Tragaluz: the new menu of the restaurant in which each dish is a work of art

At Tragaluz the experience begins from the moment you step foot in the room. The imposing and chaotic paintings of Mateo Liébana are what welcome the diner, who could well find himself face to face one day with the artist intervening in his work. And that art also transfers to the bar and the kitchen. Everything has been planned with millimeter care. Ricardo Ehni, the talented chef who has led the Tragaluz kitchen since 2022, took the time necessary to settle in the restaurant, put together a solid team (Jorge Chávez as his second in the kitchen and Óscar Rodríguez in charge of the bakery and pastry shop). and work with them on the new letter that will be available from this Friday, November 17. “We did a lot of testing until we came up with something that fits well with the Skylight concept. We identify with the dishes and the style,” says Ehni.

For the chef, Tragaluz has its “own personality” and they have maintained it, making a menu with international flavors (influence of Mediterranean, Spanish, French and Asian food) but with certain Peruvian touches. Thus, among the new dishes, diners will be able to find Amazonian siu mais, made with paiche belly, cecina and mango and cocona chalaquitas, and served in steamers with Shipibo conibo drawings. Also some agnolotis stuffed with ricotta and spinach and bathed in a loche squash cream to which, to give a twist to the sweet flavor associated with loche, pumpkin seeds and huacatay oil are added. A light and vegetarian pasta, to eat day or night.

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Fresh clams with ají limo tiger milk with sea urchin. And smoked trout roe. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Grouper sweat with crab. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

The sudado is served with peated rice. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Siu more amazonians. Dough made from wheat, filled with paiche belly, cured meat and decorated with chalaquitas with mango and cocona. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Agnolotis with loche squash cream and pumpkin seeds. Stuffed with ricotta and spinach. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

In this dish, grilled cherry tomatoes and aguaymantos achieve a perfect combination of salty, sweet and sour. It also has basil oil, pine nuts and thyme. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Black rice with grilled squid and parsley aioli. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Cavatelli pasta made with whole wheat semolina and gremolata. The pasta has a lamb ragout, sautéed vegetables and some breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese and garlic. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Cheesecake with goat cheese cream and beet sponge cake, accompanied by figs and cranberries. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

Macambo dessert with a chocolate tulip filled with chocolate, dots of tumbo cream and coffee ice cream. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

New menu from the Tragaluz restaurant

High jungle honey griddle with an orange base, oat crumble and rosemary ice cream. (Photo: Claudia Alva Linares)

In the new menu, the product in optimal conditions is also important and if it is Peruvian, the better. “There are so many Peruvian products that are not known, that are not used and that are very good. There is also the responsibility of someone who has a space like a restaurant to communicate and make known that variety of products through that space, so that people try other things,” explains Augusto Baertl.

“For a chef there is nothing better than working with the best quality product. I prefer to work with a high-quality macambo than with a hazelnut from Piedmont that will not arrive here of such good quality,” adds Ricardo. Thus, among the restaurant’s novelties we can find desserts inspired by the national product: some plates of high forest honey accompanied by oranges, oat crumble and rosemary ice cream; a cheesecake with goat cheese cream, beet sponge cake, fig honey, pickled cranberries and fresh figs presented like a Kandinsky of intense reds; and an unmissable creation with jungle products: macambo, coffee, cocoa and tumbo.

And although the restaurant does not skimp on details and offers a careful and elegant experience, they do not want to fall into the rigidity that is sometimes reached by pursuing high standards. “We don’t want Tragaluz to be a stuffy restaurant, where you come for a 15-course tasting menu and eat what we propose here, period. We seek to be a friendly, flexible environment that, between comfort and luxury, is also everyday,” says Baertl.

Tragaluz’s proposal invites the diner to discover and does so from the very wording of the menu, which does not define the entire dish on paper and plants elements as a factor of intrigue.

“You may go to try something and it seems familiar, but you will find certain touches that you don’t know. You take the plunge and you like it and you lose the fear of trying. That’s the fun. Also, not reading the menu and knowing exactly what I am going to eat, but having a touch of surprise on the plate that awakens the imagination. We have worked a lot with the dining room team on the speech, we want the experience to be from the moment you sit at the table, the dish arrives and you leave. And the speech goes hand in hand, so that everything together in the experience generates curiosity in you,” says Ehni.

Tragaluz will turn 10 years old in Miraflores in March 2024, but they have already started celebrating. After all, Baertl emphasizes, just like that, a decade has passed in the complicated world of restaurants. “When you analyze what the gastronomy or restaurant business is all over the world, you find that the failure rate is very high. Definitely, turning 10 years old and staying current is something that fills you with a lot of pride,” says the businessman.