Lima Peru: Top Foods to Try

By Don Jones | NXTUP.NTWRK

Image by: Don Jones | NXTUP.NTWRK

Lima is the kind of place where you don’t need a fine-dining reservation to have your tastebuds blown wide open. Whether it’s from a sidewalk stand or a Michelin-rated kitchen, this city serves flavor like it’s hosting the Olympics of food — and spoiler alert: it’s winning.

Image by: Don Jones | NXTUP.NTWRK

Peru has more biodiversity in one country than most continents — high-altitude potatoes, Amazonian fruits, Andes spices, coastal seafood — and Lima brings it all together in one culinary explosion. So yeah… you’ll want to show up hungry.

Here are my **Top 5 must-try foods in Lima** — with a few bonus bites you won’t want to sleep on.

Image by: Don Jones | NXTUP.NTWRK

1. Ceviche — Peru’s National Dish

You haven’t really had ceviche until you’ve had it in Lima. The fish is freshly caught, sliced thin, then marinated in lime juice, Peruvian chili, cilantro, and red onion. It’s light, bold, and hits every flavor receptor like a light show.

📍 Don’s Go-To Spots:

• La Mar (upscale)
• El Mercado (chef-driven)

Or honestly? Some of the best ceviche I had came from a lady selling it off a cart in the historic center. With leche de tigre and concha negra. Fire.

Image by: Don Jones | NXTUP.NTWRK

2. Lomo Saltado — Stir-Fry with a Story

This dish is comfort food with a twist. Think: stir-fried beef with soy sauce, onions, tomatoes, and thick-cut fries — all served over rice. It’s part Chinese, part Peruvian, and 100% satisfying.

Lomo Saltado was born from Peru’s Chinese immigrant community, and it’s now one of the country’s most iconic plates.

📍 Order it anywhere. Bonus if it’s in a neighborhood chifa (Peruvian-Chinese fusion joint).

Image by: Joshua_resnick

3. Anticuchos — Grilled Beef Heart Skewers

Hear me out: beef heart skewers are not just edible — they’re incredible. Juicy, marinated, and grilled over open flame, usually served with potatoes and spicy sauce.

If you’re going to try this, do it right — go to Grimanesa Vargas’ stand in Miraflores. This woman is a legend and her anticuchos are Michelin-worthy.

📍 Address: Calle Ignacio Merino 466, Miraflores ⏰ Tip: Go early — it gets packed fast.

Image by: Jcalvera

4. Aji de Gallina — Creamy Chicken Stew

Imagine shredded chicken in a creamy yellow sauce made of aji amarillo peppers, bread, milk, cheese, and walnuts. That’s Aji de Gallina. It’s warm, indulgent, and totally unique to Peruvian comfort cuisine.

Served with rice, boiled egg, and olives — it’s not the flashiest dish, but it hits.

📍 Try it at a traditional huarique (local eatery) or order it as a lunch special.

Image by: GSR-PhotoStudio

5. Picarones — Sweet Potato Donuts

These aren’t your average doughnuts. Picarones are deep-fried rings made from sweet potato and squash, served hot and drenched in a spiced molasses syrup called chancaca.

They’re light, sweet, and slightly chewy — the kind of dessert that feels just messy enough to be fun.

📍 Best enjoyed from a street cart. Follow the smell. Trust your instincts.

Image by: Microstock_Growth

Bonus Bite: Granadilla — The Tropical Sleeper Hit

It looks like an alien egg but tastes like a tropical dream. *Granadilla* is a citrus fruit you crack open to reveal jelly-like seeds with a flavor that lands somewhere between passionfruit and lychee.

📍 Find it at any market or juice stand. Don’t overthink it — just scoop and slurp.

📺 Watch the full **video here** to get the entire scoop on what to to when visiting Lima Peru 🇵🇪!

And for those off-the-radar gems that are so NXTUP it hurts — 👉 Peep my NXTUP.TOP3 Hidden Gems in Lima

–

✍️ Written by Don Jones, Co-Founder of **NXTUP.NTWRK **— redefining luxury travel through the lens of culture, design, and flavor.