Back to Barranco for lunch at Merito.

One of the first things I do after booking a trip back to Lima is to make a reservation at Merito.

It’s been my favorite restaurant in Lima, ever since my first visit on my first trip to Peru, almost four years ago. Then, I was just starting my nomadic life and couldn’t imagine all the places it has taken me.

Since my last visit Merito has begun offering a tasting menu. It’s something Chef Martínez had been thinking about at least as early as 2022 as I remember discussing it with him after my first meal there. I’m super excited to try it and thrilled that he’s reached a point where he feels like it’s something he can offer.

I book lunch in the interest of being able to walk off my meal if need be afterwards, and walk across the Puente de la Paz to Barranco to get to the restaurant.

I’ve left the house a little early and to kill time visit the Jade Rivera Lab, recommended by Mariana the day before. It’s a much smaller space, with a cafe and courtyard. Large murals adorn the walls, and a display case exhibits one of his sketchbooks.

I still have some time fore lunch after visiting the Lab and wander over to the Puente de los Suspiros, a wooden pedestrian originally built in 1877 to connect Ayacucho Street with the Church of the Hermitage on the other side of a stream-cut ravine, much like the new Puente de la Paz, though on a much smaller scale.

The stream was converted to a stone path, the Bajada de los Baños, in the mid-1900s, allowing fishermen to reach the beaches at the base of the cliffs. As the area developed, writers and poets began to be drawn there along with the young lovers whose amorous sighing gave the bridge its name.

Now, the street is lined with cafes, shops, and galleries. The walls of buildings that lead to the Bajada de los Baños are adorned with murals. In 1960, Peruvian singer Chabuca Granda sang about the bridge, immoralizing it in song.

The Church of the Hermitage on one side of the bridge continues to be closed to the public after suffering damage during the 1974 earthquake. Built in the mid-18th century as a small chapel, it’s undergone a cycle of construction and destruction, having been destroyed by a fire in 1881 and damaged in the 1940 Lima earthquake.

As my reservation draws near I climb the steps out of the ravine and walk to the Parque Municipal de Barranco. I love the pink Biblioteca Municipal Manuel Beingolea that anchors one side of the square and pause to take some photos before continuing on to the restaurant.

I’m still a little early and stand outside, watching as the staff complete their daily rituals before seating their first guests.

I’m seated at my favorite spot, the last seat at the chef’s table on the ground floor. A woman sits next to me, and eventually a couple joins her. He turns out to be the vice-mayor of Miraflores. His daughter, the woman next to me, is a beauty influencer with over a hundred thousand followers on Instagram. He has more on TikTok, however, a fact he’s very proud of.

The lunch is incredible. If anything, the kitchen has just gotten better, and the food is precise, clean, and delicious. I’m very excited for this incarnation of Chef Martinez’s growing empire (he has another restaurant around the corner (Clon) and a bakery not far away (Demo)) and I can’t wait to revisit in a year.

True to my intentions I walk home from lunch, choosing a route that allows me to walk past a few more of the murals that dot the neighborhood.

Reaching the Puente de la Paz I catch a few gardeners taking a post-lunch rest. I’m tempted to lie down on the grass beside them.

In Miraflores I stop to watch the paragliders drift alongside the cliffs. Every time I come to Lima I consider signing up for a motorized flight, but I haven’t yet. I’m most impressed with those who fly without a motor, leaping from the cliffs and reading the thermals and ridge lifts to catch updrifts. They soar over the area north of Larcomar. It’s rare that there’s not at least one person out there in the afternoons and it’s become a defining sight for me. One of the many things that bring me joy and comfort on each returning visit. 🇵🇪