I got kissed the first time I went to Antigua Taberna Queirolo. That’s what happens when people are having a jolly time, well lubricated with Peru’s grape alcohol, pisco.
Queirolo is a large pisco producer, so there is plenty on hand at this 19th century tavern, said to be the oldest restaurant in Peru. Good bar food too. Very good. So I go there whenever I am in Lima.
About that kiss: It was quite chivalrous, delivered with a charming compliment by a gentleman at the next table who was celebrating rather enthusiastically with friends.
The tavern is charming too, a small corner of Lima’s past in a district called Pueblo Libre. Windows with old fashioned wooden bars are set high in thick walls. Ceiling fans whir when it’s warm, and vintage photos line the rooms.
Serious drinkers order pisco by the bottle along with mixers and ice. This last time, I had a chilcano de pisco, a tall drink of pisco, ginger ale, lime juice and sugar syrup.
Along with classic pisco sours, there is a masco sour made with pisco that has been macerated with Chilean plums.
The food is traditional, like the bar. I usually get a rocoto relleno, a mildly spicy red pepper stuffed with hand-cut beef, olives, raisins, hardboiled egg and melted cheese. O
r I’ll have the same filling in a plump golden potato croquette—papa rellena.
There are sandwiches and also tamales, which came to Peru from Mexico. My tamal criollo contained a shred of chicken, an olive and peanut halves in a fine smooth yellow dough, with spicy marinated red onions on the side.
The tavern is at one corner of a large building that houses Queirolo offices and a sales counter for piscos and wines. Around the far corner is El Bolivariano, a restaurant with a full menu, a bar and, on Sunday, a Creole buffet.
Although the menu there was tempting, all I could manage after lunch at the taberna was coffee and dessert, well, two desserts—the rich custard suspiro limena, topped with whipped cream, a cherry and a cinnamon stick, and arroz zambito, a dusky rice pudding made with chancaca, an unrefined sugar similar to Mexican piloncillo, pecans and a sprinkling of shredded coconut.
Antigua Taberna Queirolo, Avenida San Martin 1090, Pueblo Libre, Lima, Peru. Tel: 460-0441.
El Bolivariano, Pasaje Santa Rosa 291, Pueblo Libre, Lima, Peru. Tel: 463-6333.
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