The basics: Central is the flagship Peruvian restaurant by Virgilio Martinez, who is a somewhat famous chef. The mission of the restaurant is ambitious – discover the ingredients of Peru, a megadiverse region with mountains, rain forest, a coast line and desert.
The menu’s concept revolves around altitude – they only use ingredients of a specific altitude per course, from -100m below sea level to 5000m above sea level, and makes the guest consider which altitudes allow for what types of foods. This is such a great idea and reflects Peru’s biodiversity. A menu was roughly 200$.
I’ve never been as conflicted about a fine dining experience as here – the food is innovative, the plates are stunningly beautiful and unique, some of the dishes are to die for. There are so many ingredients I’ve never tried before. The last dish in which they serve chocolate in like 8 different ways was so fascinating. On the other hand, many dishes tasted like nothing, the service was very bad, also, we were seated in some weird spontaneously constructed separé and the same song was looped for four hours. We told the waiter that it’s annoying us and he shrugged, even though we were alone in this area.
Later at Maido, we overheard a conversation of other guests who remarked that they liked Maido better than Central. Taste-wise, I agree, Maido is just flavour packed bite after another. But Central is special in different ways, and unique on the planet.
Responsible_Gap8104 on
Gorgeous presentation! Its a shame the flavors werent as stunning for every dish, but still so impressive
SuburbanMomSwag on
It’s so disappointing to hear that some of these didn’t taste like much! I have this insane theory that since Covid some restaurants have gone bland because some of the cooks lost some tasting/smelling abilities. I’m not quite sure my taste and smell sensitivity is the same since having it, and I wonder if others are experiencing this.
Judzies on
Hey OP – just wanted to thank you for the quality of this content. Gorgeous photographs, descriptions featuring key ingredients, personal reviews based on your individual experience. I wish every post on this sub followed your formula.
JoshuaLyman on
A piranha that eats fruit that falls in the river…
Like Machaca in Costa Rica that eat the fruit of the cashew tree. Absolute blast to river float and catch on a fly rod….
Nulleparttousjours on
I’m so embarrassed by how long it took me to work out masl was a currency and not an ingredient!!
Great description and photos. The presentation is utterly stunning and very visually stimulating! Shame some of the dishes were underwhelming.
macchinas on
OP, never be afraid to ask to move seats whenever you’re uncomfortable. I would have asked to move before being seated, even.
[deleted] on
Why does it not have a Michelin star?
AndyVale on
Some outstanding plating, but a bit of a shame about the lack of taste. Did they give any guidance as to what to look for? I sometimes find that if I’m given a little bit of a primer on what to expect, or how the flavour works, I can pick out and appreciate stuff I might not have done before.
9 Comments
The basics: Central is the flagship Peruvian restaurant by Virgilio Martinez, who is a somewhat famous chef. The mission of the restaurant is ambitious – discover the ingredients of Peru, a megadiverse region with mountains, rain forest, a coast line and desert.
The menu’s concept revolves around altitude – they only use ingredients of a specific altitude per course, from -100m below sea level to 5000m above sea level, and makes the guest consider which altitudes allow for what types of foods. This is such a great idea and reflects Peru’s biodiversity. A menu was roughly 200$.
I’ve never been as conflicted about a fine dining experience as here – the food is innovative, the plates are stunningly beautiful and unique, some of the dishes are to die for. There are so many ingredients I’ve never tried before. The last dish in which they serve chocolate in like 8 different ways was so fascinating. On the other hand, many dishes tasted like nothing, the service was very bad, also, we were seated in some weird spontaneously constructed separé and the same song was looped for four hours. We told the waiter that it’s annoying us and he shrugged, even though we were alone in this area.
Later at Maido, we overheard a conversation of other guests who remarked that they liked Maido better than Central. Taste-wise, I agree, Maido is just flavour packed bite after another. But Central is special in different ways, and unique on the planet.
Gorgeous presentation! Its a shame the flavors werent as stunning for every dish, but still so impressive
It’s so disappointing to hear that some of these didn’t taste like much! I have this insane theory that since Covid some restaurants have gone bland because some of the cooks lost some tasting/smelling abilities. I’m not quite sure my taste and smell sensitivity is the same since having it, and I wonder if others are experiencing this.
Hey OP – just wanted to thank you for the quality of this content. Gorgeous photographs, descriptions featuring key ingredients, personal reviews based on your individual experience. I wish every post on this sub followed your formula.
A piranha that eats fruit that falls in the river…
Like Machaca in Costa Rica that eat the fruit of the cashew tree. Absolute blast to river float and catch on a fly rod….
I’m so embarrassed by how long it took me to work out masl was a currency and not an ingredient!!
Great description and photos. The presentation is utterly stunning and very visually stimulating! Shame some of the dishes were underwhelming.
OP, never be afraid to ask to move seats whenever you’re uncomfortable. I would have asked to move before being seated, even.
Why does it not have a Michelin star?
Some outstanding plating, but a bit of a shame about the lack of taste. Did they give any guidance as to what to look for? I sometimes find that if I’m given a little bit of a primer on what to expect, or how the flavour works, I can pick out and appreciate stuff I might not have done before.