Wayra, the new space in Pueblo Libre ideal for celebrating seafood

On Mariano Cornejo Avenue we find a small restaurant that receives its diners even after the traditional lunch hours, a sample of the success it has been building. This is Wayra Gastro Mar, which proposes enjoying the classics of marine cuisine with a tasty touch and great attention to detail. Advantage He spoke with César Pérez, the young chef who co-founded this curious space that we recently visited.

César’s story is similar to that of many. Since his teens he found a love for cooking at home and it developed in his school years. “My family is from La Libertad and since I was little I used to smell my grandmother’s stews and that’s where my love for cooking was born, although I didn’t pursue it as a career at first,” he explains.

First he studied Administration, but he felt that something was missing. Later, after taking a cooking course, he decided to enroll in Le Cordon Bleu and ventured into this career. She has seven years in the profession, in which she did internships in Peru, Spain and Brazil.

“After working in a restaurant in Lima, I began to have clandestine dinners and the idea of ​​creating a restaurant came to me, which was born as Barra 2117,” says the cook.

After the pandemic, and a series of changes in the concept of the restaurant and in César’s way of thinking, Wayra Gastro Mar was born. “For us (Wayra) it represents the freedom of Peruvians to always eat deliciously and well. We present a very flirtatious and striking cuisine in each dish, without losing the traditional that is the base ”, he points out.

And it is that in each dish that we tasted in this experience, the attention to detail and the beauty of our food was noticed. Beautiful in the sense of the complexity of flavors that combine to form the perfect bite, but also the harmony that they show in how they serve each dish, which looks like small works of edible art.

taste in every bite

the letter of Wayra It is small compared to other restaurants in the sector but without failing to have the inevitable classics such as ceviche, leche de tigre (quite forceful), two types of causas, rice dishes with fish and shellfish, crispy jellies, sweaty and, of course, combos to enjoy two or three options together.

To start we tried some anticucheras shells that are the perfect appetizer to share. These are six units of scallops that are prepared on the grill and served with yucca puree and Peruvian-style chimichurri. The soft and Creole smoked taste combines perfectly with the play of textures that we find in each bite.

The cause chosen for this occasion was the pituca, which consists of a thin mass of yellow potatoes with the precise touch of yellow pepper and lemon. It is served with a sheet of avocado at its point (not too hard, not too creamy), grilled prawns, quail eggs, cherry tomato and house cocktail sauce. The combination between the flavor of the prawns, the creaminess and acidity of the potato and the sweetness of the sauce completely won us over.

He cebiche could not miss and we went for the house, the Wayra. The catch of the day is served with a creamy Peruvian chili leche de tigre and accompanied with squid chicharrón and fried sweet potato. The clash of temperatures between the fresh fish and the accompaniments was delicious. Just the right hint of lemon and spiciness and the protein was not overcooked.

Our favorite dish – for which we will definitely return – was the northern sticky rice. Can you imagine a delicious, grainy and well-seasoned green rice combined with seafood? Yes, that’s what they offer us here. But don’t think of rice with a single texture, serving it in an iron skillet allows that delicious concolón to form that makes the rice crunchy and addictive. To bring freshness, they crown it with strong avocado and Creole chalaquita, which fits like a glove.