This was another birthday treat. I asked for non-stuffy, non-pretentious and I got exactly that in the form of LIMA Floral. This is the sister restaurant of the Michelin starred LIMA London in Fitzrovia. Naturally, I was wondering what this younger sibling had in store for us.

The restaurant itself has a tranquil and relaxed vibe, the crowd was also very cosmopolitan which I really liked. We started off by ordering the ceviche mixto. This is a raw mix of sea bream, tuna, prawns and octopus marinated in traditional tiger’s milk with a sweet potato puree, crispy cancha corn and dehydrated onion. It was perfectly pleasant but I have definitely had better in the likes of Pachamama  (see previous blogs) and Andina. We also had the scallop tartare which consisted of raw diced scallops in a red piquillo tiger milk and avocado. Again, pleasant but we found it slightly too salty.

Not the best start in the world but I was hopeful about the mains. I went for the Lamb Rump Amazonia 22- what a legendary name! This was a seared and slow-cooked rare organic lamb rump coated in huacatay herbs and coffee dust – with 4,000m Peruvian potatoes, fresh cheese and red kiwicha. I liked the lamb and potatoes but I found the goats cheese too overpowering. Mr.N has the hot ceviche which was grilled sea bass in heated aji amarillo tiger’s milk and achiote oil with sweet potato purée. This was absolutely deliciously creamy and flavoursome. Mr.N-1, me-0.

One dish that I did love was the cusco corn cake. This is basically a sweet corn cake- I promise it is so much tastier than it sounds. It was really moist and sweet, something I would probably prefer with a cup of tea though.

I had read a lot of negative comments about the level of service at LIMA Floral and I was apprehensive about this, however, I found the service to be great.

I did find the American diners next to us amusing. “Isn’t medium rare when all the blood is pouring out?” one asked the waitress. “No, that’s rare where you see any blood” the waitress pointed out.

Will I return? Probably not if I am being really truthful. With so many incredible Peruvian offerings in the city, I feel like this was a slight let down in comparison. If it is trying to aspire to the successful heights of its sister restaurant it has a long, long way to go.

Food: 6/10  Atmosphere: 7/10  Value: 6/10

If this restaurant were a fictional character it would be….Robin, DC Comics- he’s just not Batman.