Danielle I loved loved loved Peru. Of all of the countries that I visited in Central and South America, Peru had the most distinct cuisine and the most options for plant-based versions of the local dishes.
Lima, Peru’s capital, was particularly abundant in vegan choices. Especially in the neighborhoods of Miraflores and Barranco, there are a plethora of options. This is a comprehensive(ish) list of the plant-based restaurants, but it’s not entirely complete. These are the highlights from my trip, but there are always new places popping up.
I will also note that Peru has some incredible street food options that happen to be vegan, but I’ll cover those in a separate article.
The Loves
Naturlandia
Naturlandia isn’t so much a restaurant as it is a health food store that serves some food items. It doesn’t offer large meals, but if you want something that is very fast and relatively inexpensive, this is an excellent option.
I tried it twice because the first time I went they were experiencing a power outage. The staff was so sweet and still offered to serve me. Because there was no power, I got the tofu empanada and ate it cold as I was walking back to my apartment.
That empanada was delicious cold, so I can only imagine how good it would be warmed. Because their cold empanada was so good, I felt strongly that I needed to return on a different day to be able to try their food as it was meant to be served.
My second visit, I went with a tamale. Again, it was flavorful and the texture was perfect.
I love simple vegan food that is done well, and Naturlandia offers it.
Asianica
Even though a decent amount of time has passed since I ate this meal, I still occasionally think of it. It was fantastic.
Asianica is located just down the street from the Mercado Artesanal, so it’s the perfect place grab a bite to eat after doing some shopping.
The restaurant is a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine, so I was in heaven. It’s a completely vegetarian menu, but a good portion of it is vegan. They also have a decent selection of gluten-free options.
The menu is quite extensive. I had a tough time choosing, but I ended up going with the Causa Furai and the Chilcano Nikkei.
Causa is a traditional Peruvian dish which has two layers of essentially mashed potatoes with a filling in between. Asianica puts a twist on the causa by breading it in panko, frying it, and putting all of the ingredients on top. It was fantastic. It had all of the flavors of a traditional causa, but with the added textural variation of the panko.
The Chicano Nikkei is a soup, and it reminded me of a cross between a miso soup and a ceviche. Both of those dishes are quite flavorful, and put together, the flavors synergistically made it even better. My only complaint on this dish was that the ‘chicharrones’ weren’t crisp because they are served in the broth.
Overall, the restaurant is high quality, and I definitely recommend making the stop.
Seitan Urban Bistro
This was easily one of my favorite restaurants in Lima. It’s slightly on the more expensive end, but it’s absolutely worth the additional cost.
Naturally, most of the menu is based in Peruvian cuisine. And there’s a ton to choose from. Unlike what the name implies, not everything on the menu features seitan.
I ended up getting two items off the menu: the Pisco sour and the Mushroom and Zucchini entrée.
The Pisco Sour is a must try. One of the primary ingredients in a traditional Pisco Sour is egg white, so it’s tough to find a vegan version of it. The one offered at Seitan is made with aquafaba, so you get the great foamy texture minus the egg!
The Mushroom and Zucchini with the potato puree and chimichurri was phenomenal. It was fresh and bright yet also had elements of comfort food. The flavors all worked really well together, and it was just a pleasure to eat.
La Recontra
Thinking about La Recontra makes my mouth water.
The restaurant is located in a really cool space. It’s multiple restaurants that share a common courtyard, and each restaurant operates out of a shipping container turned kitchen. You order at the window of whichever restaurant you choose and then sit in the shared courtyard space.
There are a handful of different restaurant concepts in the space, but there is one that specializes in plant-based food: La Recontra/Oiga. Originally, the restaurant was only La Recontra, which is a vegan burger concept, but they recently launched Oiga, which focuses on the very traditional dishes of anticuchos and chicarron.
I went with the intention of getting a burger, but after talking to the server, I changed my mind to try the anticuchos. Man, I’m glad I did. Those anticuchos were one of the best things I ate in Lima.
Anticuchos traditionally are grilled beef hearts, so finding a vegan version isn’t easy. If you’re curious about some of the history of the dish, there’s an awesome Netflix show called Street Food Latin America that does an episode in Lima with a segment on anticuchos.
I had no real expectation of trying anticuchos, but given the opportunity, I figured I should take it. Y’all. It was wild. The seitan was unlike any seitan I tried in the US. It was large pieces that were marinated in the anticucho sauce, and grilled to perfection. The seitan was moist and juicy and incredibly flavorful. It’s served with a small portion of corn and potatoes and two dipping sauces.
The flavors on the plate were phenomenal. Everything was well seasoned and cooked to perfection. Just yum.
This is one you should definitely try. And it’s a great place to go if you’re eating with non-vegan friends because they can eat at one of the non-vegan restaurants while you enjoy this one.
The Likes
Sabor y Vida
I have said it time and again: I love a menu del día. I’m a fan of eating a larger lunch and smaller dinner, so a menu del día always hits the spot.
Sabor and Vida offers a full menu del día for 19 soles (about $5 USD). They offer two soup options, two entrée options, a drink, and a light dessert.
The restaurant is vegetarian, but they offer vegan and gluten-free options.
For my meal, I chose the ceviche as my soup, and the white bean entrée. When the ceviche came to the table, I braced myself for another gigantic meal like the one I had at Madreselva in Cali.
The ceviche alone was big enough for a meal. It was full of fresh, bright flavors, hearty vegetables, and textural contrasts. It was delicious.
The entrée had white beans, a light salad, rice, and a seitan patty. I will say, not only did this restaurant offer a large meal, but everything was really well flavored and well cooked. That was rare for the menu del días that I have during my trip: usually by choosing the menu del día, you sacrifice on the quality of the food in exchange for the low cost. Sabor y Vida successful delivers excellent food for a great price.
They also offer other menu options, but if you’re there during lunch, I highly recommend the menu del día.
Namaste
I would never have found Namaste if it wasn’t a part of a Barranco vegan food tour that I took. It would have been a shame to miss.
Namaste won an award in 2023 for best vegan restaurant, and for good reason. The food really is exceptional.
I love big, bold flavors, and Namaste delivers on them. I tried both the chicaronnes and the rocoto relleno (a Peruvian stuffed red pepper). They both were phenomenal and the portions were quite generous. The seitan chicarrones were savory and crispy and slightly chewy. The red pepper had a strong spiciness that balanced perfectly with the mild potatoes. Everything was well balanced and thought out.
When I did my initial search of vegan/vegetarian restaurants, Namaste didn’t show up as an option. Even their name in Google is Namaste Coffee, so I would never have thought to go there for food. I hope they change their keywords on Google because more vegans need to know of this option in Barranco.
I feel obligated to note that while I was dining, I did get pickpocketed here. It’s really unfortunate because it did slightly taint my experience. The restaurant doesn’t have any cameras, so we couldn’t even follow up on it when it happened. Oh, well. It’s important to always be vigilant.
Cocina Natural
Cocina Natural, located in the Jesús María district of Lima, is a bit out of the way compared to other vegan restaurants. Unlike many of the restaurants on this list that are either near attractions of near other vegan restaurants, this one is a bit more isolated.
That being said, this is a great option for vegan/vegetarian versions of Peruvian cuisine. Though they offer other types of dishes (including bowls and hamburgers), the bulk of their menu is Peruvian. They also have baked goods and a coffee bar.
I always love a menu with pictures, and the entire menu is picture based, so it’s easy to visualize what you’re ordering, especially if Spanish isn’t your first language.
I went with the Huancaína because it’s a Peruvian dish I had been wanting to try. Huacaíana refers to a type of Peruvian sauce that is traditionally made with aji amarillo (yellow pepper), cheese, evaporated milk, and other ingredients. So, I had been looking to find a version at a vegan restaurant so I could try one sans the milk and cheese. In Cocina Natural’s version, it felt a bit lighter than I imagine a traditional version would be, but it was still flavorful.
The sauce is served over noodles and with sautéed vegetables to accompany it.
Though I really enjoyed the meal, I didn’t find it to be particularly memorable. There wasn’t any stand out flavor or component that made me feel I would be missing out by not trying other items on the menu.
So, it’s a solid option if you’re in the area, but I don’t think I would make a special trip just to eat here.
Gastronomia Vegana
This restaurant is also a bit removed from other attractions, but if you want to make the trek, it’s a cute space that’s perfect for a nice dinner.
When I was walking up, I wasn’t sure if I was in the right location. The block seems mostly residential, and there isn’t much signage for the restaurant. The name is hand written on the gate, so I wasn’t really confident in the restaurant until I was actually inside.
The style of food is vegan Peruvian. I ended up ordering a Pisco Sour and the Chaufa with Lomo Saltado.
The Pisco Sour was everything I would expect: refreshing, tart, foamy. It was nice. It wasn’t the best one I tried, but it was solid. The Chaufa was good, but it wasn’t exceptional. Honestly, I was hoping for more of the seitan ‘lomo’ pieces, the potatoes didn’t really add much to the dish, and I just didn’t find the dish to be that exciting.
What I ordered was definitely good, but for the price, I’m not sure if it’s worth it. There are other restaurants that do the same style of food and have larger portions for a fraction of the price.
Healthy Pizza
First things first. Healthy Pizza has moved since I visited them, so I can’t vouch for their new location or ambiance. So, I’ll limit my thoughts to just the food and service.
I loved how many interesting and diverse vegan flavors they had for their pizzas. You can choose either regular mozzarella or a vegan cheese made with cashews and almonds. You then choose the size of your pizza. If you go for the personal size, you only get to choose one flavor, but if you go for the larger, you can choose up to 4.
I wanted to be able to try as many flavors as possible, so I went with the large. My flavors were the oriental (with nori, avocado, and black sesame seeds), the ocaso (orange, tomato, pecans, arugula, and chancaca (which is like a syrup)), the atardecer (with gooseberries, pecans, cherry tomatoes, and basil), and the acevichada (with avocado, white onion, aji limo, cilantro, and black sesame seeds).
The flavors of the pizza were all unique and interesting. I was especially fond of the artardecer. What fell a bit short for me was the crust. It’s a pre-cooked crust and all of the pizzas are built on top and it’s warmed. But the crust isn’t cooked fresh, so it just missed that special touch.
I liked the customizable element to the menu, but I just wasn’t wowed by the overall product. The servers were nice, but not overly friend.
So, my total impression was just meh. It was good, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must try.
Raw Café
I almost didn’t try Raw Café, but it’s only a few blocks from the Huaca Pucllana Museum, so I figured I’d check it out. I’m really glad I did.
The café is light, bright, and airy, and the menu is as well. Everything feels very health oriented with a focus on fresh flavors and ingredients.
I was there around brunch, so I opted for a smoothie bowl. Whenever I come across an ingredient I’ve never tried, I try to order that dish. Hence, my bowl of choice was the camu camu bowl. It had a camu camu smoothie topped with mango, strawberry, banana, granola, and dried coconut.
Camu camu is a berry found in Peru and Brazil, and it’s very high in Vitamin C. Flavor-wise, I would equate its bright acidity to something like a grapefruit. The smoothie had a really nice brightness to it, and it paired perfectly with the fresh fruit on top of the bowl.
My only complaint with the food was that the texture of the granola felt a little stale. But its flavor was good.
Overall, this is a really nice café if you just want something healthy and easy.
Asianica Street Food
I’m a little stuck on what to say about Asianica Street Food. On one hand, the dish that I had was really tasty. On the other hand, I had food poising after I ate here. I can’t 100% pinpoint that it happened here, but this was the only restaurant I ate at the day I got sick. I think it may have been the water that got me (I ordered a glass of water, and I think it may have been tap water, which isn’t advisable to drink).
I definitely don’t want to point my finger, but the food poisoning did color my perception of the restaurant.
Aesthetically, the restaurant is small, but laid back. Even though the name of the restaurant is ‘street food’, it is more of a sit-down restaurant than a quick service restaurant.
The menu has a wide variety of vegan versions of traditional Peruvian cuisine. I went with the Causa Acevichada, which was built like a traditional causa with a chickpea tartare and avocado filling, topped with mushroom ceviche, and served with mushroom pork rinds.
The dish as a whole was really tasty and beautifully presented. I loved the contrast between the cool causa and the crispy fried mushrooms. Having both the oyster mushroom ceviche and the fried mushrooms beautifully elevated the dish. I wasn’t sure what to order, and this was the server’s recommendation. I’m glad she suggested it.
So in essence, I really enjoyed the food that I ordered, but I’m not sure if it gave me food poisoning or not. Causa is a cold dish, so there are certainly ways the time and temperature rules of food safety could come into play.
I don’t want to deter you from trying the restaurant because there’s no way to confirm if my food poisoning was actually from here. I would just perhaps suggest you try the dishes that are served hot.
The Disappointments
Vegan Consulate
I think this was my least favorite restaurant I tried in Lima by a pretty large margin.
This restaurant offers a build your own buffet option, and you are charged a tiered price based on what you choose.
Now, I love a good buffet restaurant; however, the quality can sometimes be a little questionable. That comes with the territory.
I visited the restaurant in the mid-afternoon, which I have found can be a tough time to visit buffet restaurants, because it’s after the lunch rush and before closing. Thus, the pickings can be slim, and the food has probably been sitting out for a long time.
That’s exactly the situation I found myself in. There weren’t many options on the buffet, and what was available was either picked through or had sat for so long that it was no longer appealing.
I built my plate from what they had left, and warmed it in the microwave (which is pretty standard in these style of restaurants). The food was mediocre at best. It wasn’t particularly flavorful. The textures were impacting from having sat on the buffet for so long. It just wasn’t that good.
Beyond that, in the time that I ate my meal, they basically closed the restaurant around me. The hours in google are listed until 9pm on weekdays, but they were waiting for me to finish my meal in order to close at 4:30.
I don’t know if that’s standard practice, but I felt like and imposition and I hurried through my meal in order to not hold them up.
I also felt like the area was a bit less safe than some of the other areas of the city, and I was acutely aware of being a solo female walking through the neighborhood.
All that to say, perhaps I just caught them at a bad time, but from my experience, I would say this is one I would skip.
Florencia
I’m really on the fence with Florencia. There are things that really appreciated about the restaurant and some things I didn’t love quite as much.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is beautiful. It’s in an older building, so the colors and aesthetic are just lovely. I sat and did work for a while, and I just loved the antique feel and the natural light.
The menu primarily features Peruvian flavors, but also sandwiches, pastas, burgers, smoothie bowls and more. The menu does an excellent job indicating the potential allergens in the dishes, including gluten, soy, nuts, sesame, and spice.
I opted for the anticuchos mushrooms and the risotto with norteña sauce with lentil and oat meatballs.
For the prices and how diligently they crafted the menu, I was honestly a bit disappointed in the food.
All of the food was perfectly fine, but there wasn’t anything that stood out as being exceptional. The flavors weren’t particularly strong, and everything came across as a little bland. My favorite part was the meatballs because they were the actually well-seasoned and had a nice texture.
Overall, I was just underwhelmed by the food, which makes it tough for me to recommend it.
You Get What You Pay For
Noqa
When I tried to find Noqa, I had no idea that it would actually take me into the Polvos Azules shopping center. So, heads up: if you’re trying to find it, head into the shopping center and follow the signage toward the restaurants.
On the top floors, there’s an entire food court. Most of the stalls are seafood based, but Noqa is a little vegan haven. They have a small menu, but, as usual, I went with the menu del día. There were a few options for the entrée, and I ended up going for the crusted tofu and rice.
The food was fresh and good, but I won’t say it was particularly exceptional. For the price of 12 soles ( about $3.25 USD), you get a salad, entrée, dessert, and beverage, so it’s a decent amount of food for the cost.
I will also note that there was only one woman working when I visited, and she has a lot of orders to make while I was there. It ended up slowing down service significantly. I never really mind waiting, but if the short staffing is normal, just be prepared for a bit of a wait.
Good Karma
If you are looking for a meal that is filling, fast, and cheap as you’re doing a tour of Lima’s historic center, this is a great option.
The menu is set up similarly to a menu del día where you are offered a drink, appetizer, and entrée. This is one of few restaurants where there was a wide selection of options in the menu del día format.
For pricing, it’s based on which entrée you choose: either economic for 11 soles (about $3 US) or special for between 13 and 15 soles (about $3.50-4 USD).
Most of the menu is vegan, but they do have a few options that are vegetarian, so if you are fully vegan, just be sure to confirm with you server that the everything you select fits within your dietary preferences.
I opted for the mini arepas for my appetizer and the sautéed caigua for my entrée. Caigua is a unique vegetable in Lima, and I had seen caigua available at the market. I wanted to give it a whirl, and I’m glad I did.
The vegetable is light, slightly herbaceous, and reminds be a bit of a sautéed bell pepper. It was perfect for a light lunch or would make a great addition to any sautéed mix vegetables.
This restaurant is quite basic, and it the portions aren’t huge, but if you’re looking for a healthy, light, plant-based lunch, this is a great option.
Final Thoughts
I loved the vegan food scene in Lima. There’s a wide selection of restaurant styles and price points, and there is such a focus on making Peruvian food accessible for specialized diets. I ate very well in Lima.
If you’ve checked out any vegan restaurants in Lima that aren’t listed, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
