La Blonda Marina is a delightful and unassuming little lunch spot in San Isidro. In fact some of the best cevicherias are in San Isidro, a bustling and trendy business neighborhood. This restaurant is all seafood, and on the menu are classics. What I loved about the ceviche here is the classy garnishes, the attention to quality ingredients, and a lovely presentation.

I visited this restaurant on a sunny summer day in January 2022, a beautiful day for some healthy, refreshing ceviche and a cold beer. Shown here is Ceviche Clasico de Pescado en Salsa de Rocoto, served immaculately in a glass bowl with camote (sweet potato), and choclo (the standard starchy, larger sized corn of Peru). The plump layers of white fish (the exact fish type may be different depending on the dish) are perfectly broken up with the red onion of the leche de tigre bath.

Also shown is Pulpitos a la Chalaca, which is diced octopus chalaca style. What is chalaca style? Well I’m not exactly sure actually. I believe it means the presentation in bite size portions presented in eight a spoon or a half shell. Each bite is a composition of the fish, red onion, leche de tigre, and red onion. The common thread in these Peruvian seafood classics is the acidic lime juice with a aji peppers is the electricity that races through this dish, each bite a fresh explosion of citrus juices.

Terminal Pesquero is located on the frenzied thoroughfare of Jose Larco in the heart of Miraflores, a block south of Parque Kennedy. Miraflores is bustling around here with banks, shops, many pedestrians, traffic and bus stops. While I wouldn’t call this a destination restaurant, it’s an enjoyable escape for a little lunch if you’re in the area. I put this one on the list as it represents your basic everyday ceviche at a good quality, hearty and satisfying. It’s also busy, in a busy area, so you can be confident of the quality. It has a casual almost beach vibe, and a decor including white tiles which seems to subconsciously suggest “fresh seafood.” Examples like this category of lunch restaurant are everywhere. The menu here is approachable and not overwhelming. They have standard versions of all the favorites classics around Lima. 

Pictured here is ceviche carretillero, which is one of my favorites. It combines the classic fish ceviche with fried calamari, or in this case pota, which is fried cuttlefish, a cheaper but still enjoyable alternative. Also pictured here is “Tiradito de Papá Frankie” which is sashimi style slices of fish bathed in ceviche juice including yellow and smoked red pepper.

Lobo de Mar is similar to Terminal Pesquero, a casual friendly little lunch spot. However, I include it for sentimental reasons, it was the first cevicheria that I ever visited, on the first day of my first trip to Lima in January 2021. Literally, wandering around on my first day in a state of wonder and confusion. So it’s a bit special to me, and I’ve been back many times. It is a casual, friendly family style neighborhood establishment. There are two locations for Lobo de Mar in Miraflores, so if anyone reads this and goes there, make sure you go to the location I am describing! It’s tucked between homes on a quite and leafy residential street, just a couple blocks from the Malecon and Larcomar. 

During the week the restaurant is not busy, but on a Sunday be prepared to wait. Families of four or six and other groups will pour in and out and pass a leisurely afternoon with platters of chicharron, pescado lenguado, fried calamari, choclo to snack on, jugs of fresh squeezed pineapple juice, chilcanos and cold sweaty beers.

Punto Azul is a classy and busy lunch spot in Miraflores with many of the same favorites on the menu. Here the vibe and dishes are just a tiny step up in terms of presentation and variety. At Punto Azul you will see well to do middle class citizenry lining up to enjoy the distinct beauty of Peruvain seafood gastonomy.

Canta Rana is pretty much as classic and authentic as they come. This reflects not only the menu, but the rustic and charming atmosphere overall. The space is filled with Peruvian love – walls covered in flags, football jerseys, photos of past patrons and famous people (famous in Peru maybe!), and other memoribilia.  A casual lunch here feels like a step back in time almost. On the menu are once again all the classic Peruvian dishes, way beyond ceviche. This is the pattern you soon recognize – classic restaurants prepare the classic national dishes. In fact this is how restaurants are in many cultures, the menu reflecting the local region.  On the menu at Canta Rana are numerous dishes I did not have time to try or could not translate their names or understand flat out. It was also one of the first restaurants I tried during my first visit, so I knew nothing. Menu dish names are not easily translatable, they are quirky and colloquial. So this is how I ended up ordering a simple seafood broth with mussels, one of those fun surprises where you don’t know exactly what you’ll be getting.

Shown here is a classic ceviche mixto, which includes octopus, shrimp, and mussels. So if it’s a hot day and you’re in the mood for come ceviche and a cold beer, head on over to Canta Rana. You will notice it is on many best-of lists for Lima. It’s a fun experience!

Honestly, to this day I still have no idea what the hell “chalaca” means. I’ve seen “choritos a la chalaca,” which is something presented either on a spoon or a half shell, in bite size format. It must be a slang term, which there is a lot of, for this style of presentation. My translator defines it as “skeleton.” So I’m going to let this one go for now. Even my Peruvian girlfriend couldn’t tell me what it means. But it sounds fun right?!

I loved this little lunch spot. It looks rather out of place, smooshed into the side of a large office building among a block of high end restaurants, boutiques, and other office buildings. The rustic wooden tables signal the kind of casual eatery this is. The clientele will be well to do locals and those who work in the neighborhood. And it was always packed.

I did not eat a traditional ceviche pescado here. Rather, I had the ceviche conchas negras, a Peruvian delicacy. At first glance this is an unusual and possibly unappetizing dish. (I describe ceviche conchas negras in my post on huariques.) Once you have discovered ceviche pescado, conchas negras is a level deeper into the strange world of Peruvian food.

Ceviche conchas negras consists mainly of the conch, which resembles no other sea creature I can think of. It looks like something out of Alien – gray and slimy, with a firm and mysterious crunchy after bite. What this crunch represents, I don’t want to know. This is complemented by a bath of red onion, salsa criolla, camote (sweet potato) and chocla (raw starchy corn) and concha (toasted corn). The challenge with this dish is not so much the conch, but the almost overwhelming amount of red onion involved. In some restaurants (usually the fancier places) there was so much red onion I thought I would turn into one.  Generally a lot of Peruvian dishes are served with substantial amounts of red onion (and lime juice and everything else). But in some places, it struck me as simply too much goddamn onion. Here at Barra Chalaca the red onion was balanced with everything else, so we’re good.

The most interesting and rewarding aspect of this dish is that with every bite you feel you are eating the ocean. The strong yet muted, unmistakeable taste of murky, briney saltwater which puts you immediately on a shoreline at low tide. This is the most interesting part of experiencing this dish.

The other dish pictured is again choritos a la chalaca, which just never gets old. I have photos of the menu which I will dig up and add.