Gabriel and José Luís Gonzalez are taking Lima to Shoreditch

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Lima founders Gabriel and José Luís Gonzalez are heading east with an opening at Shoreditch’s Sun Street Hotel.

Expected to launch in late September, Lima Shoreditch will replace the hotel’s South East Asian-inspired Quercus restaurant and is a follow up to the original Lima restaurant in Fitzrovia, which launched in 2012 and was the first Peruvian restaurant in Europe to win a Michelin star.  

Like the Charlotte Street original, the brother’s latest restaurant project will offer a modern take on traditional Peruvian cooking, with references to Nikkei as well as Chifa (the blending of Japanese and Chinese techniques respectively with native Peruvian ingredients) cuisine alongside traditional Peruvian plates.

The Lima Shoreditch menu has been created by executive chef Roberto Sihuay. New dishes will include Peking duck croqueta with aji amarillo bèchamel; and gambas and bluefin tuna tiradito with rocotto tiger’s milk and avocado.

The restaurant’s décor will draw inspiration from the ‘rich multicultural influences synonymous with Peru’s melting pot of cultures’ featuring shades of emerald green and ‘traditional tones’. The restaurant will also have two spaces that can double as PDRs as well as an outside terrace. 

The Gonzalez brothers initially launched Lima in partnership with high profile Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez but he is no longer involved in the restaurant. 

In 2014, the pair launched Lima Floral in Covent Garden. Following a rebrand last year, the restaurant now trades as Lima Cantina.

“We are beyond thrilled to be bringing LIMA to East London – a long-term strategy of ours and also a personal dream. It feels like a real honour to be able to bring our unique style of cooking to the masses 12 years after we first opened our doors,” Gabriel says. “Today, as I did back then, I am so proud of the exhilarating food scene in Peru. And now we get to show even more people what we do.”