Eat early
If you’re keen to get your mural hunting done in the morning before the sun reaches its peak, you’ll want to fuel up sufficiently. Barranco is not short of options.La Bodega Verde on Sucre is a good place to start, serving all-day breakfast in an art-filled space with a glorious patio. It’s a great spot to ping off any emails, too. La Panetteria Barranco is the place to load up on carbs, crafting the best pain au chocolat in the city, and the bread baked on site is out of this world.
Pan Sal Aire is an urban bistro serving up fantastic all-day brunches with a decent natural wine list, while for the best eggs benedict in town, you should hit up Colonia & Co.
Lunch calls for seafood, and Canta Rana is non-negotiable. It has been a Barranco icon since the ’80s, slinging ceviche with wild-caught corvina and tiger’s milk laced with ají limo. The walls are a soccer shrine too, with dozens of national flags hanging from the ceiling. It’s one of those no-frills types where the dishes blow you away.
Eat late
Barranco’s dining scene is the jewel of Lima, with world-class eateries offering amazing cuisine that takes Peruvian tradition and twists it with contemporary flair. First up is Mérito, where Chef Juan Luis Martínez has concocted a Venezuelan-Peruvian tasting menu that explores the very best of Latin fusion, and a wine list full of Peru’s emerging vintners. Isolina is a culinary quest into nostalgic home cooking, with hearty, soul-warming plates honouring Lima’s matriarchs.
Kjolle is a restaurant by Pía León, who in 2021 was voted Best Chef in the World by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Expect fireworks on a plate – Kjolle serves dishes with incredible artistry and ingenuity. You will have never experienced anything like it. For really great, wholesome food that won’t break the bank, check out La 73 for its modern creole dishes (and insanely good churros), and 113 Fusion for unpretentious flavours.
Drink
Lima is one of only five official Peruvian regions with a Denomination of Origin for pisco, the grape-based spirit that goes all the way back to the 16th-century Spanish conquistadores. So don’t be surprised when a bartender gives you a strange look after you order any cocktail that doesn’t contain it!
Barranco’s bar crawl is as wild as it is eclectic. For the former, take a trip into Ayahuasca Restobar, housed in a restored 19th-century mansion decorated with psychedelic installations and trippy murals. With DJs playing till late, it draws hedonists and Barranco’s beautiful people alike. Hotel B’s bar is a wonderful place to have a sharpener before heading out for dinner, where bar manager Axel Romero has created an amazing cocktail list of art- and culture-inspired drinks, made with native ingredients and served in bespoke handmade glasses.
Juanito de Barranco is a fantastic old-school tavern that has been going since 1937 and is the perfect place for a cold beer and conversation. It regularly hosts live jazz, too, and is a favourite for some of Barranco’s more colourful locals. Cordial is a fantastic little spot for wine lovers, especially natural wines, plus the food is top notch. Look out for some really cool events there, too.
Stay
One of the first things you’ll notice about Barranco is the architecture: colourful colonial buildings and lovingly restored mansions that give the area a unique personality. Naturally, some of these have been converted into boutique hotels, with my favourite being Hotel B, a 20-room gem in a 1914 Belle Époque mansion with a brilliant white facade. Curated by local artists, the rooms blend mid-century furniture with Andean textiles. Ask for one overlooking the sea, if available.
Villa Barranco by Ananay Hotels is another beautifully restored early 20th-century mansion comprising two Republican-era houses. Painted duck-egg blue, this nine-room hideaway was once a family home that has undergone extensive restoration, with revived sculpted façades, mosaic floors and intricate ornamentation. Local artisans recovered and reassembled the original tiles, replicating lost pieces with the same French seal that once adorned them.
Another great option is Casa Republica Barranco, and while it might not offer the intimacy of the other two, it’s no less charming – especially the rooftop bar, which often hosts live music.
Shop
Barranco’s shopping is a treasure hunt through indie boutiques in candy-coloured repúblicas. From alpaca knits to upcycled jewellery, it’s ethical retail with a stitch of storytelling. Many of the retailers cluster around Plaza de Barranco, so you’d do well to start there.
Dédalo on Av Sáenz Peña is a chic family-run atelier in a republican house that curates contemporary art and traditional crafts by local artists. It’s something of a Barranco institution, having been around for over three decades, and has a beautiful garden café, too.
Vernácula is another must-visit, being a concept store-meets-gallery in a colonial mansion, that blends fashion, art and design. It’s a place where you can score boho dresses and bikinis from Lima labels, as well as limited-edition prints by local illustrators. For contemporary Lima designers, hit up UNO which does a really well-curated collection of seasonal menswear and womenswear.
Do
The great thing about Barranco is its diminutive size, packing a tonne of activities into a 2km radius. The streets are safe and clean, allowing you to walk freely, but if you want to get the most out of your exploring then it’s well worth getting a guide. For 20 quid, you’ll get the insight into the local artists behind the many street art murals, plus so much more.
You’ll no doubt be taken across the iconic Puente de los Suspiros (Bridge of Sighs) – legend has it that if you make a wish and hold your breath, then it will come true if you get to the other side. It’s 100ft long, so get a leg on. At Plaza de Barranco, the area’s hub, there are often free weekend artisan fairs with live cajón performances that are well worth visiting.
For colonial treasures, the Museo Pedro de Osma showcases 16th-century viceregal art in an early 20th-century mansion with bougainvillea-filled gardens to chill in. For adventure, you can paraglide at Playa Barranco or go surfing down at Punta Hermosa.
Ryan Thompson is a UK-based menswear and lifestyle writer, whose work has appeared in, among others, the Financial Times, Mr Porter, The Rake and Ape to Gentleman
