby, and it was DELICIOUS. Very fresh and vibrant, but I wouldn't order this for one person. It's pretty big -- more appropriate for 2 or 3 people. I mean, look at my picture. Doesn't it...

Lima 33 turned out to be such a gem. The food here feels real, comforting, and made with heart you can taste the traditions behind every dish, but it also just hits the spot in the moment. Every plate felt alive with history, fresh ingredients, and flavors that told a story.

We started with Yuca Fries, a staple across Latin America but especially beloved in Peru. Yuca, or cassava, is a starchy root vegetable that’s been part of Indigenous diets for thousands of years. Fried to a golden crisp on the outside and soft inside, they came served with a creamy, herby green sauce (aji verde) made with Peruvian ají amarillo peppers, cilantro, lime, and mayo. The pairing was addictive crispy, hearty yuca dipped into that tangy-spicy sauce was the perfect start to the meal.

Next was the Ceviche Mixto, Peru’s national dish and a reflection of its coastal identity. This version came with shrimp, calamari, octopus, and raw corvina fish, all marinated in lime juice until the acidity “cooked” the seafood. Thin-sliced red onions added a sharp bite, while the rocoto (red-hot Peruvian pepper) gave it that fiery brightness ceviche is famous for. It was served with orange sweet potato for sweetness and choclo (giant Peruvian corn) for an earthy chew. Ceviche has deep roots pre-Columbian cultures cured fish with fruit juices long before the Spanish introduced limes in the 1500s. Every bite here felt both refreshing and balanced, spicy yet smooth, and steeped in history.

Then came the Lomo Saltado, one of my personal favorites. This dish is pure chifa (Chinese-Peruvian fusion), born in the 19th century when Chinese immigrants brought stir-frying techniques to Peru. Tender strips of filet mignon were seared in a blazing wok with onions, tomatoes, and garlic, then flavored with soy sauce and ají amarillo for that perfect sweet-umami-spicy mix. French fries tossed right into the wok soaked up all the juices, while the side of white rice brought everything together. It’s the kind of dish where every ingredient has its place the smokiness of the wok, the sweetness of the tomatoes, the savoriness of the beef, and the comforting starch from both rice and potatoes.

Finally, the Pollo a la Brasa, one of Peru’s most beloved exports. This rotisserie chicken has only been around since the 1950s, when Swiss immigrants in Lima began marinating chickens with local spices and roasting them over charcoal. Today, it’s so important that Peru even celebrates “Día del Pollo a la Brasa.” The chicken was marinated with garlic, cumin, paprika, vinegar, and soy sauce, roasted until the skin was smoky and crisp while the meat stayed juicy. It came with a side of rice and beans, plus a tangy red onion salad for brightness. Simple, hearty, and deeply satisfying it’s no wonder this dish has become a Peruvian classic around the world.

What made Lima 33 special was how it balanced tradition with flavor. The service was warm, the portions generous, and each plate carried a little piece of Peru’s history. And honestly, I’m already...

Unassuming Peruvian hole in the wall on northern boulevard. I’ve passed by this place so many times and never knew what I was missing out on until I finally ate here. Once you enter the restaurant, you are rewarded with tantalizing smells of the food being cooked in the kitchen. For a random weekday night out, this restaurant was nicely packed. After we ordered, their on the house (free!) starter was sweet potato fries with their amazing green sauce. I know that free things always taste better but the fries and sauce were so good I would have paid for this starter. The fries were perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The sauce was herby and went well with the fries.

For mains, we ordered a whole chicken, lomo saltado, and the mix of fried seafood. We also ordered a sangria. The sangria was not our favorite as the wine was very strong and did not have an as smooth and as fruity taste. However, all of the food was out of this world. The chicken was hot, juicy, tender, not at all gamey, and had this incredibly tasty crispy skin. The chicken was so flavorful, no sauce was needed for it. The fried seafood mix was everything you’d expect from fried seafood plus there were some fried yuca pieces as well as a little onion and tomato salad on the side. This platter came with the delicious green sauce that goes well with pretty much anything. The lomo saltado was so good and I cannot stop thinking about it. The tender pieces of beef were perfectly seasoned in this addicting sauce with onions and peppers. They came on a bed of crispy fries and next to perfectly...