El Kapallaq
Av. Petit Thouars 488, Miraflores
Phone 444-4149
Open Mon-Fri noon to 6pm, evenings only by reservation and for groups of 12 or more
Credit V MC Di AmEx
Price $$$-$$$$

Manager and autodidact chef Luis Cordero discovered the world of cooking at 23, while living in San Bartolo, a coastal town south of Lima much appreciated by surfers. A few years later he moved to Piura, north of Peru, to work as a cook in the base that the Occidental Petroleum Company had in Órganos. There he spent 10 years surfing, scuba-diving and cooking. He discovered the tropic's wide variety of fish and shellfish, and learned the traditional culinary techniques of the region, such as the use of clay pots for soups and stews. Back in Lima he opened El Kapallaq, naming it after a meat preservation technique employed by the Moche, a pre-Columbian culture that prospered between the II and IX centuries in the northern La Libertad department.

The restaurant is frequented by a clientele that appreciates a sophisticated yet traditional seafood cuisine. The menu features many fish and shellfish clay pot stews, seasoned with native Peruvian herbs and flavours, as well as dishes that reveal a Spanish influence in the generous use of wine, olive oil, saffron, and garlic. Almost perfect the pescado kapallaq, sea bass in a yellow hot pepper, olive oil and shrimp sauce.

The restaurant occupies a 1920 mansion, all adobe and wood-veneered walls, with the cuisine, in the exact centre of the structure, irradiating a cosy, familiar atmosphere.

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