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Mayta

Lima

Colourful cuisine and cocktails from Peru’s latest culinary ambassador

On the Pass

Jaime Pesaque

Pastry Chef

Jeisson Felipe Garzon

What’s the hype? On its 10-year anniversary in 2018, Mayta moved to new premises with a revamped interior and totally redesigned menu. Since then, its star has been ascending, with its entry into Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2019 and now, in 2022, its debut onto The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Chef Jaime Pesaque’s refined Peruvian cuisine now draws destination diners from all over the world.

On the menu: With its 12-course Yachay tasting menu focusing on Peruvian ingredients, Mayta serves dishes such as goat with Andean herbs, and scallops with fava beans. Each plate is a work of art, with colourful produce front and centre, such as thinly sliced ‘ham’ from the paiche fish shaped into an intricate rose. There’s also an à la carte menu with options like Amazonian ceviche or matcha tart with passionfruit ice cream. Mayta also doubles up as a pisco bar serving inventive takes on the national drink.

Preserving Peru: With great attention to sustainability, Pesaque works regularly with paiche, an Amazonian fish that needs to be eaten to prevent the destruction of other species. He serves it in everything from a delicate taco to a juicy chunk of tail. During the pandemic, the chef doubled down on research, working on recovering the biodiversity of the Ica ‘fertile desert’ region of Peru with his Yachay project.

If you liked this, you’ll like… Following the opening of Mad Burger and 500 Grados in Lima, in 2021 Pesaque also launched Sapiens, showcasing open-flame techniques with vegetables, seafood, meat and grains. He has also opened Suviche, Pacifico and Callao in the US, Italy and Netherlands, respectively, proving that his desire to spread the joy of Peruvian cuisine knows no bounds.

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