#kjolle

8/7/2025

Kjolle

8/7/2025

Kjolle

The parents and I arrived in Lima on Friday afternoon. We relaxed in our beautiful adjoining hotel rooms with a view of the water before getting ready for the main event, dinner. Peggy had thoughtfully made us reservations a Kjolle which is ranked 28 on the world's best restaurant list!

Kjolle is in the same building as Central, the number one in the world and is owned by Pia León who is the business and life partner of Virgilio Martinez, the owner of Central.

Entering Kjolle ellicited an eerie feeling in my gut like I was walking into the restaurant from the movie “The Menu”. Maybe it was the etherial background music or the fact that they had exactly the number of chairs at each table that the reservations required. It was evident that they thought about every detail - maybe even the best way to murder us?

While they do have a tasting menu, we opted to pick our own dishes with the help of the wait staff. Below I have posted a picture of the menu and highlighted the dishes we ordered (note that the prices are in soles). With each dish, including the potato bread, the staff brought out a jar or plate with one of the primary ingredients of the dish as a presentation of the food and where it came from.

The most memorable dishes for me were the scallops and squash and crustaceans. The presentation and flavors of these two dishes were special. For dessert we of course picked the chocolate option which was deconstructed different formations of cacao.

We survived the experience! The next day we ventured to Parque Kennedy where they feed and protect the stray cats. It was fun seeing the cats roam free in the park. There was also an art market where we browsed. Unfortunately I had bought too much art in Cusco but there were a lot of nice pieces and my parents considered buying a big piece.

As the morning progressed, we began to process the news about the horrific terrorist attacks in Israel. We slowly understood the scale of what happened and started reaching out to our Israeli family to check in on them. We spent the rest of the day talking and walking and reflecting.

For dinner Peggy selected another great restaurant, number 32 on the top restaurants list, Mayta. The service and ambience were that of a nice restaurant but not nearly as impressive as Kjolle; however, we enjoyed the food there more. The cocktail I ordered was served over a box of dry ice which did create a bit of a fun show.

What we ordered at Mayta: a zoodles dish, eggplant, the BIGGEST oysters I've ever seen in my life, scallops, lomo saltado, sea bass, and a heavenly cacao dish with mousse, nibs, and more. Just thinking about it now makes my mouth water.

Sunday was our last day together in Lima which was spent walking around town, visiting the Parque del Amor, stumbling on the botanical gardens, going to the MAC museum, and eating at the hotel's restaurant.

Lima, a Foodie’s Fantasy

With my two adult daughters in tow, one a vegetarian and the other a pescatarian we delighted in the options we discovered in Lima, Peru! Breakfast was included at the hotel and actually had individual stations for various food choices including vegans!

Life is good when you can find new restaurants for both lunch and dinner each day. It is even better when the cost of these delicious morsels…