Ben

Review of LIMA London

I visited Lima for the first time last night for m...

I visited Lima for the first time last night for my girlfriend's 30th birthday. Both of us were excited to try Lima given its positive reviews and coveted Michelin star status. Sadly however, the experience was dreadful and was a million miles away from other more established restaurants in London. To start with the waiter who took our order informed us that it was 'tapas style', which was slightly confusing as the menu was clearly laid out in courses. Nevertheless, we took his advice and ordered appetisers, starter and main courses at the same time. We also ordered a bottle of the Peruvian Sauvignon which was ok but overpriced. After 30 minutes wait there was still no sign of any food so I decided to get up and ask the waiter for some bread. At this point we noticed dishes starting to pile up on the pass thanks to the large mirror opposite the open kitchen. The food continued to sit under the hot lights for about 15-20 minutes before being brought over and dumped onto our table. Note, the dishes barely fit onto the table, not exactly tapas style! At this point we had a sea bream ceviche (a starter) that had warmed up to the point that it was flaccid and sweaty. This was combined with a duck starter and beef main course that were lukewarm with a thick skin over the sauces; it brought back bad memories of school dinners.They had also forgotten the other main course which was black cod, which sadly remained on the pass, drying out and dying under the lights. The restaurant manager eventually noticed the cod and had the audacity to try and serve it to us. He was swiftly told where to go.
In summary, the food was ok (edible) but far from being Michelin star quality. We ate it too quickly as we just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. The restaurant manager did remove the cod and a side salad from the bill but by this time the evening had already been ruined. We wish we had gone to Pizza Express a couple of doors down. Never again!