Josh and I headed out of our hotel in Miraflores around 10:30 pm in search of food but all the places we walked into had already stopped serving food. To be fair, we were looking for something quick and light so we only went into small cafes and casual-looking restaurants, not any of the larger or fancier-looking places. We came across Cafe La Maquina, which looked lively and cheerful from the outside, plus we saw people inside eating sandwiches and snacks – perfect!
The Cafe definitely had more of a bar vibe going on, with lots of people hanging out and drinking. What I liked was that it was crowded, but not overly packed or super noisy. There were lots of tables and people were just sitting around either talking or playing card games and board games, which the Cafe furnishes. If this place were in NYC, I’m sure it would be one of my favorite places to go out drinking.
Josh and I started with a round of Cusquena beers, which are brewed in Cusco, Peru. We’ve had them before at Pio Pio, and it’s a pretty light beer with decent flavor. For our second round, we tried some other Peruvian brews, Plisen and Barena. Both were lighter in flavor, so we pretty much stuck with Cusquena the rest of our trip. It was good to be able to try out all of our options though on the first night.
Assortment of Peruvian beers
For food, we decided to split two sandwiches. The first was a classic chicken sandwich on ciabatta bread. The chicken was moist and tender, and it was prepared like a chicken salad. The meat was cut into thin strips and bound with mayo and celery. The bread was chewy but not too tough, and was a good vehicle for the chicken salad.
Chicken, celery, mayo, and lettuce on ciabatta
Our other sandwich was called the Estrellita (meaning “little star”) and featured arugula, serrano ham, queso fresco, peppers, sesame, and mayo on a baguette. The bread looked very pale upon arrival, but it was a decent roll with a crackly outer crust and a soft chew in the middle. The ham wasn’t the serrano we know (which is similar to prosciutto), but more of a thick sliced piece of regular deli ham. The queso fresco was similar to fresh mozzarella, so it worked well with the roasted red reppers and fresh arugula. The only item the sandwich didn’t need was the mayo.
Ham, queso fresco, red peppers, arugua, sesame seeds, and mayo on a baguette
I loved the vibe of Cafe La Maquina, and the food wasn’t too shabby either. The menu features many different kinds of salads and sandwiches, and some were creative while others were more classic. Prices were pretty reasonable, with most sandwiches coming in under US$5. Service was a bit slow but probably because the place was full. We ended up hanging out for a while after we finished our food and no one rushed us or bothered us, which was nice. It was exactly the type of place that we were looking for, and a great way to start off our time in Peru.
Cafe La Maquina
Alcanfores # 323 – Miraflores
Lima, Peru
Tags: Lima, Peru, Sandwiches
Hi,
La Maquina is well known to be a couchsurfers meeting point and also, there is several backpacker hostels nearby. No surprise you liked it!!! good vibes…