Three of the four best known Peruvian restaurants in London do not describe themselves as Peruvian. Lima says Peruvian inspired. Coya says Peruvian fusion. Chotto Matte says Nikkei, which is Japanese Peruvian. Those are their own words on their own websites, and once you notice it the category looks different.
The fourth one has shut.
Pachamama has closed
The Pachamama website now says: “Pachamama will be back one day soon. In the meantime we welcome you to zēphyr, Bottarga, Lagana and Nina.” That is the operator’s own wording, and the four restaurants it sends you to instead are in Notting Hill, Chelsea, Shoreditch and Marylebone, none of them Peruvian.
Pachamama opened in 2014 and is on virtually every list of Peruvian restaurants in London. If you are reading one of those lists, that entry is out of date.
Lima, Fitzrovia and Shoreditch
Lima is the serious one, and it has grown rather than shrunk: there are now two, in Fitzrovia and Shoreditch.
Read its own claim carefully, because it is precise and most write ups are not. Lima says it is “featured in the Michelin Guide”. That is not the same as holding a star, and the distinction is the restaurant’s own. Being in the guide means an inspector thought it worth listing. Plenty of pages will tell you Lima is Michelin starred.
The cooking is described as built on encounter: Andean and Amazonian roots shaped by the Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Italian cooks who settled in Peru, drawing from the Pacific coast, the high Andes and the Amazon. The menu follows the seasons. Group bookings of six or more have to be arranged directly rather than through the online widget.
Coya, Mayfair and the City
Two London rooms, in Mayfair and the City of London. Coya’s own description is Peruvian fusion, and the menu it leads with is ceviches, tiraditos and anticuchos.
The important thing to understand about Coya is that the restaurant is only part of it. There is a Pisco Bar doing Peruvian classics including the pisco sour, live Latin American music and DJs, and a members’ side called Coya Club. This is a night out rather than a dinner, and if you want a quiet table to taste Peruvian cooking it is the wrong room on the wrong night.
Chotto Matte, Soho
Nikkei: the Japanese Peruvian cooking that came out of Japanese migration to Peru. Chotto Matte was created in 2013 by Kurt Zdesar, who went from Japan to Peru learning the techniques before settling on it, and the executive chef is Jordan Sclare.
There are six locations worldwide and only two in the UK, Soho and Manchester, with more opening in 2026. It is a genuine cuisine with a history rather than a fusion marketing idea, but it is not what someone means when they ask for Peruvian food.
So where do you actually go
For Peruvian cooking taken seriously, Lima. It is the one with a kitchen built around the country’s larder, it is in the Michelin Guide, and there are now two of them.
For an evening with pisco and music, Coya, which is honest about being fusion and is better at the bar than most restaurants are.
For Nikkei specifically, Chotto Matte, as long as you know that is a Japanese Peruvian hybrid rather than Peruvian.
And do not book Pachamama, whatever the list says.
For the neighbouring cooking, the Mexican rooms cover the other end of Latin America and the Japanese list covers the other half of what Chotto Matte does.
Lima
- Address
- Fitzrovia, with a second site in Shoreditch
- Nearest
- Goodge Street for Fitzrovia
- Booking
- Online. Groups of six or more must contact the restaurant directly
- Price
- Peruvian inspired cooking, from the Pacific coast, the Andes and the Amazon
- Standing
- Featured in the Michelin Guide, which is the restaurant’s own wording and is not the same as a star
How to get in
The menu follows the seasons.
Coya
- Address
- Mayfair, with a second site in the City of London
- Nearest
- Green Park for Mayfair
- Booking
- Online
- Price
- Peruvian fusion: ceviches, tiraditos and anticuchos
- Standing
- A restaurant, a Pisco Bar and a members’ club called Coya Club
How to get in
Live Latin American music and DJs. Treat it as an evening out rather than a quiet dinner.
Chotto Matte
- Address
- Soho, London
- Nearest
- Piccadilly Circus or Tottenham Court Road
- Booking
- Online
- Price
- Nikkei, the Japanese Peruvian cuisine
- Standing
- Created in 2013 by Kurt Zdesar, with six locations worldwide and two in the UK
How to get in
Nikkei is a real cuisine with its own history, and it is not the same as Peruvian cooking.
Pachamama Closed
- Address
- London
- Nearest
- Bond Street
- Booking
- None
- Standing
- Opened 2014, and on most Peruvian lists in London
How to get in
Its own website now says Pachamama will be back one day soon, and directs visitors to zēphyr, Bottarga, Lagana and Nina instead, none of which is Peruvian.
Where to go next
The best Mexican restaurants in London cover the other end of Latin America, and the Japanese list covers the other half of Nikkei.
The best cocktail bars cover where else to drink pisco, and the Mayfair restaurants cover what else is near Coya.
Questions we get asked
What are the best Peruvian restaurants in London?
Lima, which has two sites in Fitzrovia and Shoreditch and is featured in the Michelin Guide, and Coya, which has rooms in Mayfair and the City and describes itself as Peruvian fusion. Chotto Matte in Soho serves Nikkei, the Japanese Peruvian cuisine. Pachamama has closed.
Is Pachamama in London still open?
No. Its own website says Pachamama will be back one day soon and directs visitors to four other restaurants from the same group, zēphyr in Notting Hill, Bottarga in Chelsea, Lagana in Shoreditch and Nina in Marylebone, none of which is Peruvian.
Does Lima London have a Michelin star?
Lima's own website says it is featured in the Michelin Guide, which is not the same claim as holding a star. Many write ups say it is starred.
What is Nikkei food?
Japanese Peruvian cooking, which came out of Japanese migration to Peru. Chotto Matte in Soho is the London restaurant built around it. It is a genuine cuisine with its own history rather than a fusion idea, but it is not what most people mean by Peruvian food.
Where can you get a pisco sour in London?
Coya has a dedicated Pisco Bar in both its London rooms, serving Peruvian cocktail classics including the pisco sour alongside its own signatures, with live Latin American music.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 197 in the guide.
Last checked 3 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
