As the sunny days fade into gray overcast winter in Lima, I’m reminded of last winter. During the deep of a Lima winter (June-September), you will need to go inland to get some sun. These are some restaurants in Cieneguilla where one can go to get a meal and more importantly, vitamin D. This short list is from long time expat residents of Lima.
I went to the place that started the Peruvian chicken craze, but that was not far enough inland. Still, the fries (and chicken) were very good, and I liked the gift shop.
I finally went to the place that started the craze for Peruvian rotisserie chicken, “pollo a la brasa” — La Granja Azul, out in Ate (over an hour outside Miraflores). In the Washington, DC, area, I had been to both El Pollo Rico and Edy’s Chicken (this one preferred by my Peruvian friends for the lucuma ice cream and fried yucca, and actually owned by a Thai lady), so it was fun to go to the source.
Granja Azul is a “country” restaurant, a type of restaurant that includes a play area for children and a gift shop. It’s a large rambling restaurant with heavy colonial style furniture and interiors. There is a courtyard that fits many extended family lunches. The menu includes the standard 80 sol all-you-can -eat menu of pullet/poulet (young chicken), fries, salad (iceberg in one bowl, tomatoes in another, and onions in a third), bread, butter, anticuchos (beef heart on a stick), chili sauce, and a small pitcher of mayonnaise (yes, you read that right). The picarones (Peruvian doughnuts) are not included in the menu.
The chickens are on long spits rotating in a large oven and the chicken turner is happy to pose the chickens for a photo op.
The fries are delicious. I think. I may have been influenced by the 1.5 hour drive and hunger. The chickens are crispy and dry. Who can eat more than one?
I went on a day looking for sun. There was none. But I did enjoy the gift shop. And going to the pollo a la brasa source! From Ate (what a fun name!) to the world!
