Rafael

The food, referring to the taste was good in general, no complaints on that part, but the wait between the plates was too long. In top of that you must now that you will have to order multiple courses to be satisfied, because the portions are quite small so go with time. About the prices, in my opinion, they have great plates which deserve the high cost, but there’s others that are quite average, not worth it.

A must visit spot with a great ambiance. This definitely feels like fine dining! Warm fresh bread to start and a great drinks list. A small food menu but all worth trying. The scallops are a must and a signature dish. Loved the special of the Crudo and then steak main.

We stopped by and so glad we did! Juan was incredible. He created all of the cocktail recipes and they were amazing. He was so kind and showed us the beauty of pisco! Joaquin was very helpful and attentive as well. I wish we lived closer to this place, I would be there every day if I could!

My visit to Rafael was full of great expectations as in all the new places I visit to eat. Reviews of Rafael are positive and negatives, and should be taken understanding that you are going to a Chefs restaurant, you are going to taste and eat food that has been meticulously created for a select type of patrons. Understanding this, I may say that Chef Rafael and his restaurant have accomplished something rare, exquisite and different that you usually do not see in fine dining in Peru. The food, his team, carefulness and little details are top notch. I highly recommend this place for connoisseurs, it’s expensive but it’s great.

We had a very bad experience on our recent visit to this restaurant. The bartenders were scammers, there is no way of saying it any other way. After finding out that there drinks on the menu are pre-batched we decided to have regular cocktails; Old-Fashioned and Negroni. We also had two Boullevardier cocktails. What they didn’t say was that the drinks were more than double from what’s on the menu and an up charge for every single alcohol they used; 95 Soles for a drink? Really? When your drinks on the menu are like 45 soles. And you know what, it’s not the price that bothers me, it’s the not disclosing that there is an up charge for every drink we had. Very disingenuous on their part. Here I have a pic of my receipt and a screenshot of one there past cocktail menus for comparison. We also did not understand why they waited to sit us at one of the tables for 2, when they were all available. We ended up staying at the bar, but that shouldn’t have been the case if the tables are available, right? In the end, very disappointed with the restaurant, we’ve been there in the past and had better experiences, but this was not one of them. Be aware of the bartenders and their dirty little tricks.

Very delicious!! Tuna steak was phenomenal and the lamb birria was top-notch. We recommend ordering the maracuya juice. The bread basket was good. For dessert we got the pistachio-almond with fig ice cream—it was good.

We visited Rafael on our first day in Lima—booked last minute—and it turned out to be the highlight of our dining experiences in the city. After also trying Kjolle and Mayta, both featured on the Top 50 list, we can confidently say that Rafael delivered a far better overall experience. Honestly, we’re starting to think that list isn’t worth following, as several places we’ve tried globally from it were forgettable. Back to Rafael: the food was delicious, authentically Peruvian, with generous portions and fair pricing. The service was exactly what you’d expect from a well-run restaurant—smooth, attentive, and unpretentious. Next time we’re in Lima, Rafael will be a must-return, unlike the other two, which were overhyped and underwhelming.

Incredible experience! Amazing food - we had the scallops, tuna steak and duck fried rice, everything was delicious. Good cocktails too