Background:
Gastón Acurio, chef & owner of Astrid & Gastón, is considered the Godfather of Peruvian cuisine. 20 years ago he opened Astrid & Gastón and put Lima on the map as one of the best food cities in the world. He has mentored many famous chefs, including Virgilio Martínez of Central. The restaurant relocated to Casa Moreyra in San Isidoro in 2014, and Gastón Acurio took over as ahead chef in 2015. Gastón's wife, Astrid Gutsche, is the head pastry chef and walks around greeting guests throughout the night. Astrid & Gastón is currently ranked the 33rd best restaurant in the world.
Gastón Acurio is the godfather, capisce?
Eat this:
You can order a la carte or do a tasting menu here. We did the tasting menu, because that's how we roll.
The Hostel's Bed with Ocean View
Empanada, alfajor, dashi and tartar
First bites are important, and Astrid & Gastón did not disappoint. We started off with a crab alfajor (to die for!), an empanada made of seaweed and oyster, and a fruit log with some magic on top. We were instructed to each one in one bite, which Jason loves to do since he is the fastest eater of all time.
Sea Bass Ham
Lard, avocado, and sweet potato bomb
Something consistent through all of Lima is the excellent quality of fish due to their proximity to the ocean. This bite of sea bass was no exception. The crunch of the cracker, the smooth citrus of the avocado, and the freshness of the fish come together for the perfect Peruvian bite.
19th Century Cebiche
Catch of the day and sour orange tiger's milk
Ceviche (Cebiche) is the national dish of Peru. The orange citrus is the key to this dish, which is the perfect kiss of flavor after you have the first taste of the fish. If you don't drink it up like a soup then you aren't living your life right!
Sea Urchin Salad
Soba noodles and nikkei aroma
It's the token sea urchin dish! In Scallionpancake's opinion you can take all the sea urchin off every tasting menu because it's just not that good. We get it --it's expensive and we are supposed to lose our minds over it. But we don't like eating something that tastes like ocean water, even if it has really good noodles with it.
Cured Bonito & Coquito Melon
Vinagreta from all bloods and herbs from our garden
This was the dish I like to call, "the good fish with colorful flowers." It was good quality fish covered in colorful flowers. Fin.
Bread
It's bread time! Hands down the best bread we had in Peru. The breads came with whipped butter, whipped avocado, whipped roasted red pepper spread, and a little container of the best lard ever.
A Scallionpancake rule is don't serve your butter hard, because WTF is up with that. News flash: it's hard to spread a solid object with a butter knife. Astrid didn't disappoint us, and all the spreads were perfectly room temperature. The breads were all great, too. A few standouts were the potato and cheese, the olive roll, and the gooseberry bread.
The Blushing Egg
Hidden on a fish cupe from Lima.
There isn't much to say about this one, other than we didn't like it. Let's move on.
Guinea Pig Pekinesse
The one of all the life
Guinea pig, or cuy to the Peruvians, is a local delicacy. Astrid & Gastón's take on the cuy was to make it peking style, so it tasted like a crispy piece of duck. It came on a purple corn crepe and was meant to be eaten like a taco. Two bites of perfection.
It's time for a Scallionpancake life lesson: always try weird stuff when traveling, especially at nice restaurants. Would you eat a guinea pig in America? Probably not. But when a dish is a part of a local culture it's important to see what the fuss is all about. Because if you don't you would have missed out on this delicious guinea pig.
Catch of the Day
According to the Sea
The fish of the day was sea bass, and it maybe the best sea bass we've ever had. The fish was cooked to perfection on a little bed of risotto. The perfect fish-lover's dish, for sure.
Confit Suckling Pig
Cacao, Peanuts, and Pibil Juice
What made this dish outstanding was the flavor of the chocolate with the perfectly seared pork. Who knew that chocolate would mix so well with pork?! That's why Gastón is the Godfather. Of all the dishes we had in Peru, this was Jason's favorite.
Astrid's Desserts
Sheep's Milk Ice Cream
with tangerine and mint ice
Then god said, "let's the desserts came," and so they did. We started out with a sheep's milk ice cream with a tangerine and mint ice (Yvonne's favorite because it wasn't too sweet). Then came the caramel ice cream cone with a caramel "cloud," and it was declared very good by all parties (ahem, the two of us).
Just when we thought we were done, chocolates were handed out. At this point in the meal, Jason was so done from two tasting menus in one day that he almost fell asleep at the table, but he's just a touch classier than that so he kept his cool.
Ice Cream Cone
with caramel cloud
Various Chocolates
Drink
Strawberry & blackberry
Astrid & Gastón had a wide variety of cocktails and mock-tails, which were a staple throughout Peru with their variety of fruits and vegetables. The mock-tail pictured above was strawberry and blackberry. They also have a 250+ wine list that is considered one of the best in Peru
Atmosphere
Astrid & Gastón has a wow factor, and definitely had the coolest space of the three fine dining restaurants we tried in Lima. It is located in Casa Moreyra, which is a hacienda built in the middle of the 18th century and is designated as a historical landmark. The decor is modern, with the work of contemporary Peruvian artists gracing the walls. The bar area is the main focus, with a two level Spanish courtyard and tree with streamers. The space is huge, with at least two other smaller bars and two main kitchens. Each room had its own unique feel and flare. It definitely felt like you were in a cool, trendy place.
Cardinal Flamingo
Upside-down plants like woah
San Isidoro Hospitality:
The wait staff here was, for the most part, good, but definitely not great. We had a few weird moments, including where the waiter made us, for no discernible reason, write down our passport number on our receipt, for which Jason just made up a random eight digit number. For a place of this standard you would expect the service to be much better.
Frankie's Notes:
Two tasting menus in a day keeps the doctor away--or perhaps makes the grim reaper show up twenty years too soon; Booking your hotel within walking distance of the best restaurants really makes the walk home much easier; Ice cream cones are good in every country; Our biggest regret is that we didn't order off menu for the chocolate bomba; We still have nightmares about not trying the chocolate bomba; No seriously we haven't slept in a month; Our dream house is a mansion with a top 50 restaurant inside; Passport numbers are for border control and website passwords only; J/K our password is food12345.