Anniversary of Lima: the most traditional bars and restaurants to visit in the city

Eduardo Dargent Chamot, in his study “Lima: Approach to the history of the local gastronomic heritage” (USMP, 2008), indicates that in pre-republican times ours was a city of cafes. The researcher cites the military man and historian from Lima Manuel de Mendiburu (1805-1885), author of the “Historical Biographical Dictionary of Peru”, who in an article published posthumously in 1902, refers that the first coffee was Santo Domingo, named after its location on Calle del Correo Viejo (also known as Matavilela, which would be block 3 of Jr. Conde de Superunda), and which was created by Francisco Serio in 1771.

It was followed by the Café de las Ánimas, the Francisquín (later the León de Oro inn), the Café Lato or Del Puente, with a view of the river, and the Café del Mentidero, where patriots met (the White Horse inn brought together the monarchists). In this type of premises, Dargent also mentions that of Giuseppe Coppola and the French Fonda of the Hotel de France, on Valladolid street.

Already well into the century of the first centenary of Peru’s independence, the researcher gives an account of the Raimondi restaurant, a corner of Peruvian cuisine inaugurated in 1913 by Humberto H. Pazos in Jirón de la Unión; the family hall that Pietro D’Onofrio opened on Av. Grau, in 1914, and the famous Strasbourg Garden, owned by Pedro Bassino and which operated until 1935 in the first block of the Portal de los Escribanos (today Jirón de la Unión) , where the Union Club is located. Impossible not to mention in this review of the centenary restaurants the Palais Concert, a confectionery created in 1913 on the corner of Baquíjano and Minería streets (Jirón de la Unión and Emancipación).

And the taverns, of course

There are several spaces that have survived until reaching the bicentennial of the country. And one of them, without a doubt, is the Queirolo. Founded in 1880 by Santiago Queirolo Raggio, this initial grocery store was transformed into the popular Pueblo Libre tavern where today we enjoy the famous beef (pisco and ginger ale, ice and lemon placed on the table, to make chilcano), but also dishes such as cau cau, fish marinade, fried egg cup, tamales, pork rinds and more.

Bar Cordano, founded in 1905, is another survivor of better times. Luis Cordano arrived from Italy in 1913, but he did not found it, but some countrymen who came from Liguria and had the same last name, although they were not direct family. In the 1920s the business was transferred to four partners: Antonio and Luis Cordano, Paolo de Benedetti and Virgilio Boitano. Later, the bar located on the ground floor of the Old Hotel El Comercio began its third stage: in 1878, the sons of Antonio and Luis (now deceased) transferred the Jr. Áncash bar to its 20 employees.

In Callao, the Rovira is also still standing and ready to celebrate the second centenary of Peru. The emblematic chalaco bar-restaurant was created by the Spaniard Miguel Rovira Valle in 1907, and its pejerrey sandwich in sliced ​​bread, its chalaca-style mussels and the fish chilcano are unmissable there.

The last mention is for Carbone, which was born two years after Peru’s centenary. Antonio Carbone Lercari was one of the founders of this Italian winery where the country’s ham sausages are made following the traditional recipe, inherited 45 years ago by Antonio Briatore and Giorgio Arboccó.

More information:

Addresses:

• Bodega Carbone: Corner Jr. Huancavelica and Jr. Caylloma. Fence of Lima.
• Rovira restaurant bar: Calle Daniel Nieto, 197. Callao.
• Bar Cordano: Jr. Ancash 202, Cercado de Lima.
• Queirolo Tavern: Av. San Martin 1090, Pueblo Libre.

Clarification: This article was published on July 25, 2021, as part of a profile of Rosita Rios and the taverns of Lima for the Bicentennial celebration.

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