Cosme
Calle Tudela Y Varela 160 – 162
San Isidro
Lima
Peru
Telephone: 421 5228
Overall rating: 6/10
Date of visit: September 2016
As I said in another review, certain people rave about the cuisine from Peru. I found it a bit disappointing, so within that context, in my opinion it’s difficult to find good food in Peru – even if you’re willing to pay a lot (which I have done).
The creativity at Cosme is not at the level of El Bulli or anything approaching it, but compared to the same tired old dishes you see in most places in Peru, this restaurant offers something different, and at a reasonable price as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of our bill, and the menu on their website don’t contain any prices. However, as far as I recall the dishes were around 35-40 sol each (€10-€10.50). This is more expensive than most of the traditional places serving ceviche and guinea pig around the country, but it seems to be more or less average for a decent restaurant in Lima. Even a pizza at takeaway pizza place Papa John’s is around 60 sol (€16).
So, Cosme was interesting enough the first time to come back another time. Neither I or my Peruvian girlfriend felt the food was extraordinay, but it was interesting enough to try out more. They also offer cocktails and alcohol free drinks, all of which seemed a lot more creative than the usual run of the mill you find in many bars and clubs around the world.
My score is the same as for Central in Lima, but I would much rather go back to Cosme, as the food was equally good, perhaps a tad more delicious in Cosme, and the price was much lower in Cosme. I would also that judging on the quality of the food and the price, Cosme is probably the restaurant in Peru that it’s most likely that I will go back to, except for Rafael.
The waiters we spoke to didn’t seem to speak much English if any, but the chef happened to come out at one point to talk with us about desserts, and his English was so good that I actually thought he was not Peruvian.
Here are pictures with a few words about the ingredients:
Octopus with quinoa and “supposedly” pesto in the quinoa (not much flavour):
A sea food sandwich:
A bun with barbecued pork (I believe this was one of their specialties):
Their take on a ceviche:
Beef with mashed potatoes, carrots, and small beans:
A modern take on a lemon pie (the lime half was fake and edible):
The house speciality dessert. I would describe this as a white chocolate fondant (molten lava cake) with milk chocolate ice cream and crumble/crunch:
