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Mayta

Lima

Artful dishes and vibrant cocktails from a Peruvian culinary ambassador

What's the hype? On its 10-year anniversary in 2018, Mayta moved to new premises with a revamped interior and totally redesigned menu. Since then, its star has been ascending, entering into Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants in 2019 and making its debut on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2022. Chef Jaime Pesaque's refined Peruvian cuisine now draws diners from all over the world.

On the menu: The ten-course Mayta Experience menu focuses on Peruvian ingredients, with dishes including corn with chullpi (roasted corn), quinoa and panca chili; guinea pig, mashuas (a kind of tuber) cushuro (a blue-green algae) and Andean herbs; and a dish of beetroot, cacao and ayrampo (fruit from a cactus). Each plate is a work of art, with colourful produce front and centre.

What's in a name? Meaning 'noble land' in the language of the Indigenous Aymara people, the name Mayta emphasises the restaurant's connection with Peru's natural environment and all it offers chefs.

Preserving Peru: With great attention to sustainability, Pesaque works regularly with paiche, an Amazonian fish that needs to be eaten to prevent the destruction of other species. During the pandemic, the chef doubled down on research, working on recovering the biodiversity of the Ica (fertile desert) region of Peru with his Yachay project.

If you like this... Following the opening of Mad Burger and 500 Grados in Lima, in 2021 Pesaque also launched Sapiens, showcasing open-flame techniques with vegetables, seafood, meat and grains. He also owns Suviche and Nuna in the US and Callao in the Netherlands , proving his desire to spread the joy of Peruvian cuisine knows no bounds. His latest venture is a branch of Callao in Lima's Jorge Chávez airport.

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