Another Peruvian restaurant? Yes, but this one’s likely to be special…

Do you follow the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants List with interest every year? Us too.

Well, we have good news… the chef behind the fourth best restaurant in the world according to the coveted list – Central in Lima, Peru – is about to open a fine-dining spot in City Walk in Jumeirah.

What is it? It’s called Lima – and will be the sister restaurant to chef Virgilio Martinez’ Michelin-starred Lima in London.

Yes, it will be Peruvian cuisine (and it’s safe to say the city’s Peruvian restaurant market is saturated) but this comes from the chef behind the world’s best Peruvian restaurant, so perhaps that’s USP enough.

When’s it opening? In March, so any week now really.

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Where will it be? In the fully-licensed fine-dining courtyard within City Walk. How. Cool. The restaurant will seat 200 – and that will be spread over a restaurant, bar and outdoor terrace area.

Why do we care? Virgilio Martinez (pictured above), and also Lima London head chef Robert Ortiz, are considered to be at the forefront of Peruvian cuisine’s explosion in popularity over the past few years.

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But their food extends way beyond quinoa and ceviche, as the World’s 50 Best Restaurants site points out…

“Central’s tasting menu starts from 20 metres below sea level and travels up to 4,100 metres, highlighting the Peruvian ingredients that grow at various elevations. On a recent trip to Aija in the Andes, Martínez harvested wild oca and Andean yams and met a man fermenting ocas in river water, cooking the tuber below the ground on hot stones, inspiring the dish ‘Tallos extremos’.”

Basically, they go to all sorts of lengths to offer the extra-ordinary.

Here’s a rendering of what the restaurant will look like…

What can we expect? Well, one of the chefs who worked with Martinez in Central in Peru will be flying in to run the Dubai restaurant: Diego Sanchez will craft, according to the brand, “natural, organic dishes”.

The Dubai menu is already up on the restaurant’s website, and the mains range from Lamb rump seco with sun dried Chili, pumpkin and kiwicha (Dhs130) to Duck chifa with apple cream, foie foam and melon (Dhs180) to the high-altitude 4,000 metre dried potatoes with huancaina sauce, roots and wood sorrel (Dhs110).

As for the decor, you can expect lots of colour and texture – with some items flown in from Peru.

We’ll keep you updated, and let you know what we think of it once it’s open.

Opening March. Fine dining courtyard, City Walk, Dubai. Tel: (800) LIMA. More info on website. 

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