Y'all, this is my new FAVORITE place in Lima. If you are obsessed with coffee, which I totally am, then you are going to love this place. One of my friends just described it like stepping into a little cafe in Europe, and I totally agree with her! Walking into El Jardin is absolutely magical!
This magical place is located in Cieneguilla, which is a district of Lima. It
is like a refuge for any soul who is seeking a place to escape from all of the craziness of the big city!
It wasn't hard for us to find El Jardín
. We looked up their address on their facebook page and put it into our Waze GPS and
followed the route! It took us about 30 minutes to get there from La Molina because there wasn't any traffic!
The menu includes salads, pastas, sandwiches juices, COFFEE, desserts, and wines. I had the Pastel de choclo relleno de lomo and it was DELICIOUS! It tastes a lot like corn casserole! It comes with three little dabs of aji (a spicy sauce) and a great salad. It costs about $6, which is a little expensive for Lima. We usually pay around 2 or 3 dollars and eat a "menu" but this time, the extra few bucks was absolutely worth it!
They have fruit that you can order on the side, so I ordered Jubilee a plate of watermelon. She loved it and it also kept her occupied the whole time so we could sit down and relax! :)
Chris had lasagna, which came out freshly baked in this lovely little baking dish and tasted even better than it looks! It costs $9 and is worth the splurge! (I laugh at myself writing this, but food is so cheap in Lima!! So 9 dollars really is a splurge for us!)
We finished off our meal by sharing the best strawberry milkshake ever, in a super cute jar and with a biodegradable straw. This place is just the coolest!
Afterwards, we took a stroll around the back and went through the garden, where plants are for sale and there is also an area that you can rent out for events or parties.
Other than plants, they also sell freshly cut flowers, freshly baked rolls and other goodies "created with love by Grandma"
We met the owners and they were so sweet! They also told us that every Saturday night there is always live music which is either piano or a local artist. I think it would be a perfect spot for a date night!
All in all, we completely loved El Jardín and we will definitely be going back any chance we get!! We had two coffees, two meals, a strawberry milkshake, watermelon for Ju, bought a cactus, a pepper plant, and a lemon plant, a bag of freshly baked rolls, and a bag of dirt for the plants, and we ended up spending a total of $35! :)
When visiting Lima, this place is well off the beaten path, but in my opinion it is a must!
