Papa a la huancaina is sliced boiled yellow potato served cold under a thick sauce of queso fresco, aji amarillo, evaporated milk and crackers, garnished with olive and egg.
Named for Huancayo in the central Andes; the dish emerged in the late 19th century along the central railway between Lima and the Mantaro valley. The cracker thickener replaced bread; aji amarillo and queso fresco give the canonical yellow sauce. Now a Sunday lunch starter across criolla Lima rooms; El Bolivariano, Isolina and La Choza Nautica run the most-cited versions in the city.
4 editor picks for Papa a la Huancaina in Lima, ranked by editorial score. All Lima signature dishes · Papa a la Huancaina across every city.
Astrid y Gaston ★ 4.7
san-isidro · Av Paz Soldan 290, San Isidro, Lima 15073
Astrid y Gaston at Casa Moreyra in San Isidro is Gaston Acurio and Astrid Gutsche's 1994 flagship, in a 17th-century San Isidro hacienda from 2014.
Isolina ★ 4.6
barranco · Av San Martin 101, Barranco, Lima 15063
Isolina at Av San Martin 101 in Barranco is Jose del Castillo's 2015 criolla taberna, a tribute to his mother Isolina Vargas and her Lima home cooking.
Cosme ★ 4.5
san-isidro · Calle Tudela y Varela 162, San Isidro, Lima 15073
Cosme at Calle Tudela y Varela 162 in San Isidro is chef James Berckemeyer's comfort-Peruvian room, opened 2015 after training under Gaston Acurio.
El Bolivariano ★ 4.3
pueblo-libre · Pasaje Santa Rosa 291, Pueblo Libre, Lima 15084
El Bolivariano in Pueblo Libre Lima is the criolla institution housed in a republican casona, tracing tradition to the 1780s with the canonical carta.