Central, the restaurant of Virgilio Martínez and Pía León, has been the world's most decorated Peruvian restaurant for a decade — number one on the World's 50 Best list in 2023 and continuously in the top five before and after. Each course is matched to an altitude (-25 m at sea level all the way to +4,100 m on the Andes plateau), and the kitchen sources ingredients from a research lab Martínez runs in the Sacred Valley. The setting, a discreet glass-walled space in Barranco, includes the open kitchen and gardens of native plants.
Reservations open six months ahead and fill in minutes; the tasting menu is around 800 soles plus wine pairing. The lower-key sister restaurant Kjolle, also on the property and run by Pía León, is easier to book and slightly cheaper.