Lima Food Tour: Surquillo Market, Ceviche & Criollo Cooking
Day tour
Food tour
Standard
Departure point
→
Destination
Lima, Peru
Lima
1N (Participation Duration)
Car,Walking (Transportation)
English (Language)
Number of participants 0/8
0 booked
Tour description
Lima is the best restaurant city in South America and the reason is not the fine dining, it is the base underneath it: a cold-water current that produces extraordinary fish, four thousand potato varieties, a hundred and fifty years of Japanese and Chinese immigration, and an Afro-Peruvian and Spanish colonial inheritance on top.
We start at Surquillo market, across the road from Miraflores, which is where the city's chefs shop. Your guide takes you through the ajis - amarillo, panca, rocoto, limo - which are the entire backbone of Peruvian cooking, past the potato stalls, and to a ceviche counter where corvina is cut, tossed with lime, aji limo, onion and salt, and handed to you within about ninety seconds of being dressed. That speed is the whole point and your guide will explain why.
We also eat causa, cold whipped yellow potato layered with chicken or crab; anticuchos, beef heart marinated in aji panca and grilled over coals; a chicharron sandwich with sweet potato and salsa criolla; and chifa, the Peruvian-Chinese cooking that has been here since the 1850s.
We finish with picarones, squash and sweet potato doughnuts in chancaca syrup, and a pisco sour.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
We start at Surquillo market, across the road from Miraflores, which is where the city's chefs shop. Your guide takes you through the ajis - amarillo, panca, rocoto, limo - which are the entire backbone of Peruvian cooking, past the potato stalls, and to a ceviche counter where corvina is cut, tossed with lime, aji limo, onion and salt, and handed to you within about ninety seconds of being dressed. That speed is the whole point and your guide will explain why.
We also eat causa, cold whipped yellow potato layered with chicken or crab; anticuchos, beef heart marinated in aji panca and grilled over coals; a chicharron sandwich with sweet potato and salsa criolla; and chifa, the Peruvian-Chinese cooking that has been here since the 1850s.
We finish with picarones, squash and sweet potato doughnuts in chancaca syrup, and a pisco sour.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
Meeting point:
View on map
Mercado No.1 de Surquillo, Ricardo Palma, Surquillo, Lima
We meet at the main entrance to Mercado No.1 de Surquillo on Ricardo Palma, a short walk from Miraflores. Your guide will have a small sign with your name.
Detailed itinerary
Stop 1 - Mercado de Surquillo: The chefs' market. Ajis, potatoes, corn, herbs and the fish counter, with your guide on why Peru's geography produces this.
Stop 2 - Ceviche cut to order: Corvina tossed with lime, aji limo, red onion and salt and served immediately, with sweet potato and choclo. Your guide explains why it must be eaten within minutes.
Stop 3 - Causa and tiradito: Cold whipped yellow potato layered with chicken or crab, and thin-sliced raw fish in aji amarillo - the Japanese influence made visible.
Stop 4 - Chicharron sandwich: Fried pork belly in a roll with sweet potato, salsa criolla and lime, with a glass of chicha morada.
Stop 5 - Chifa: Peruvian-Chinese cooking from a Barrio Chino kitchen - lomo saltado's ancestor, wok-fired and soy-heavy, with your guide on the 1850s migration.
Stop 6 - Anticuchos: Beef heart marinated in aji panca and vinegar, grilled over coals on a skewer with potato and choclo. Peru's great street dish.
Stop 7 - Picarones and pisco sour: Squash and sweet potato doughnuts in chancaca syrup, and a properly made pisco sour, with your guide on Peru's grape brandy.
Stop 2 - Ceviche cut to order: Corvina tossed with lime, aji limo, red onion and salt and served immediately, with sweet potato and choclo. Your guide explains why it must be eaten within minutes.
Stop 3 - Causa and tiradito: Cold whipped yellow potato layered with chicken or crab, and thin-sliced raw fish in aji amarillo - the Japanese influence made visible.
Stop 4 - Chicharron sandwich: Fried pork belly in a roll with sweet potato, salsa criolla and lime, with a glass of chicha morada.
Stop 5 - Chifa: Peruvian-Chinese cooking from a Barrio Chino kitchen - lomo saltado's ancestor, wok-fired and soy-heavy, with your guide on the 1850s migration.
Stop 6 - Anticuchos: Beef heart marinated in aji panca and vinegar, grilled over coals on a skewer with potato and choclo. Peru's great street dish.
Stop 7 - Picarones and pisco sour: Squash and sweet potato doughnuts in chancaca syrup, and a properly made pisco sour, with your guide on Peru's grape brandy.
Tour price includes
• Small-group English-speaking local food guide (maximum 8 guests)
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• One pisco sour or chicha morada
• Transport between the market and the other neighbourhoods
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
• All food and drink tastings listed in the itinerary
• One pisco sour or chicha morada
• Transport between the market and the other neighbourhoods
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
Tour price excludes
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off unless stated
• Additional drinks beyond those included
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (appreciated but never expected)
• Meals and purchases outside the programme
• Additional drinks beyond those included
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (appreciated but never expected)
• Meals and purchases outside the programme
Cancellation policy
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour start time for a full refund. Cancellations within 24 hours are non-refundable. Tours run rain or shine - Lima gets almost no rain, only the grey coastal garua from June to October.
Other notes
Runs daily at 10:00.
Lima is at sea level, so unlike our Cusco and Arequipa tours there is no altitude to manage. If you are flying on to Cusco afterwards, do Lima first - your guide will explain how to pace that.
Ceviche is raw fish. We use one counter with very high turnover, the fish is cut and dressed in front of you, and it is the single most important reason to take a guided version of this. If you are pregnant, immunocompromised or simply would rather not, tell us 48 hours ahead and we will substitute a cooked dish.
Safety: Peru is rated Level 2. Demonstrations concentrate in the historic centre and can close roads without warning; our route is mostly in Surquillo, Miraflores and Barranco. We use app-based cars, not street taxis, and ask you to keep phones out of sight - motorcycle phone-snatching is a real problem in Lima.
Water: tap water is not drinkable. We provide bottled water.
Cash: cards work in Miraflores and Barranco; the market is cash. Use bank-lobby ATMs.
Michelin does not publish a guide for Peru. Anyone marketing a Peruvian restaurant as a Michelin star is misleading you.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is workable via causa, papa a la huancaina, chifa vegetables and picarones.
About 2 km of walking plus two short transfers.
Lima is at sea level, so unlike our Cusco and Arequipa tours there is no altitude to manage. If you are flying on to Cusco afterwards, do Lima first - your guide will explain how to pace that.
Ceviche is raw fish. We use one counter with very high turnover, the fish is cut and dressed in front of you, and it is the single most important reason to take a guided version of this. If you are pregnant, immunocompromised or simply would rather not, tell us 48 hours ahead and we will substitute a cooked dish.
Safety: Peru is rated Level 2. Demonstrations concentrate in the historic centre and can close roads without warning; our route is mostly in Surquillo, Miraflores and Barranco. We use app-based cars, not street taxis, and ask you to keep phones out of sight - motorcycle phone-snatching is a real problem in Lima.
Water: tap water is not drinkable. We provide bottled water.
Cash: cards work in Miraflores and Barranco; the market is cash. Use bank-lobby ATMs.
Michelin does not publish a guide for Peru. Anyone marketing a Peruvian restaurant as a Michelin star is misleading you.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is workable via causa, papa a la huancaina, chifa vegetables and picarones.
About 2 km of walking plus two short transfers.
Detailed price list
| Guest type | Price |
|---|---|
| Adults | $69 |
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