Two Lima restaurants sat in the world's top ten in 2025: Maido took the number-one spot and Kjolle came ninth. No other city outside the established European capitals can say that, which makes Lima an unusually strong place to take a team to dinner. The cooking ranks with the best on earth, the prices undercut Europe and North America, and the rooms are built for the long, shared, convivial meals that South America does better than anyone.
This list ranks six Lima rooms for a team dinner, from a colonial hacienda that seats a board in private to a cebicheria that turns lunch into an event. It runs from the world's best restaurant down to a Barranco taberna built for sharing, and every room here can carry a group for the evening.
What makes a Lima team dinner work
A team dinner has a different brief from a celebration: it needs to seat a group comfortably, give everyone something to share and talk over, and run at a pace that suits conversation rather than ceremony. Lima is ideally suited to this. The Peruvian and Nikkei traditions are built on shared plates, large-format dishes and long lunches, and the best rooms have private spaces and big tables to match.
Split the choice by the size and tone of the group. For a board dinner or a milestone, the tasting rooms (Maido, Central) deliver the headline experience but need booking weeks ahead and a fixed budget. For a relaxed team meal, the sharing rooms (Astrid y Gaston, La Mar, Isolina) seat a group easily and keep the table grazing. Tipping in Lima runs around 10 percent, often on top of a service charge, and dinner starts late, from 8pm.
Astrid y Gaston
Food: 9/10 | Ambience: 9/10 | Value: 8/10
Gaston Acurio's flagship in a colonial hacienda is the best room in Lima for a board dinner — book the private space for a team that wants the full Peruvian story.
Astrid y Gaston, founded by Gaston Acurio in 1994, is the restaurant that launched modern Peruvian cooking, and its home in the restored Casa Moreyra hacienda in San Isidro is the most handsome dining room in the city. The kitchen runs both a tasting menu and a generous a la carte; the cuy (guinea pig) cooked Peking-style and the seafood causas are signatures, and the courtyards and private rooms are built for a large, formal group.
For a team dinner that wants to impress, this is the room. The hacienda gives a board its own salon, the cooking covers the whole sweep of Peruvian tradition, and the service handles a big table with ease.
Not for: A loose, casual team night. Astrid y Gaston is a grand, formal room, and a quick informal dinner is not what it is built for.
Read the full Astrid y Gaston reviewBest for: Team Dinner, Impress Clients, Anniversary
La Mar
Food: 9/10 | Ambience: 8/10 | Value: 8/10
Gaston Acurio's cebicheria is the best lunchtime team table in Lima — go for the ceviche clasico and a long, sunlit afternoon on the patio.
La Mar is Gaston Acurio's cebicheria, a high-energy open-air room in Miraflores that does its best work at lunch. The ceviche clasico, the tiradito and the causas come built for sharing, and the patio fills with big tables of locals making an afternoon of it. There are no dinner reservations in the classic sense; the buzz is the point.
For a daytime team event it is unbeatable: some of the best ceviche in Peru, a group-friendly patio, and prices that let everyone order freely. Arrive early for lunch, because the queue builds and the kitchen winds down in the afternoon.
Not for: Anyone wanting a quiet evening dinner. La Mar is a loud, daytime cebicheria with limited dinner service, and it does not take the usual reservations.
Read the full La Mar reviewBest for: Team Dinner, Solo Dining, First Date
Isolina
Food: 8/10 | Ambience: 8/10 | Value: 9/10
Jaime Pesaque's Barranco taberna serves enormous shareable plates of criollo cooking — take a team here for the value and the noise.
Isolina, from chef Jaime Pesaque, is a taberna in Barranco built around huge, shareable plates of Lima criollo home cooking. The handwritten menu runs to tallarines, mondonguito a la italiana, escabeche and a famous half-portion that still feeds two; the portions are deliberately generous so a table orders a spread and digs in.
It is the best-value group room in the city and one of the most fun. The two-floor space takes a sizeable team, the cooking is hearty and genuinely local, and the bill stays low for the quality. It has been a fixture on Latin America's 50 Best list for years.
Not for: Diners wanting refined, plated fine dining. Isolina is a loud, generous taberna, and the portions and pace are built for a hungry group, not a tasting.
Read the full Isolina reviewBest for: Team Dinner, Birthday, First Date
Maido
Food: 10/10 | Ambience: 9/10 | Value: 7/10
The world's best restaurant in 2025 and the city's defining Nikkei room — reserve weeks out for a milestone team dinner the group will never forget.
Maido, run by chef Mitsuharu 'Micha' Tsumura, was named the World's Best Restaurant in 2025. The cooking is Nikkei, the Japanese-Peruvian tradition Tsumura has done more than anyone to define: the 50-second tiradito, the nigiri, and a tasting menu of more than ten courses that moves between the two cuisines with total control.
For a board dinner or a once-in-a-cycle team milestone, this is the headline room in Lima. It books weeks ahead and runs a fixed tasting, so it suits a group that wants the experience over flexibility. Set the budget in advance and let the kitchen drive.
Not for: A casual or last-minute team night. Maido is a long, fixed tasting that books weeks out and pins the whole table to one pace and price.
Read the full Maido reviewBest for: Team Dinner, Impress Clients, Anniversary
Mayta
Food: 9/10 | Ambience: 8/10 | Value: 8/10
Jaime Pesaque's fine-dining flagship ranked No.39 in the world in 2025 — book it for a team dinner that wants a tasting without Maido's wait.
Mayta is Jaime Pesaque's fine-dining flagship in Miraflores, ranked No.39 on the World's 50 Best list in 2025. The kitchen runs a Peruvian tasting that ranges across the country's ecosystems, with the fish and the Amazonian ingredients especially strong, in a sleek, modern room with an open kitchen.
It offers much of the ambition of the top tasting rooms with more availability and a slightly easier pace, which makes it a smart choice for a team dinner that wants a serious menu without booking a month out. There is private and counter seating for a group.
Not for: A loose, sharing-style group meal. Mayta is a structured tasting-menu room, better suited to a team that wants a guided dinner than to a casual night.
Read the full Mayta reviewBest for: Team Dinner, Impress Clients, Anniversary
Central
Food: 10/10 | Ambience: 9/10 | Value: 7/10
The world's best restaurant in 2023 and now in its hall of fame — save it for the grandest team milestone of the year and book a month ahead.
Central, from Virgilio Martinez and Pia Leon, was named the World's Best Restaurant in 2023 and has since moved into the list's Best of the Best hall of fame. The Mundo Mater tasting is organised by altitude, walking diners from the Pacific to the high Andes through ingredients sourced across Peru's ecosystems; it is one of the most singular dining experiences anywhere.
This is the table for the biggest team milestone, where the dinner is the event in itself. It books up to a month or more in advance and runs a long, fixed tasting, so reserve early and brief the team that this is a destination meal, not a casual evening.
Not for: Anyone on a budget or short on time. Central is a long, very expensive, fixed tasting in Barranco that books a month out and is built for a destination occasion.
Read the full Central reviewBest for: Team Dinner, Anniversary, Impress Clients
How to book a Lima team dinner
Reserve the tasting rooms first and earliest. Central and Maido book weeks to a month ahead and release tables through their own systems; Mayta is easier but still worth booking well in advance for a group. The sharing rooms are simpler: Astrid y Gaston takes group bookings directly, Isolina holds large tables, and La Mar is a daytime walk-in cebicheria where you arrive early rather than reserve.
Match the room to the team. For a board dinner or a milestone, the hacienda salon at Astrid y Gaston or a tasting at Maido carries the occasion; for a relaxed group, the sharing tables at Isolina and La Mar keep everyone talking. Dinner in Lima starts late, from 8pm, and tipping runs around 10 percent. For more Lima rooms by occasion, see our city guide linked below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best restaurant in Lima for a team dinner?
For a relaxed team dinner, Astrid y Gaston is the best all-round choice: Gaston Acurio's flagship in a colonial hacienda seats a group in private and covers the whole range of Peruvian cooking. For a milestone, Maido, the World's Best Restaurant in 2025, delivers the headline experience but needs booking weeks ahead.
Which Lima restaurants are ranked best in the world?
Maido was named the World's Best Restaurant in 2025 and Kjolle ranked No.9, while Mayta sat at No.39 and Mérito at No.26. Central, the world No.1 in 2023, has since moved into the list's Best of the Best hall of fame. Browse the full Lima dining guide for all of them ranked by occasion.
How far ahead should I book a group dinner in Lima?
Book the tasting rooms several weeks to a month ahead. Central and Maido sell out furthest in advance and run fixed menus, so reserve as soon as your date is set. The sharing rooms like Astrid y Gaston and Isolina take group bookings on shorter notice, and La Mar is a daytime cebicheria where you arrive early rather than reserve.
When do restaurants serve dinner in Lima?
Dinner in Lima starts late, generally from 8pm, with the busiest tables around 9pm to 10pm. Cebicherias like La Mar are the exception and do their best work at lunch. Tipping runs around 10 percent, often on top of a service charge already on the bill. Plan a team dinner for 8pm or later to match the city's rhythm.