A Tribute to Café San Antonio:

This may sound a bit ridiculous, but in Lima there was this one restaurant that we went to time in and time out that never disappointed: Café San Antonio. It was amongst Professor Falconi’s favorite places to go and eat when he was a young boy, and we could see why.

The “café” is separated in two. You walk into a to-go section, where you simply pick out from either the pastry, sandwich, desert (ice cream, tarts, frozen drinks), cold meats, or empanadas sections. The other section is a sit-down section, where you are served by a friendly waiter.

Really everything on the menu surpassed our high expectations set by Profe so I will highlight things that I found especially delicious.

1.     La empanada especial- A meat filled empanada with onions and a hard-boiled egg and topped with powdered sugar and served with a slice of lime. Yes, the lime does make a difference. Take a bite of the empanada and then squeeze some lime juice into the empanada before subsequent bites; it makes all the difference.

2.     The sandwiches- They are not quite at big as American sandwiches, but when paired with an empanada can be very filling. The favorites of our group were the roast beef, the chicharron, and the English ham and cheese.

3.     The salads- These are the go to move if you are hungry but don’t want to overload on carbs. The salad bowls are truly humongous and there are a great variety of types, from Peruvian salads to your typical Caesar salad.

4.     The ice cream/gelato/deserts- If your sweet tooth gets the better of you, please be wary. Everything we tried was truly exceptional. I loved every flavor of ice cream that I tried, as well as numerous deserts whose names I have forgotten.

5.     The smoothies (cold drinks)- Apparently I have inherited from my Peruvian mother a true love of fruit drinks because I could not stop trying new ones at every place that we went to. Café San Antonio’s fruit smoothies placed in the top two of all the restaurants that we went to.

When visiting Lima good luck trying not to restrict yourself to eating at Café San Antonio. It will prove to be your best eating option quality and price wise in your vicinity.