"The best value tasting menu in South America — and arguably the continent's most intellectually honest restaurant. Every ingredient is native Peruvian, every technique is in service of the ingredient, and every course arrives with the confidence of a kitchen that has nothing to prove and everything to celebrate."
About IK Restaurant
IK Restaurant began as the first solo project of Ivan Kisic, a young Lima chef who believed that Peru's extraordinary biodiversity — more microclimates than any country on earth, more species of potato than anywhere else, an ocean uniquely rich in cold-water life — deserved a restaurant that worked with 100% native ingredients and nothing else. When Ivan died tragically in a car accident, his brother Franco, who had been working alongside Albert Adrià in Barcelona, returned to Peru to continue what Ivan had begun. The result is one of the most principled fine-dining experiences in the Americas.
The dining room on Elias Aguirre in Miraflores is deliberately understated — warm stone, clean lines, an absence of decoration that says: the food is the spectacle. Tables are spaced for conversation, lighting is low without being theatrical, and the service team moves with the quiet precision of people who have been trained to anticipate without intruding. It's the kind of room you can talk in, which makes it exceptional for a first date or for the kind of business conversation that requires real focus.
The tasting menu — which changes with the seasons and with whatever Franco's network of suppliers is bringing in — runs across eight to ten courses. Lunch offers a more compact version; dinner is the full expression. Wines lean Peruvian and South American, with a particular attention to the emerging high-altitude vineyards of Ica and Moquegua. The non-alcoholic pairing, built around fermented Amazonian juices and native fruit preparations, is among the most considered in Lima.
A Philosophy Made Delicious
What separates IK from other tasting-menu restaurants in Lima is its restraint. There is no imported butter, no Japanese influence, no European reference points. The kitchen's entire creative vocabulary is Peruvian: ají amarillo, rocoto, huacatay, cushuro, camu camu, native corn in forty varieties, potato in hundreds. The sophistication lies not in technique imported from abroad but in the depth of understanding of what these ingredients can do when treated with precision and respect. Guests who have eaten across the global tasting-menu circuit consistently report IK as one of the most memorable meals they've experienced — not because of spectacle, but because of integrity.
Best Occasion Fit
For a First Date, IK is ideal: intimate, conversation-friendly, sophisticated without being intimidating, and at a price point that signals serious intent without requiring a second mortgage. The menu gives you ten courses of things to talk about. For Impress Clients, it works because it's the kind of discovery — "have you been to IK?" — that marks you as someone with genuine taste rather than someone who simply found the obvious booking. For Solo Dining, counter seats facing the open kitchen offer the purest version of what Franco is doing, course by course, plate by plate.
Secure Your Table at IK Restaurant
Reservations available for both lunch and dinner. Book two to three weeks ahead for dinner; walk-ins sometimes possible at lunch. Tuesday through Saturday.
Reserve a Table →Address
Elias Aguirre 179, Miraflores, Lima, Peru
Price Range
$$$ — Tasting menu from approx. $80–120 USD per person, excl. drinks
Cuisine
Contemporary Peruvian — 100% Native Ingredients
Dress Code
Smart casual
Hours
Lunch: Mon–Fri 1pm–3pm; Dinner: Mon–Sat 8pm–11pm
Reservation Difficulty
Moderate — book one to two weeks in advance for dinner
Recognition
Listed among Lima's top tasting-menu destinations; featured in South American 50 Best Discovery
Chef
Franco Kisic
Best Occasion for IK Restaurant?
Vote below — requires registration to participate.
What Guests Say
Brought a date who follows Lima's restaurant scene closely — she'd heard of IK but never been. Eight courses in, she said it was the most original tasting menu she'd eaten in Peru. The value is extraordinary. This is Maido-level intent at a third of the price.
Sat at the counter and watched Franco's team work for two and a half hours. The native potato course — four preparations of the same varietal — was one of the most elegant things I've eaten. This restaurant exists because someone loved Peru enough to commit to it entirely.
Brought clients from Madrid who had just come from Central. They said IK felt more personal, more pointed. The narrative of 100% native ingredients gave us two hours of conversation we wouldn't have had anywhere else. It does something that a luxury hotel restaurant simply cannot.