100 Very Best Restaurants 2013: La Limeña

You can eat Peruvian chicken anywhere these days. You come here to explore the multifaceted cuisine beyond pollo a la brasa—from tiradito (lime-marinated tilapia atop yellow-pepper sauce) to grilled beef hearts (imagine a hanger steak with slightly more chew) to rich aji de gallina (chicken in a sauce of egg, white wine, and garlic). And don’t allow the steam of a sizzling steak trailing through the room to divert you from the fish, particularly the ceviches and the whole fried trout blitzed with shaved almonds.

Potatoes are a Peruvian staple—the country counts 700 varieties in its diet—and the kitchen transforms them in myriad ways. Most memorable is an appetizer called causa—tender squares of potato sandwiching a rich paste of tuna—but wherever potatoes turn up on the menu, order them. Don’t miss: Papa a la huancaina (potatoes in a sauce of bread, cheese, and wine); lomo saltado; Cuban sandwich; alfajores (anise shortbread with caramel); lucuma ice cream. Open: Daily for lunch and dinner. Inexpensive.