Chala

NileGuide Expert tip:

Try the new "Thai Salmon"

Description:

• This sleek new restaurant and lounge down by the "bridge of sighs" in Barranco is one of my new faves in Lima. It delivers what it calls "costa fusion," meaning adaptations of Peruvian coastal and Limeño dishes with largely Mediterranean influences. While the chic, colorful interior is coolly international, the gorgeous long deck outdoors, under an old wooden ceiling, tall trees, and squawking birds, has a great tropical, and sexy, feel. At a recent dinner, I started by sipping a maracuyá (passion-fruit) sour and munching on banana chips, before moving on to an extremely fresh salad with mushrooms, avocado, and tomatoes. My entree was identified by the esoteric name "Oleaje Espirituoso," but it was a terrific dish of grouper served on a bed of zucchini gnocchi and a crème of huacatay (a local herb). Everything was absolutely delicious. If I were taking my wife on a date on a long dreamed-about trip to Peru, I think this might be the place.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010