Panchita Miraflores – Overindulgence at its Best
We’ve said for some time now that Lima, Peru is a hotbed of culinary excellence on a global scale. It is so easy to find excellent food here from every cuisine imaginable, at very reasonable prices.
But we had a problem.
We knew that before we left Lima we wanted a truly high-end meal. The kind that we assumed would be expensive. But we had no idea where to go! Online reviews often skew toward tourist-centric experiences or make it difficult to distinguish between value and quality. It turned out that a chance meeting with an expat living in Lima provided the solution – Panchita Miraflores!
We feasted. And the feasting was good!
Always Be Open to Chance Encounters
Rhonda and I tend to stand out in a crowd here, as tall couples with lily-white skin are apparently uncommon in these parts. And sometimes that can be a conversation starter.
Earlier this month we were walking home from the local market in Miraflores when we were approached in the street by an older woman using perfect English. She correctly guessed that we may have been from the United States or Europe, and was apparently interested in chatting with people from her homeland. We compared notes about our respective overseas experiences and hers were truly fascinating.
Her name was Gloria. She was a former nurse from Chicago, USA who early in her career served on one of the first Project HOPE humanitarian vessels. Through that experience, Gloria met a wonderful (her words) Peruvian man, married him, and raised a family in Lima. Even after her husband died and her kids had grown, she loved Lima so much that she stayed. She has now lived in Peru for 60 years and had just celebrated her 80th birthday!
Gloria had all sorts of suggestions about where to go and what to do in Lima. She was very eager for us to enjoy our time here! And when we asked about great places to eat, she immediately suggested Panchita Miraflores. Gloria explained that it was one of the best Peruvian sazón criollo-style restaurants in the city and was started by the globally famous Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio.
She was so enthusiastic about Panchita Miraflores that she escorted us through the city streets to take us to its actual location as she was not 100% sure about its name and didn’t use a cell phone.
We eventually parted ways with Gloria, who really impressed us with her energy, physical fitness, and overall health. She was an absolute sweetheart and had no trouble moving about Miraflores on foot with ease.
It was a pleasure meeting her. We can only hope to be this healthy and clear of mind when we turn 80!
A Decadent Lunch at Panchita Miraflores
So this Monday we finally decided to make a visit to Panchita Miraflores happen!
Gloria warned us that a reservation might be needed, but we decided to show up when it opened at noon to see if we could get a table. And since the menu is the same for lunch and dinner, we knew we would get the same experience regardless of the time of day.
We arrived at Panchita Miraflores exactly at noon and there was already a line of 10 people waiting to get in.
Thankfully they had plenty of space. Plus, Peruvians typically don’t get serious about lunch until about 1 pm, so the time of day worked in our favor.
We were led into the dining area, which was much larger than expected.
Our waiter, Cesar, was friendly and accommodating. We had little difficulty communicating our needs in Spanish, although we are certain he would have spoken English had we started our interaction with that language.
But we need as much Spanish-language practice as we can get!
HERE is a link to an online version of their menu that includes pictures! Google translate will automatically translate it if you have it integrated into your browser.
Since this was a special occasion, we went all out with our food choices. Or at least as all out as our stomachs could handle.
We started with a basket of artisanal bread (made in-house) with herb butter, plus 2 chicha moradas to drink.
All the bread was outstanding, but our favorite was the anise seed bread (whitish bread in the picture)! The chicha moradas were like drinking dessert. So good!
We shared a La Causa Limeña de Pollo as an appetizer. Their in-house menus suggested that it was ideal for 2 to share, and we were glad we did! The entire dish was about 9 inches x 6 inches x 3 inches in dimension.
Outer layers of Peruvian-style golden potatoes with lots of chicken, avocado, tomato, and egg filling! And I suspect a bit of hollandaise sauce. So huge!
Completely ignoring the fact that our stomachs were reasonably satisfied, we ordered a full entree to get the full Peruvian sazón criollo experience.
We both chose the Panceta de Lechon Crocante, a specialty of the house and highly recommended by Gloria. Panceta de lechon crocante translates to crispy piglet bacon, by the way.
The slab of bacon was very crispy on the top surface, forming a shell of sorts. And when you broke through the shell and got to the pork underneath it melted in your mouth unlike any form of meat we have ever eaten.
So good! So fatty! So flavorful!
Somehow I was able to finish every bite of the entree, but Rhonda had to tap out about halfway through. She’ll have some truly fantastic leftovers later this week!
But we were absolutely stuffed. Truly funny because we both expected to get dessert when we arrived here! Even now, I am still uncomfortably full as I write this post during dinnertime the same day. Only one meal for us today!
Good thing we walk a lot most days. It will take a while to work off the calories!
Final Thoughts
This was one of the best meals we’ve had in recent memory!
It was a great experience. Professional and friendly waitstaff, comfortable surroundings, and best of all, shockingly good food.
And although we completely overindulged in top-quality Peruvian country-style cooking, the bill wasn’t nearly as bad as we anticipated. The total cost of lunch (with tip) was 230 Soles/$60.02 USD.
Mindboggling. I can only imagine what a meal like this would have cost in the United States.
If you ever find yourself in the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru, you have to visit Panchita Miraflores. You won’t be disappointed!
Until next time…
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2 thoughts on “Panchita Miraflores – Overindulgence at its Best”
Your lunch did look terrific and I was particularly drawn to the slab of bacon and the unique flavor you described of the pork just below the crispy layer on top–a flavor you never met before! The appetizer looked delicious and I hope it was sweet as well. Thanks for your picture and commentary!
Our pleasure!