The third incarnation from brothers Gabriel and Jose Luis Gonzalez, Lima Shoreditch promises a venture into the diverse landscape of Peru. It follows on from Lima Fitzrovia, a restaurant well-known for its use of indigenous ingredients along with Cantonese (chifa) and Japanese (nikkei) styles. Settled within the jewel-toned Sun Street Hotel, it’s obvious that this is a restaurant determined to celebrate the colour and texture of Peruvian cuisine; turquoise tiles line the walls, contrasting with pink velvet chairs and hanging multicoloured quipu, which pay homage to Incan record-keeping.
The menu is just as vibrant, from oysters topped with basil foam and togarashi, to a sprightly egg-yolk yellow aji amarillo causa starter. Served cold, this traditional Peruvian potato and yellow chilli dish comes with sweet crab meat and a powerful purple botija olive puree.
Elsewhere, Lima offers Wagyu beef saltado in a glistening soy-based sauce. A refreshed interpretation of a staple of chifa cuisine, it features wok-stung onions, roasted new potatoes and hunks of almost caramelised medium-rare Wagyu. It’s seasoned with a heavy hand, but brilliant when mixed through the accompanying rice.
It’s Peru’s national dish, ceviche, that steals the show. First up is a classic ceviche featuring sea bass, tiger's milk, giant choclo corn, and sweet potato. It’s good and we lap it up happily, but a subsequent bluefin tuna ceviche dressed in a grassy, fiery rocoto aji tiger’s milk leaves the greatest mark.
Fish is where Lima Shoreditch shines. Miso glazed sea bass arrives pearly white and crispy, with a buttery humitas corn puree. Another spoonful of pico de gallo would be welcome, but this is a minor quibble. Desserts are simple in comparison, but enjoyable nonetheless. A chocolate mousse made with Peruvian Piura cacao has some lovely floral notes, matched by a zippy blood-red raspberry coulis.
Lima Shoreditch doesn’t quite manage to shake the feeling of a hotel restaurant, but the intensity of colour, texture, and flavour more than compensate for any perceived lack of atmosphere. Throw in a brilliant South American wine list and helpful recommendations, and it’s all quite bewitching. That ceviche, plus a glass of sparkling or a pisco sour could easily bring us back.