Foodcrawling: Nikkei in Lima, Peru

Peruvians of Japanese decent, the second largest Japanese population in Latin America after Brazil, have had a profound influence on Peruvian food. In fact, it was Japanese chefs in Lima that taught Peruvians to properly cut fish and shorten the time it spends in acid for what has become the standard preparation of ceviche, not to mention inventing the sashimi like tiradito and dozens of other popular plates. Nikkei restaurants in Lima go far beyond sushi bars, and several dazzling new Nikkei restaurants, propped up by a few classics, are taking this fusion cuisine to places it has never been.

Ache (La Paz 1055, Miraflores. 51-1-221-9315)

Nikkei restaurant of the moment, Ache, is Hajime Kasuga’s contemporary spot. Located just beside two other new fusion restaurants — Acurio’s Italian-Peruvian restaurant, Los Bachiche, and Pedro Miguel Schiaffino’s Amazonian restaurant, Amaz — it’s here that Kasuga, a third generation Japanese-Peruvian who previously cooked at Matsuei, Osaka, and launched Hanzo, is having his real introduction as a top chef. There are the basics, sushi and sashimi, and then tiradito, for which he wraps the fish around shredded turnip, adding an entirely new texture to each bite without altering the flavor. He has the Cebiche Roll, his personal take on the Maki Acevichado that uses a leche de tigre based sauce on top of the roll rather than a mayo one, as well as duck and prawn meatballs, scallops lit on fire in their shells as they are served, and sirloin that sits on a bed of Peruvian cacao.

Maido (San Martín 399, Miraflores)

Maido, a stylish split-level space in Miraflores, is full of glass and boasts a contemporary design. Chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, who opened the restaurant two years ago, has created a menu that relies considerably on Peruvian aji peppers and native seafoods, yet remains unmistakably Japanese. There’s the Tacuchaufa, a combination of the Afro-Peruvian Tacu tacu, a plate of refried day old rice and beans, with hunks of succulent Kakuni pork belly. There’s also Anticuchos de paiche, skewers of an enormous Amazonian fish, served on a sizzling hot iron plate. It is so tender and full of flavor that you would never guess this fish is from freshwater.

El Encuentro de Otani (San Pedro 182, Urb. La Campiña, Chorillos. 51-1-467-0475)

At El Encuentro de Otani, a huarique or small, family-run restaurant, you enter a narrow alleyway into a simple, rectangular room with concrete walls. Featuring a bar on one end, as well as an interior courtyard with seating, El Encuentro de Otani serves food you would not expect to find in this simple of a setting. There’s octopus sashimi on the menu, served with a bowl of soy sauce and wasabi, as well as tacu–tacu. In this case, however, it’s stuffed with seafood. Shrimp are cooked on a hot stone with onions and ají amarillo. Serving sophisticated cuisine to a working class crowd, El Encuentro de Otani juxtaposes thoughtful dishes with toasted corn kernels and cheap lager.

Costanera 700 (Avenida Del Ejército, 421, Miraflores)

While chef Humberto Sato is semi-retired and the restaurant’s day to day operations are in the hands of his sons, Costanera 700, a three decade old Nikkei mainstay, is one of the founding centers of Nikkei cuisine in Peru. His Chita al Sal, a salt baked rockfish, has become one of the most iconic Nikkei dishes in the country, and many of the most common Nikkei plates take their cues from Sato.

Mesa 18 by Toshiro (Av. Malecón de la Reserva 1035, Miraflores)

Inside Orient Express’s sleek Miraflores Park hotel sits Mesa 18 by Toshiro, a branch of Toshiro Konishi’s long established brand of Nikkei cuisine, especially known for its tiraditos. While Konishi’s other locations tend to be hit or miss, this pricier, trendier outpost in one of the city’s best hotels is usually spot on, offering a wide array of original pisco-based cocktails and a full Nikkei tasting menu with innovative small plates like the Concha Toshi, scallops topped with grated maca (an Andean root) and flying fish roe.  

Matsuei (Manuel Bañon 260, San Isidro. 51-1-422-4323)

While Matsuei is more of a traditional sushi bar with the added pleasure of tiraditos and ceviches, it’s worth mentioning as enormously popular chef Nobu Matsuhisa honed his craft here before launching a global brand of Japanese fusion with Nobu. Open in Lima’s financial district of San Isidro for more than three decades, the restaurant is probably Lima’s best destination for standard maki rolls and sashimi, along with Japanese specialties like goma nasu, grilled eggplant with a sweet sesame glaze.