Lima, Peru is a very underrated food city.
Central is one of the top tier restaurants in Lima. It was also 2023’s World’s Best Restaurant.
Reservations: They are sold out 3 months in advance but I tried to walk in as a single individual and they were able to accommodate me. I highly recommend you try a walk in if you cannot get a reservation. It’s not guaranteed but there’s a chance.
Atmosphere: Central is the ground floor of the building which also includes another restaurant ‘Kjolle’ on the second floor. (The chefs are married.) Since I was a walk in, I was sat at a long granite table right in front of the kitchen which really elevated my experience.
Food: The food courses were based on the altitude of the ingredients (there are several restaurants in Lima who do this). All the courses were delicious and tasted like their altitude. The sea tasted like the sea, the highlands like the highlands, and the rainforest like the rainforest. The last chocolate course was special as it included each and every part of the chocolate pod to create 8 different desserts.
Experience: The experience began with a tour of the ingredients, colors, and the utensils. Like a museum exhibit. It was great to learn about the different kinds of plates, bowls, and spoons used in the experience as well as later eating with those utensils. The experience also included 2 books that I got to bring home.
Service: Absolutely top notch! I would go as far as to say that it was the best service I have ever experienced. One example of this came when one of the courses had to be eaten with my hands. I pat wiped my fingers on my napkin, and less than 10secs later, my napkin was replaced. Another example was when I spilled a chive on the table, and it was cleaned immediately after my course was completed. I didn’t even realize I had spilled a piece of chive.
Summary: An amazing experience that I will not forget and love to talk about at every opportunity. The servers even asked if I wanted a picture in front of the sign before I walked out. Great food, great atmosphere, and great service!
by BlacknightEM21
4 Comments
Going in August and so excited!
I’m going to MAZ in Tokyo in a couple weeks, very excited. Seems like the tourists are kinda iffy on it but the locals love it.
I trust the locals in Tokyo much more. I think the tourists go in looking for a more Japanese centric approach which it is not.
Interesting how different your experience was! Ours, unfortunately, was quite disappointing — the food felt more like a showcase of “look what ingredient we used” rather than actually tasting good, and the service was terrible. At one point, we had eight empty wine glasses on the table. Still, I’m glad you enjoyed your dinner!
The plate of dots is cool