Virgilio Martinez, the brains behind Michelin starred Lima London is overseeing the menu here, while head chef, Robert Ortiz is the one working the magic into the kitchen here at Lima Floral. It was a baking hot 30 degrees outside, so what a godsend it was when we walked through the door. Cool, calm, exposed brick and a turquoise colour scheme running through. It was exactly how i pictured it, but much more casual then its counterpart, Lima. Some bread arrived, simple – but delicious. And the accompanying syrup for dipping was unlike anything I’ve eaten before. I think it was the same Algarrobina syrup and hot annatto oil they serve at Lima.
If there is one thing they know how to do well here at Lima Flora, it’s making the food look stunning. An array of colours, textures, cooking methods. It all looks so foreign. Perhaps the next wave of foodies fifty years on will have the words ‘red shizo‘ and ‘pachamanca broth‘ rolling off their tongues. Tuna causa as a starter was a plate of smooth rolled yellow potato, crudo vegetable roots and a gorgeous tartar. It wasn’t quite the traditional causa kind – instead more a deconstructed version. Every mouthful was a joy to eat, and while good as it was, I’m not quite sure i was particularly blown away.
The beef sudado arrived at the table looking like a work of art. But sadly its artistic technicalities ended there – and mainly by fault of the beef. It looked perfectly cooked but instead my knife was having difficulties cutting through it – I physically even had to remove a piece from my mouth mid chew because it simply wouldn’t break up. The beef was cold, but thankfully did pack some good flavour. This was a terrible error, which with this being my second visit – i had the same problem both times round. Unlucky? Who knows. The accompanying bowl of white quinoa with coriander broth was a thing of beauty and did manage to cheer me up a little.
Organic lamb rump, eco dry potato, queso fresco, black quinoa and crispy blue potato were just a few of the ingredients that made up this bright and colourful dish. Every single element to it, was stunning – apart from the lamb. Queso freso and creamy piped potato were magical, but again we were struggling to slice through the meat – it was as if it hadn’t had time to rest and didn’t soften up one bit from start to finish. Next time I’ll stick with ceviche, because they manage to get it absolutely perfect every time.
With just about enough room to squeeze in a dessert, i couldn’t resist ordering the most unusual sounding dish on the menu. Suspiro ardiente. A bowl of dulche de leche, beetroot and dry limo chili pepper. It looked incredible, but one spoonful in and i couldn’t bare another. Chili heat, coupled with flavours which really didn’t compliment each other in the slightest, a grainy weak flavoured dulche de leche – it even had a faint fishy taste. Accident or not I’m not entirely sure but i couldn’t find anything appealing about this dish, and I’ll eat almost anything.
A meal at Lima Floral is still probably one of the capitals most intriguing restaurants. When Peruvian food really hit London (Lima & Ceviche) we couldn’t get enough of those fresh, zesty plates of food known as ceviche. Lima Floral seems confused right now, and lost what it was i loved so much at Lima – precision perfect cooking. Service wasn’t up to scratch and cocktails tasted like pure ethanol. Perhaps in time, this restaurant will become the twin of Lima it should be, but for now it’s casting a very dark shadow over it.
6/10
