Living in Peru : your everyday companion

When friends come from abroad to visit me in Lima, there are a few things I ensure that they do: try surfing on Waikiki (I’m from Nebraska, where the only wave is the one passed around the stands of the American football stadium), eat pollo a la brasa and ceviche (but not together – that would be a good example of uncomfortable fusion), get creeped out in the San Francisco catacombs, and relax in my hammock on the balcony. But more than any of these, I make sure they eat sushi. I have lived on three continents and have traveled in plenty of countries, but have not experienced so much high-quality Japanese food in one city yet. I’m sure L.A., New York and every city in Japan beat Lima hands down, but Peru is clearly in the world’s top ten cities for sushi.

A year ago I started eating Japanese food here in Lima, and now, without any further pomp or pompousness, is my ranking of Lima’s Japanese restaurants, from worst to best:

Category III – Don’t Waste Your Time

28. Umi . -Avenida Del Ejército, 665 - Miraflores. Lima - Peru
422-9647
www.umi-sushibar.com

Horrible location, weak selection, poor taste and a staff that is almost guaranteed to weird you out by their attentiveness. I think they have very little business and try to overcompensate by friendliness that turns out to be overbearing. Santa Cruz seems to be a difficult area for sushi restaurants, as the nearby, now-defunct Sushi Art can attest.

27. Kaypi . - Av La Mar 770. Miraflores. (Restaurant LA MAR) Lima - Peru
421-3365
www.lamarcebicheria.com

This bar offers a barra libre of its makis only on Wednesday nights. It tries to pull off the La Mar concrete floors-and-bamboo thing and it comes off feeling more cold and industrial (NB: the Peruvian connection between bamboo and restaurants certainly merits further study). Their rolls are very small and poorly constructed.

23. Polo Marino . - Avenida El Polo, 605. Surco. Lima- Peru
434-2774 / 434-2773

Costanera 700 . - Avenida Del Ejército, 421 - Miraflores. Lima - Peru
421-7508 / 421-4635
www.costanera700.com

Centolla . - Av 2 de Mayo 729. Miraflores. Lima - Peru
445-5021
www.centollarestaurante.com.pe

Nodo -Address temporarily unavailable

I group these four restaurants together because they are all Peruvian Seafood First, Sushi Second restaurants. Their Peruvian cuisine may be excellent (as is often said about Sato’s Costanera, for example), but their sushi is simply not good. As a yapa, Polo and Nodo are both extremely pretentious. At Centolla, which offers all-you-can-eat rolls, they actually charge per corte that you order but don’t eat. Naturally that fired me up, so I had 50 just to spite them. And of course didn’t leave a grain of rice.

22. Sushi Express . - Av Del Parque Sur 139. San Isidro. Lima - Peru
223-2995 / 994-058536

The main drawback of Sushi Express is that there is virtually no dining room. True, it is a delivery-oriented place, but when the sushi finally arrived at my house, I found the rolls to be too soft and gooey. Sushi is much better when eaten fresh – obviously.

21. Shusi Ito (multiple location). - Avenida El Polo, 740. C.C. El Polo.SURCO. Lima
435-5817
Ovalo Bolognesi 506. Miraflores. Lima - Peru
www.sushi-ito.com

Almost all Peruvian Japanese restaurants put too much cream cheese in their rolls, but no one is a bigger culprit than Ito. They should refer to their rolls as combis instead of makis because they are packed so full. Note to restaurant owners: the Japanese are a minimalist people, so take their lead and realize that sometimes less is more. In addition, their prices are ridiculously high.

20. Mr. Sushi -(multiple locations) Av Peset y Coronel Portillo (Grifo REPSOL) San Isidro. Lima - Peru
Av Golf Los Incas 493. Surco. Lima - Peru
Av Comandante Espinar 326. Miraflores. Lima
436-8282 (only delivery to any place)
www.mrsushiperu.com

I recently visited this chain’s new restaurant on Espinar in Miraflores. I liked the look, the laid-back yet still professional service and the quality of the sushi, but there were ants crawling all over the bar around my plates.

19. Nakachi . - Av. Gregorio Escobedo 803 - Jesus Maria. Lima -Peru
463-1991

Located inside the Centro Peruano-Japonés, this place reminds me a lot of an American diner. No frills, no attempt at decorating – a lot like a cafeteria. However, the menu at Nakachi is different than any other Japanese restaurant in town. While very basic, the makis constitute the smallest section. Sobas, yakitoris and more are to be tried here, however three other more authentic Japanese restaurants are ranked much higher and deserve your visit.

18. Izakaya . - Av Aviacion 2704 (BASEMENT) San Borja. Lima - Peru
475-1586 / 475-8448
rest_izakaya_sotano@hotmail.com

I didn’t mind the sushi at Izakaya. We also enjoyed a few other less well-known dishes that were not bad, but the service here was absolutely horrible. You would have thought we walked into someone’s house and were trying to eat while they were watching TV. And most of both of their dining rooms have a distinct odor to them that is far from pleasant.

17. Magma . - San Martin 512. MIraflores. LIma - Peru.
242-6715

This “Sushi Lounge” was my first barra libre experience in Lima, and I adored it. I sung its praises like I’m singing Fiesta’s right now (Chiclayan cuisine). Since then, however, the price of their all-you-can-eat deal increased by 25% and made half the rolls ineligible. In hindsight, in Magma you do sort of feel as if you’re eating in a backpacker’s ghetto in Thailand.

Category II – Not Too Shabby

16. Benihana . - C.C. Jockey Plaza. SURCO. Lima - Peru
435-1777

Yes, this is a chain, and yes teppanyaki is one of the cheesiest cuisines in the entire world. Maybe it was because my expectations were so low that this sushi really impressed me. Moreover, the grilled meats were juicy and the service was very attentive.

15 (tie). Kintaro . - Av La Molina 1111. La Molina. LIma - Peru
349-0116 / 348-7432
www.kintaro.com.pe


Makoto (multiple locations) . - LARCOMAR. Miraflores. Lima - Peru
444-5030
JOCKEY PLAZA. Surco. LIma - Peru
436-8472
makotosushibar@terra.com.pe
makoto_sushibar@yahoo.com

Tokyo . - Berlin 645 - Miraflores. Lima-Peru
241-1577
www.sushitokyoperu.com

Matsuri . - Calle Manuel Bonilla 120. Miraflores. Lima - Peru
241-9557
www.matsurisushibar.com

Zen . - Avenida Dos de Mayo, 621 - San Isidro. Lima - Peru
442-8174
zensushibar@live.com

Ibuki . - Calle Manuel Olguín, 561 - (Espalda Jockey Club) - SURCO. Lima
250-1231 (1) 358-8263
www.ibukisushibar.com

Six restaurants that were all good, but not great. I can’t think of anything bad to say about them, but nothing spectacular about their food, either. Kintaro will deliver and has 2-for-1 specials at lunch. Makoto has nice Bento boxes. Zen has a great interior. And Matsuri is tucked away on an quaint street with some other gems (Café Habana, La Trattoria de Membrino).

14. Marriott Sushi Bar . - Malecón De la Reserva, 615. Miraflores. Lima - Peru
217-7000

The last to be visited, but certainly not the worst. While you have to enter the gringafied badlands of the Larcomar region, the rolls at this bar were surprisingly good. Their Huancaína might be the best fusion roll in town, and the Batayaki is an absolute must-try. However, their sashimi is wrinkled, uber-thin and not worth the price. In fact, without my friend’s 20% discount this restaurant would be ranked much lower.

11. Matsuei . - Manuel Bañón 260 - San Isidro. Lima - Peru
422-4323

Osaka . - Av Conquistadores, 999 - San Isidro. Lima - Peru
222-0405
www.osaka.com.pe

Sentori . - Miguel Daso 110. San Isidro. Lima- Peru
(511)440-0766
www.sentorisushi.com

These three are grouped because, like #10 Edo, they are over-hyped, but unlike Edo, their prices are ridiculously expensive AND they are pretentious. These are see-and-be-seen type places. They offer great food, but their prices and their egos need to come down from the stratosphere.

10. Edo (multiple locations) . - Berlín, 601 - Miraflores. Lima - Peru
243-0095
San Borja Sur, 663 - San Borja. Lima - Peru
225-0881
Avenida Salaverry, 3230 - San Isidro. Lima -Peru
264-1487
www.edosushibar.com

Probably the most-hyped place in all of Lima, I find Edo to have an interesting selection of rolls and a sleek look, but it is pricey (S/.8 for a soda?) and its spicy rolls constitute misleading advertising (read: bland as can be). I like that Edo offers rolls without fish, as well as dessert rolls, but I can’t really put it in the upper echelon.

9. Toshiro’s . - Av Conquistadores 450. San Isidro. Lima - Peru
221-7243

Although you might recognize the namesake chef (from Wong’s knife campaign earlier this year, for example), you probably wouldn’t recognize the food. This is not a place for makis and sashimi, but rather karage and donburi. The interior, however, is clinical and not intimate at all. And the prices are too high.

8. Irashai. - Av Aviacion 2704 (Floor 18) San Borja. Lima - Peru

Located the floor above #18 Izakaya, Irashai is a small, simple sushi restaurant with just a few tables and good service. The prices are great, and the rolls are tasty.

Category I – Must-Visits

7. Fuji . - Av Paseo de la Republica 4090. Miraflores. Lima - Peru
440-8531
restaurant_fuji@yahoo.com

I think Fuji is about as old school as you can get in Lima and still be Japanese. The décor probably hasn’t changed in years, and things run at a slower pace, but Fuji remains a classic. Like Toshiro’s, Fuji is a restaurant for fans of authentic Japanese – not just California rolls and Nisei in headbands.

5 (tie). Don Katsu . - Jr. Ramón Dagnino 227 - Jesus Maria. Lima -Peru
332-3825

Ono -Address temporarily unavailable

Don Katsu recently moved locations, and Ono is brand new; as such, they may benefit from their sharp looking interiors and chefs who are probably happy with new equipment. Regardless, these are both really solid choices for Japanese. They don’t fall cleanly on the Toshiro’s/Fuji side of Japanese cuisine, nor do they go Magma and just cater to the gringo/Peruvian palate; somehow they straddle the fence with success. Don Katsu has the most extensive menu of any restaurant on this list, and Ono has a great location in Miraflores.

4. Ichiban . - Calle Río Grande, 173 - Parque Industrial San Pedrito II. Surco. Lima - Peru
247-7672

I felt like I was entering Japan when I walked into Ichiban. Tucked into a hard-to-find basement in San Isidro, Ichiban hits you with shouts of “irashai” (roughly “Welcome, spend money!”) from the kitchen, and daily specials written in Japanese on the white board. The tea and the service are outstanding here.

3. Oceánika . - Avenida Paseo del Bosque, 529 - (Alt. Cdra. 11 y 12 San Borja Sur) SAN BORJA - Lima - Peru
372-7829 / 372-7785
www.oceanikarestaurante.com

Although the warehouse feel of Oceánika really rubs me the wrong way, this restaurant offers the best barra libre in town. For S/.40 you can choose from any of their amazing rolls. Their ingredients are fresh, the waiters are excellent, and the variety of their rolls is eclectic and wide. I can’t wait to go back here.

2. Hanzo -Prolongacion Primavera 1494. Surco. Lima - Peru
344-4801
hanzosushi@terra.com.pe

Like Picas, Siam, Tabla or Om, Hanzo could be located in any world capital. It is professional without being pompous and offers fantastic food. Hanzo is one of the few restaurants in Lima at which you might be in trouble if you’re caught without a reservation.

1. Misaki . - Av Conquistadores 598 San Isidro. Lima - Peru
422-6367
www.misaki.pe

Lima’s only kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi restaurant. Misaki is located amongst the Japanese wolves of San Isidro (Osaka, Matsuei, Sentori) and comes out the champion. It is a place for a date or for the family, offering some of the freshest sashimi in town at great prices (S/.30 for a plate for two people). And it is hard to beat the user-friendly nature of the pick-your-own-plate conveyor belt action.