La Carreta
Av. Rivera Navarrete #740
San Isidro
442-2690
http://www.restaurantelacarreta.com

RT here.

On our last night in town, both my friend and I felt like a steak. I consulted my trusty restaurant guide, and decided on La Caretta.

What a good choice. My problem is that I probably can name two dozen 'must-visit' restaurants in Lima, and the list just keeps growing.

La Carreta is located in an old colonial-type hacienda. As you enter, you see the grill and a glass display refrigerator on your right. My mouth was watering before we even entered.

The steaks were fabulous. My friend had the New York Strip, and I went with the skirt steak. Both were cooked to perfection. My side potatoes were called 'waffle fries', but they were even thinner and could have passed for potato chips, except for the fact that they were fresh and hot from the kitchen. My friend raved about his mashed potatoes, too.

For our appetizers, we had two different mushroom dishes, one stuffed and the other in a garlic sauce. The stuffed ones were very good, and the ones in the garlic sauce were outstanding.

The service was as good as the food. The waiters were attentive without being annoying. Like all restaurants in Lima, we had to beg for ice, but once we got our point across, our waiter brought us a bucket full.

The tab for the two of us, including the cover charge, two appetizers, two steaks and two soft drinks, was 199.20 Soles. There was some confusion as to what tip was included on the check (I now think that it was 5%), so we left an additional 30 Soles as a tip, all in total. The hostess is Canadian, so there were no translation problems to worry about.

The servings were more than generous. My friend had a hard time finishing his steak (I never have to worry abut that), and either of the appetizers would have been enough for the two of us.

Would I return? Of course. I just have to schedule a two-month visit next time.

RT:
I wanted to go to La Carreta in the worse way, but CFK kept insisting on this other restaurant I believe it was called La Tranquillita or something similar, it sucked so bad neither of us ate our steak. I ordered the ribeye, now I have eaten hundreds of ribeyes in my day, this didn't even look like a ribeye. I ordered it medium because I like med. rare and all steakhouses always undercook so I expected med. rare when it came out. Well it was RARE almost raw and so tough I could not get my teeth thru it, sent it back for a skirt steak which was better but still raw. I finished the fries and we left.

message to self: do not listen to CFK about restaurants!

Unfortunately LL is correct about the dinner/steaks. Two yrs ago this place was good, but this time it was lousy, worst (toughest) steak I have ever been served. But, live/learn.....However I did send LL over to La Nautica, an excellent seafood resturant on a jetty going into the ocean with excellent food, service, and elegance. Very upscale and highly recommend this place, especially for a date.
He went there with a date and was very pleased, along with a few others last week with their dtaes and all enjoyed.
CFK

I revisited La Carreta two weeks ago.

My friend and I both had the Lomo; his was straight up and mine was au poivre. The folks at the next table had the Parriada (mixed grill). I managed to get off a photo while they were at the salad bar.