Lets start from the end and work our way backward. A trio of sorbets for dessert – lemon, watermelon and passionfruit (plus liquid nitrogen smoking rose petals…), so a good balance of acid and sweet. I couldn’t eat it because of the dairy, but the layered apple tart that looked like a piece of baklava was beautiful with a dulce de leche ice cream and an apple gel.
I also didn’t get to try this one, but the cherimoya and mango mousse with dried mangoes and kiwicha (amaranth) crunch looked pretty stellar. I love the mix of textures and temperatures, too.
Sweet tooth satisfied, lets get to the mains (I did eat the meal in the correct order, but after a lot of restaurant blog posts, it’s nice to mix things up).
Why does everyone think spinach is better if it’s deep-fried? I’m not convinced, but it does save the bright colour of the greens. The olives here are amazing, though, and the perfectly pickled onions, fresh artichokes, crisp green beans, seared “chita” rockfish plus some incredible bitter greens to balance the sweet tomatoes and salty olives combine for one wonderful dish – fresh and simple with quality ingredients.
Here’s another one I didn’t try, but there’s another bed of fried spinach with all the juices from the baby calf soaking into it. That’s a huge chunk of tender meat. Gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, balsamic reduction (I think?), more bitter greens (watercress), and those same addictive pickled onions. Beautiful presentation.
Another nicely cooked fish: A whole cabrilla (local snapper-like fish) stuffed with cheese and served with a balsamic (or was it port?) reduction and roasted potatoes. More fried spinach, of course. It was a very generous serving. Actually both fish were very generous. It’s a very large plate.
The appetizers were a little less Mediterranean and a little more Peruvian – except the lobster raviolo.
Is that more spinach? The watercress is, again, lovely, and such a good pairing with the savoury pasta. And there’s another bitter green that isn’t watercress there. You don’t need more than one raviolo with the mains that came after.
I started with tiradito, which is like ceviche but with fish or seafood cut sashimi style instead of cubes. That day it was scallops. The slices are spread out and soaked in a lime and amarillo yellow chili pepper sauce and served with boiled sweet potato and choclo (fat corn). Then there was one seared scallop on top. It’s a very gourmet addition. You don’t see the sashimi-cut slices of scallop in the sauce, but it’s chock full of the sweet meat.This is maybe the only dish with a less than stunning presentation. It’s almost a scallop soup, so it’s a bit tricky to come up with a good way to present it.
There’s also a traditional appetizer plate with sole ceviche, cilantro-cream tiradito and fried calamari.
And the very beginning of the meal was an amuse-bouche of press-ed pineapple gel and fois gras. I love that pineapple is local here!! And as I have a fair bit of experience with fois gras in Montreal, I was pretty impressed with the quality of the duck liver here. Gorgeous plating, again, on a stone slab:
Okay, I’m skipping back to dessert. Well, post-dessert.
If you order coffee or tea (or just come for coffee or tea in the afternoon) you get a complimentary platter of cookies and truffles. Afternoon coffee is a great tradition in Lima…almost as good as the siesta you’ll need after most meals. But La Locanda’s food isn’t that heavy. It’s healthy and filling, with lots of olive oil (this is not diet food), but not full of preservatives like the cheap meals you get on every corner at lunch. And it’s not just pure carbs like a lot of Italian places. This is refined Mediterranean food, and the price isn’t bad for what you get. About 100 soles all-in for lunch (the large meal of the day for most Peruvians). So about $40 with service and tax included. There’s also a more expensive tasting menu, around 150 soles, I think (just under $70).
I should say, I met the chef. He’s a young guy – very passionate about his cuisine and about sourcing his ingredients. I have a lot of respect for this food.
La Locanda
Where: Via Central 150, Centro Empresarial Real, San Isidro, Lima 27, Peru (Swissotel Lima)
When: 12:30 – 3:30, 7pm – 11pm
+51 1421 4400
How Much: $40-$70, including tax
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