I was in Peru last month and was able to check out a few places, including Mérito.
I enjoyed this meal, with highlights including the 2nd course (which iirc was a yacon pastry sandwich with
some great tangy fish/kiwicha filling between), the scallop course, which paired the sweet raw scallops with an herby jalapeno sauce and tart sanky gelatin slices on top, and the paiche fish course (the leaf wrapped thing placed on a reddish brown sauce), with the meaty fish cooked perfectly and paired with both a great “bbq-like sauce” and a sauce with tucupi, a yellow cassava byproduct.
It was a fun way to learn about a ton of ingredients that you can’t get outside of South America, with many fruits and tubers that I haven’t seen outside of Peru.
We got the mixed pairing and had both some great South American wines and some creative non-alcoholic drinks made with ingredients to match the courses.
The plating was artful with some great geometric designs that took advantage of the vivid colors of the ingredients.
The spot itself is dark and cozy in Barranco, which ended up our main haunting grounds in Lima. It’s also right around the corner from its sister restaurant clon (a more casual à la carte place), which actually could be argued to have even better food.
I would definitely recommend this to any travelers to Lima, and don’t miss clon either.
by travelbug898
1 Comment
Have been to Mérito once, and Clon three times, this year.
I agree. I think the food is marginally better at Clon.