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A nice spot

4 Posted on 06 / 03 / 2013

This restaurant is located in Miraflores, across from Kennedy Park where many days there are events, art for sale, etc. It would be easy to miss because the sign is relatively small and you must enter an open doorway to walk up steps and enter the restaurant. Peruvians tend not to eat lunch until 1:30, so if you arrive around noon, they may not be ready for you (as was the case with me, so I waited about 5-10 minutes to be greeted and for my order to be taken). The restaurant itself is quaint and the food quite good. I had a vegan version of ceviche, which was a great chance for me to experience a classic Peruvian dish (with the characteristic lime and cilantro over tofu and soy meat, along with veggies--including the delicious Peruvian corn). The menu is huge, with many vegan options.

Pros: Good food, Nice atmosphere, Large menu of vegetarian/vegan options
Cons: Slow service

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Disappointing service and tasteless

2 Posted on 01 / 27 / 2013

Went there in the hope of finding some creative vegan cooking and was disappointed. The most boring menu made me order a hamburger because it was cheaper. They did not have vegan mayo but a sauce made with yoghurt, apparently do not know their way around spices and almost all of their stuff contains highly processed texturized soy protein and almost no nuts. The burger was a boring patty in untoasted toast because they were out of bread.

Pros: -
Cons: unfriendly , uncreative

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just OK

3 Posted on 10 / 01 / 2012

Staff were grumpy and rude, food was okay but nothing special. Lots of choices though, I had rice with veggies and a gluten steak on top (cost approx 18 soles). My boyfriend had the hamburger with chips- note that it was just a pattie without bun and fillings. Good location ( the map from this happy cow is slightly off- it is further up the hill). Worth a try, shame about the staff though.

Pros: healthy food, nice decor/ location
Cons: very grumpy staff

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Bircher-Benner, Lima

4 Posted on 01 / 20 / 2012

Miraflores seems to be the main sort of place for tourists, backpackers etc to stay in Lima. There seems to be a choice of all vego restaurants. I asked at reception where I am staying for a nearby all vego restaurant and they directed me to Bircher-Benner on the basis of it being open at all that time. I don't as yet what time other places close but the streets seem to be very busy until pretty late.

Bircher-Benner bills itself a lacto-ove vego restaurant. I was concerned when I hoovered on in there that they may not be able to accommodate my vegan grade vegetarianism. My concerns were unjstified. The guy who served me was very courteous and directed me immediately to the dishes on the restaurant that are vegan friendly. I had some potato and noodle soup to start with followed by a dism made of seitan. I was well full at the end, the main course would've been plenty by itself. The apple juice they served me was freshly made. It was all very nice.

Its on the main drag and easy to find but up a flight of stairs of that is an issue for you. Cost for the lot I had was I think around 37 soles, about 9 quid in sterling.

Pros: Vegan vego friendly, Nice food
Cons: Up a flight of stairs

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worthwhile place with issues

4 Posted on 07 / 24 / 2011

Interesting place... many pro's and con's as others have mentioned.

The central location is great, quirky location up the stairs of an old colonial house, a few nice seating areas but the smaller room felt a bit claustrophobic. Waiter was very friendly, but even after I explained the vegan thing to him he brought out some yogurt sauce and said "but maybe just a little..." Food was OK but not super. I think it's nice that they make their own soya and gluten, and the seitan tasted... fresh, but made with a recipe from 1970 or something. Lomo saltado was tasty and filling. Nice smoothies.

Also met the grumpy worker mentioned above, not much interaction but she didn't respond when I said goodbye.

Subtracting a star due to the fact that they sell shark cartilage. Not necessary.

Another one for the unexceptional food, but the location, history, and ambiance pushes it up a bit. Worth a try.

Pros: central, historic, hearty
Cons: so-so food, selling some sketchy things, not exceptional

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OK food ruined by terrible service

2 Posted on 02 / 16 / 2011

I'd give it 0 stars if I could.

After moving to Peru, I was truly ecstatic to find a place like this. The waiter was really nice and helpful. The menu options look really good and even though I didn't like what I ordered, I wanted to keep trying other things.

The thing that completely ruined my experience was the extremely rude person sitting in front, the manager? the cashier?, a young, short woman.

She was very unwelcoming from the start, I don't even think she made eye contact. I asked her several things about the products on display but she seemed annoyed and told somebody else to talk to me, as if I wasn't even there. I decided not to let that bother me. After eating, I went to where she was and asked her (very politely) for my check, she only nodded. Ten minutes later the waiter came back and she hadn't told him anything. I came over and told here I wanted to pay but she was on the phone and she didn't even look at me, she just said 'one moment'. That was it for me, I told her to charge me right now and she yelled at me 'can't you see I'm on the phone'. I told her to hang up the phone and give me my tab, which she did. I said that she was very rude and she was very confrontational and kept asking me 'what did I do'.

I tried to reach the manager to no avail. I'm a vegetarian and I wanted to make this my place of choice but this young woman ruined it for me. There's another place in Alcanfores and Benavides, which is much better, albeit with less options. I'd still like to contact the manager, so if s/he reads this, please contact me.

Pros: Choices
Cons: Service not worth it.

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Good food, nice atmosphere

4 Posted on 11 / 06 / 2010

Good food, nice atmosphere, and good veg options. The food is presented attractively in a clean environment.

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great food

5 Posted on 08 / 25 / 2010

I loved the lomo saltodo here! The seitan was cooked very well. I went back a second time during my visit and tried the cordon bleu which was also tasty.. lot of options and everything we got was good. The pizza's were good also.

Pros: tasty food, lots of options, reasonably priced

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Pretty good

4 Posted on 04 / 12 / 2010

I've only gone here once, for lunch, and it was good. It was not expensive, but it was more expensive than other vege places (s/ 13.50 as opposed to s/8). The person I was eating with thought it didn't have much flavor but I liked it. They had a very limited menú (had just two or three options for entre and main dish, as opposed to a full menu which in Peru is a "carta"). Very roomy with tons of tables and dining rooms, a nice atmosphere. Open late, until 11pm, which is unusual for vege restaurants in Lima. I plan on going back.

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nice place to eat in miraflores

4 Posted on 01 / 06 / 2010

Although they are more expensive than most other veggie spots in town, I recommend Bircher-Benner because you get more non-starchy vegetables, and the flavors+seasonings stand out much more than at most other places. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere, with three different dining rooms. There are also health food products for sale there, including their house brand. There are at least two dishes on the menu that are vegan, but not too much I was interested in the store part that was vegan. I'm sure there are other dishes that could be made vegan upon request. Don't forget to ask for the hot sauce if you like things spicy. They were so nice to stay open later for us one night. Overall, a very nice place to eat!

Pros: flavor+portions, atmosphere, fresh vegetables
Cons: price, not open late enough for dinner (8:30), not enough vegan options

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Don't go there!

2 Posted on 08 / 09 / 2009

This was really a very big disappointment, no taste at all or totally covered in spices to cover the bad quality of the food. I am a vegetarian since 20 years already but I haven't been in such a bad restaurant ever before!!! Its also overpriced aswell so I hope you will find a better one on your holiday triy to Lima.

Cons: bad taste, unfriendly, expensive

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Expensive for Lima, good food

4 Posted on 03 / 10 / 2008

I went in October 2007 and March 2008 and the food was good. It is at least 50% more expensive than other veggie restaurants in the area, so I'm surprised it is so busy. In my opinion, the food is only slightly better than the other places, although it has the nicest environment. The fixed lunch menu is 11.9 Soles (about US$4) The other places in town tend to be between US$2 and US$3. An example of what you get for lunch: A choice of either soup, salad, or Ocopa (Peruvian potato appetizer), then the main course of rice, lentils and "meatballs". Everything was fresh and delicious. There was only one waiter in the whole place, so service can be slow here. The food is similar at nearby restaurant El Vegetariano (probably because the woman who runs it used to work for Bircher Benner). If you're here for several days, go to all of them listed on Happy Cow and find your own favorite. This restaurant is busiest between 1pm and 230pm, but there is usually a table available here because it's more expensive than the others. The fixed lunch menu is only available from noon to 2pm, at other times only the regular menu is available, which is not as good a value, in my opinion. The fixed menu comes with fresh unflavored yogurt, to which you can add cane syrup from little pitchers that are on most tables. You also get a glass of emoliente, which is a mild herb drink.

Pros: Consistently good food, Brown rice at times
Cons: Service can be slow, Expensive for Lima, No dessert

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Disappointing

2 Posted on 07 / 10 / 2007

You enter by climbing a stairway, just opposite Parque Kennedy. I would'nt have guessed it was a restaurant from outside. Lots of tables, but few people today. No menu is advertised, you have to ask what it is today and it costs 11.90 soles, pricey compared to other places. 2 choices for starters, 1 for mains, served with emoliente and a glass of yogurt. The food was alright, but it's exactly the same as in El Vegetariano, except that there, you also get a dessert and it costs 8.5 soles. I was disappointed and frankly won't be back. HEalth products in shops are way cheaper than in supermarkets, esp. for the brand Bircher-Benner.

Cons: Expensive, No dessert, Unwelcoming entrance