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El Mercado

Lima, Peru

A modern celebration of ceviche in Peru’s capital

On the Pass

Rafael Osterling

Pastry Chef

Annia Ortiz

In keeping with Lima traditions, Rafael Osterling’s laid-back ceviche restaurant only opens for lunch – and serves plentiful pisco sours at the bar. El Mercado plates playful iterations of traditional Peruvian coastal classics, using seafood sourced from Pacific fishermen. Signature dishes – alongside the ample ceviche mercado offerings – include the roast shrimp burger doused in tongue-tingling sriracha mayo and the unique ceviche pejerrey: delicate fillets of silverside fish in a vibrant yellow lime and aji amarilio marinade.

Housed in an airy indoor courtyard on the city’s waterfront, the restaurant opened in 2010 and is one of four from Osterling – other establishments include the notable Rafael, a Latin America’s 50 Best regular. A trained lawyer, who once considered a career in diplomacy, the Peruvian chef worked in London and Paris before returning to home.

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