Calle La Mar has long been one of Lima’s hotspots for foodies, where you can find back to back restaurants stacked up alongside each other and some of the best cevicherias in Lima, if not the world. Over the past year, there has been an emergence of new boutique outlets, coffee shops and design concept stores that are broadening its appeal and changing its focus from a gastronomic hub to a shopper’s paradise.
The street is juxtaposed against auto repair shops that are dotted alongside the main road, but there are many hidden surprises behind the glitzy shop front displays that provide the main attraction. On top of having the unprecedented luxury of quaffing a macerated Pisco Sour and feasting on a delicious seabass ceviche in one of Peru’s top restaurants, you can now take a stroll down the tree and bench lined boulevard, to check out the latest shops to pick out unique objects and presents for loved ones, friends and family. Why not try our suggested route below, and enjoy a first class lunch and then explore some of the best shops and finish in one of Lima’s leading coffee shops…
1. La Mar Cebichería
Let’s start with lunch. When heading to Peru’s capital city, it’s compulsory to free a space in your travel agenda to accommodate an afternoon’s visit to experience a genuine ceviche and sample the country’s national dish. Gaston Acurio’s “La Mar Cebichería” is arguably the best place in town to sit down and try the delicacy, although there are plenty of worthy alternatives along La Mar Street.
Stylishly designed with a striking concrete façade, you can expect to find fashionable and trendy young Limenos, and a few hungry tourists piling into the restaurant. The highlight here has to be the raw marinated fish that is complemented by a vast selection of main dishes. The cebiche options are numerous and include: tuna, sea bass, octopus, Dover sole, salmon and different combinations. Don’t forget that it is also tradition amongst locals to wash this down with a pisco sour, where you can choose from anyone of the infused elixirs. Be sure to arrive early or late for lunch (cebicherias are only open in the daytime, as tradition dictates) if you don’t want to stand in line – La Mar takes no reservations.
Website: La Mar Cebicheria
Address:Av Mariscal La Mar 770, Miraflores 15074, Lima
Tel:+51 1 4213365
Opening Times:Mon – Thur for Lunch only from 12:00 to 17:00 & Fri – Sun for Lunch only from 12:00 to 17:30
2. Flora y Fauna
Well-fed and full, it’s time to walk off the lunch. A great place to explore the impressive range of ingredients that fill many Peruvian pantries is Flora & Fauna. The organic, healthy eating mini mart is stocked full of potions, powders and tasty tit bits that will keep you fit and full of energy, making it an ideal stop to grab a few goodies to nibble on whilst continuing your onward journey throughout Peru.
The attention to detail in the presentation and design of the shops products makes for a visual feast as you meander up and down the stores aisles. Selling everything from fresh produce, herbs, minerals, nuts and grains, and facial products you are bound to find something that tickles your fancy. If not, then you can always head to the cute little café out back and grab a quick pick-me-up coffee whilst the other half or kids continue browsing.
Website: Flora y Fauna
Address:Calle La Mar 1110, Miraflores, Lima
Tel:+51 1 3674749
Opening Times: Mon to Sat from 08:30 – 20:30 / Sun 09:00 – 18:00
3. BoConcept La Mar
Next port of call is the BoConcept furniture and design store, where passion and persistence are the motors that move the people behind the BoConcept brand.
The shops interior is clean, simplistic and modern that compliments the custom-made accessories and furniture that have been strategically placed by BoConcept team. Selling everything from decorative items, textiles, functional accessories, rugs, lamps, paintings and framed prints, the selection is vast and caters for a variety of different tastes and palettes. The impeccably designed modern urban furniture tempts the shopper and upon request any of the objects on display can be adjusted or tailored to meet the needs of clients and fit in with the interior of one’s own home.
Website: BoConcept
Address:Avenida Mariscal La Mar 942, Miraflores
Tel:+51 1 6400214
Opening Times:Mon to Sat from 10:00 – 19:00 / Sun 11:00 – 18:00
4. Cuatro en un Baul
Having picked out a table or chair, a few essential adornments wouldn’t go amiss. Just a short walk away, the cute little art and design boutique “Cuatro en un Baul” is tucked away, teeming with unusual and beautiful selected objects to add that extra touch of personality to your home.
After two years of success, Michela Casassa and Claudia Freundt decided to open their second shop in Calle La Mar and are going from strength to strength. They vow to never sell anything in their shop that they wouldn’t put in their own home, adding a very personal touch to their products that you immediately pick up on walking into their outlet. They specialize in combining restored antique furniture, recycled objects that are unique in their design and produced by local artists who have a flare, passion and acute eye for design. Nestled in between the nooks and crannies be sure to look out for vintage paraphernalia, and variety of paintings and cool postcards.
Website: Cuatro en un Baul
Address:Av. La Mar 463, Miraflores, Lima
Tel:+ 51 1 2793481
Opening Times:Mon to Sun from 10:00 – 13:00 & 14:00 – 20:00
5. El Pan de la Chola
Tired of walking? Then wind things up with a delicious coffee or treat in one of La Mar’s top coffee shops. The relatively new addition of the Lima’s leading bakery “El Pan de la Chola” is located several blocks from the Malecon Cisneros Boulevard. Originally founded by ex-British actor and model Jonathan Day, you could quite easily think that you had walked into one of London’s trendy coffee shops. Designed with a minimalist decor, modest tones and rustic wooden tables, the sumptuous artisan bread and near perfect coffee provide for a great spot to read a paper or do a day’s work. As one of Lima’s most fashionable eateries, the smell of fresh baked bread and coffee is enough to make you want to spend an entire afternoon lounging and treating yourself to their many delicacies – you have been warned!
Website: El Pan de la Chola
Address: Av Mariscal La Mar 918, Miraflores, Lima
Tel:+ 51 1 2212138
Opening Times:Tues to Sat 08:00 – 22:00 / Sun 09:00 – 18:00
