()— title: “Rafael” date: “2018-11-11” categories:

• “restaurants” tags:
• “lima”
• “peru”
• “rafael-osterling” featured_image: “images/Lima-Rafael-Basque-cheese-tart.jpg”

The Chef

Rafael Osterling didn’t start off to be a chef. He was going to be a lawyer. As the son of the leader of one of Peru’s political parties he was trained to be a diplomat. Though he always had a love of cooking and a talent for it, his family discouraged it so he always expected to go into public service. Then came Fujimori’s 1992 autogolpe and everything changed. With his father under house arrest, and tanks outside of their house, a diplomatic career seemed less likely and he was free to pursue his first love.

Now, 25 years later, he’s one of the most gifted chefs in Peru and his restaurant “Rafael” in Lima is his crown jewel. Rafael the restaurant is not a “molecular gastronomy” place. It’s a traditional gourmet restaurant with an a la carte menu, white tablecloths, crystal and a European inspired menu organized into appetizers, pasta, fish, and meat.

The Dishes

While the menu be inspired by Europe, there is a love for Peru and its food. Ceviche and tiradito are there as well as “European” dishes with peruvian ingredients. For example, the tiradito has the elements of traditional tiradito, thinly sliced fish dressed in an acidic citrus based marinade, but it also uses sliced butter beans instead of choclo, and piped sweet potato puree for a more refined presentation.

We also had fried sweetbreads and pea puree, classically British, but served with hard boiled quail eggs, typically Peruvian. Our pasta course, pasta alla chitarra, was a traditionally Italian dish but an Italian would not make it with Peruvian sea urchin. Still the creamy briny sea urchin sets off the pasta perfectly. Finally the fish, a roasted grouper with spicy rice, was another classic recipe executed with local ingredients. Our two desserts a basque cheese tart and “tumbao” (similar to an Eton mess) stuck more to their traditional inspirations but still used local ingredients like chirimoya that you’d never find in Europe.

Conclusion

Rafael serves an delicious combination of Peruvian ingredients with European technique and flair. The service is friendly and helpful. Overall it’s comfortable fine dining environment.