It should come as no surprise that Peruvian food continues to entice even the pickiest palates. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 is a distinguished organization that showed its list of the world’s best restaurants on June 5th, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Over 1,080 international restaurant industry experts, including important organizations worldwide, also participated. This year’s winner was Barcelona’s Disfrutar, run by the trio of chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, and Mateu Casañas.
Disfrutar Barcelona in Spain offers a tasting menu. It features avant-garde cooking with dishes notable for their strong Mediterranean flavors. Other favorites, such as Table by Bruno Verjus, made it to third place, and Asador Etxebarry is the runner-up.
You might know that last year’s winner was Central Restaurant in Lima, Peru; it was named the number-one restaurant in the world. For that reason, it’s not on this year’s list. Central is in a group called “The best of the best.” This list includes all the restaurants that have won the World’s 50 Best Restaurants poll every year since it started. Because of this, Central can’t vote in the next poll.
In this prestigious list, you can find the finest restaurants in the world, such as Eleven Madison Park, Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, and more. However, we’ve got 5 Peruvian restaurants that made it to the 100 Best Restaurants, and 3 are in the 50 Best list.
However, in this blog, we’ll tell you about the 5 Peruvian restaurants included this year. They include the 5th best restaurant in the world and the best in Latin America, Maido, by Mitsuharu “Micha” Tsumura.
Mil (#73)
Mil is a tiny Andean version of the famous Central in Lima. However, it exclusively sources from the ecology surrounding the restaurant, as opposed to using ingredients from across the country.
Mil is 3,600 meters above sea level, it’s one of Virgilio Martinez’s restaurants. It’s set in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, at the ancient Moray Inca Lab. The ingredients that Mil uses are basically those that come from its research center and organic and natural products that surround the area.
Mil has eight dishes/ecosystems on our tasting menu, made with ingredients from immediate surroundings. The Mil menu will immerse you in a completely new world. Tasting this menu in the middle of the Sacred Valley’s nature cannot be expressed in words.
Merito (#55)
This restaurant is established under 150-year-old adobe walls, wooden tables, and stone floors. On the first floor, you can have a sensorial and visual experience, as you can have your meal while the chefs are cooking. This restaurant is owned by a young Venezuelan chef, who mixes ingredients and techniques from both countries.
Peru is well known for being the origin of potatoes, including other Andean tubers, so, one of the features of this restaurant is the use of Peruvian tubers, and other local products on their menu. We can assure you you’ll love the Venezuelan-Peruvian combination that Merito offers.
Mayta (#41)
Chef Jaime Pesaque is the mastermind of Mayta, which in Aymara, another Peruvian ancient language means “noble land”. In 2022, this restaurant entered the world’s best 50. Mayta offers a 9-course “Yachay “tasting menu that highlights ingredients from Peru, like scallops with fava beans and goat with Andean herbs.
The Amazonian fish known as “paiche,” which has a strong flavor, is one of the dishes that Mayta serves. Every meal is an artistic creation, with colorful vegetables taking center stage. One such is the “ham” from the paiche, which is sliced thin and shaped like an intricate flower. Mayta also serves as a pisco bar with inventive takes on the national beverage.
Kjolle (#16)
This restaurant’s name is called after a plant that grows in high altitudes under hard conditions. Kjolle is run by Pia Leon, Virgilio Martnez’s wife, and is the “sister restaurant” of Central. The “Kjolle Experience” includes an 8-course tasting meal offered by Kjolle, which strives to highlight Peru’s natural beauty. The menu is a reflection of Peru’s seasons and what inspires León right now, be it an abundance of seafood from Peru’s Pacific coast.
It’s important to mention that Pia Leon was named the best female chef in the world in 2022. With her husband, Virgilio, she runs an interpretation center called “Mater”. It aims to preserve the agrobiodiversity and cultural traits of Peru’s Indigenous areas. Mater’s work involves the design of culinary concepts with identities, such as Central, Kjolle, and Mil.
Maido (#5)
Maido in Lima is not only the best Peruvian restaurant on the list but is also the best restaurant in Latin America. Chef with Japanese ancestry, Mitsuharu Tsumura combines Peruvian ingredients with Japanese technical mastery in a blend that’s called “Nikkei”.
After exploring his roots in Japan and thanks to his studies, he gained knowledge to create Maido. The ambiance and decoration that Maido offers are distinctive and artistically appealing. When you enter Maido, the staff will greet you with a joyful “maido”!
We feel sorry if this blog made you hungry; our food is mouthwatering, and experts know it very well. We hope you can visit our country to try these restaurants for yourself!
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