H-elarte: this is the new location of the ‘instagrammable’ ice cream parlor in Miraflores

Getting to H-elarte is not that difficult. Just find its distinctive entrance or follow the smell of sweet that fills the room. The difficult thing is to leave and not stay an entire afternoon trying desserts, coffees or sandwiches. It is the first space in Lima that makes use of the perspective of a 2D drawing as decoration. Thus, while enjoying a waffle, an ice cream or a red velvet cake, you can feel part of a comic or, as in my case, part of the video clip for “Take on Me”, a song by A-ha. If you want to explore new restaurants, here we tell you everything about the brand, which recently opened its second location, in the Miraflores district.

Advantage spoke with Cecil Lion, general manager of the gastronomic group Il Monte SAC. He explains that H-elarte It is the group’s most recent brand and since last year they have been planning its inauguration, which took place just over two months ago. “We were thinking about what to do with a line of artisan ice creams that we offered in another restaurant, because they are good and diners enjoyed them,” he adds.

How to differentiate yourself from the other new spaces that were emerging? “Regarding concepts and colors, the vast majority use similar things. We started looking for what was trending in other countries and we found similar formats in Japan where the main thing was art”, mentions the manager.

This is precisely where the name comes from, according to Cecil: a tribute to visual art and also to the art that means the gastronomy. Those in charge of bringing this concept to life were two artists from the National School of Fine Arts of Peru.

“We have had explosive success. People really like the dishes and also the decoration. But above all we are a traditional homemade pastry shop that offers the dessert that mom or granny made, but with an added artistic concept”, says Lion.

In February of this year they launched plans to present their second location, which was inaugurated in August. They tell us that they included some new dishes on their menu, such as the rainbow waffle, the chicken waffle and the turkey club sandwich, as well as a vegan waffle.

Dishes full of color and flavor

Unlike the decoration, what brings all the color are the dishes that we can find on the menu, a well-thought-out selection of desserts of all kinds and for all tastes. From the milshake more sweet, decadent and exaggerated -in a good way-, to a delicate and soft crepe stuffed with chicken and mushrooms, which by the way is one of the richest savory versions we’ve had in quite some time.

They surprised us with a sweet feast headed by a generous waffles decorated with red fruit sauce, chopped fruit and a crown of chantilly cream. The waffle felt crispy, was filling, and was cooked just right. The combination of the dough with the red fruits was perfect.

Another mass that we tried was the Crepes. In this case, in addition to the salty version, we tasted an option with hazelnut and chocolate cream, strawberries and brownie pieces. The dough was thin and soft, the filling generous and sweet without being cloying thanks to the fruit. Each bite was balanced and made us want to clean our plate.

You can also find a cheesecake perfect: made with a soft base, a smooth mixture where the cheese flavor is felt and with toppings various. In this case we tried the Oreo option with chocolate sauce and the one with red fruits -our favorite-.

If you are a little more classic and love cakesalso offer an interesting variety that includes a red velvet powerful with two layers and a rainbow cake (rainbow cake) that has a generous portion of homemade pastry cream between each layer. A perfect dessert to capture the curiosity of any confectioner.

Whether it’s to spend a sweet afternoon, share with friends and family, or perhaps to capture the perfect photo for Instagram, H-elarte It is a different option, with interesting options and flavors that are worth enjoying more than once.