tytania
Fri, 12 Sep 2014 14:40:54 +0000
Food Diary, London, Restaurant Reviews

Lima Floral is the new sister to Europe’s first Michelin star Peruvian restaurant Lima. It is a more chilled out version, brasserie style, tucked smack in the middle of tourist haven Covent Gardens. But this place oozes style so you quickly forget about its location and start to feel it’s colorful exotic mood. The chef, Virgilio Martinez, is one of Peru’s most famous chefs, and runs the Michelin starred “Central” in Lima as well. The interior is truly stunning, being warm and relaxed, but colorful, modern, and fresh. There is a rich intense blue everywhere and natural wood enhances the walls and tables, playing with South American influences with a hip and stylish touch.

The Pisco bar (the Peruvian brandy made from muscat grapes) downstairs is lovely, minus the incredibly slow service. We tried the Fifth Flower, enhanced with Amaro Nonino (an Italian digestive liquor, directly translated into “the little bitter grandma”, haha). It is paired with brown sugar, lime, and mint, creating a very herbal and interesting little treat. Also we tasted the Noche de Varano, also with the Amaro, which wasn’t quite as successful, as the strawberry clashed quite a bit with the herbs. But I’d love to check more of the Pisco ones next time. The wine list was very creative and interesting, and we chose a Priorat from Spain, one of my favorite wines, and quite unusual to find.

The menu was like an exotic tropical garden, with terrific bold and eccentric combinations, each dish arriving like Picasso on a plate. Truly beautiful frankly. The bread came in neat bright yellow and blue squares, and was served with a delicate yet captivating little yoghurt sauce with mint and some kind of Peruvian potato (we couldn’t hear our waitress due to an incredibly loud table next to us, so on the fifth try we gave up…but it was delicious whatever it was). We tried the Butterfish Tiradito (lovely rare fish that is quite hard to find…I’ve seen it in Capetown, Fiji, and oddly Switzerland). The dish was enhanced with colorful Peruvian tomatoes and a bright punchy mayonnaise-like sauce. The Sea Bream Ceviche was beautiful both in texture and flavor, with crispy fried onions poking artfully out of the slivers of raw fish, leaving it all to soak in the glorious Peruvian tiger’s milk (literally the ceviche marinade made from lime, fish juice, chili, garlic, and onions). The Tuna Nikkei was also quite delicious, with a stronger tiger’s milk and bits of radish and sea asparagus bobbing about. We also tasted the Monkfish Piancha, which was nothing less than superb. It was soft and delicate, yet the marinade really lit it up, giving it a gentle glow in your mouth. The broth was beautiful, like a dainty symphony, with bits of courgette, seaweed, and tomatoes making a soft dazzling appearance.

This place is really lovely for so many reasons, the excellent vibrant food, the chill relaxed vibe, the buzz, and stunning interior…uber stylish and really special.