I N T E R N AT I O N A L
Four of the 50 Best Restaurants
Centre left: A selection of dishes at Maido (below, centre); Below: Corn, quinoa and chillies at Mayta
Central
The only one that we didn’t get to eat in but did get to see: Virgilio Martínez Véliz’s Central is a lesson in pared-back luxe. The immaculate space is where he weaves his magic, bringing a taste of Peru’s many different ecosystems to his guests’ curious palates. centralrestaurante.com.pe
Above: A peek inside Central; Top: Corn, purple cabbage, mochero chili and beef cheek from the Kjolle Experience
Kjolle
Maido
One floor up from Central and equally impressive is Kjolle, the solo project from Véliz’s wife and Central’s co-founder, Pía León. It’s an absolute stunner – spacious, light and airy, dreamy almost – and with just nine tables, there’s room to take everything in. The design is comfortable luxury, with all fixtures and fittings made from natural materials, all sourced from in and around the region. Again, the focus is on the land, highlighting the bounty grown or found on the coast or in the desert, foothills, mountains and Amazon jungle. You can go off-piste and order from an à la carte menu, but we went all out with the Kjolle Experience: eight courses of utter brilliance, spotlighting an array of Peruvian pleasures including manà, kañigua, black mashwa, quinoa leaf and a range of tubers, all presented from the open kitchen where Pía can be seen cooking up a storm. kjolle.com
Maido means ‘welcome’ in Japanese and it’s something you’ll hear the team bellow in unison every time a customer walks up the stairs. It’s a busy, more tightly packed restaurant than the other three and unlike the others on this list, the food combines Peruvian ingredients with Japanese techniques. The result? Nikkei cuisine. Try it from the sushi bar, ordering à la carte options, or going all out on the Nikkei Experience tasting menu, which we did. Seafood is the star, with the tuna served wafer thin and sliced and seared tableside a particular highlight. maido.pe
65 THE COCK TAIL LOVERS / ISSUE 45
Mayta
Jaime Pesaque’s love for the land is evident – not just in the name of his restaurant (Mayta means ‘noble land’ in the Aymara language) but in the wood and plants that dictate the mood of the room and the array of colourful dishes that are presented within it. Like Kjolle, the 11-course tasting menu heroes native ingredients – including tubers, corn, alpaca (yes, alpaca!), Andean cheese and cushuro, amongst others – so imaginatively presented that it’s almost a crime to eat them. Jaime Pesaque, we salute you. maytalima.com
