Ovalo Bolognesi 598, Miraflores
241-6867
www.restaurantecarnovale.com
RT here.
Well, shocking as it may seem, I've found yet another excellent place to eat in Miraflores -- this one on the high end of reasonably-priced, and offering enough food to kill an ordinary person.
First, I have found the weekend section (published Fridays) in El Comercio to be an invaluable tool... they list clubs, restaurants, shows, etc. and the edition is available as a PDF on-line, so I do my research in advance.
That's how I found out about Carnovale. They had a feature story, and I knew exactly where the restaurant was, so we made it a point to go there on my last trip to Lima.
I truthfully do not understand how all these restaurants stay open -- the few hot ones (mostly Gaston's) are packed with waits for tables, and all the other ones have virtually no customers. That's how it was with Carnovale.
They have an outdoor area (that also has the bar and the grill for the steaks), and three levels of indoor dining. We (me, my buddy and an amiga) were one of the three sets of customers there; each group had their own dining room.
For our appetizers, my friend had Chicharron de Pollo, my amiga ordered the Dieta de Pollo, and I had Champignones Rellenos.
My companions loved their appetizers, and my stuffed mushrooms were delicious. They were stuffed with either ham or bacon (I don't remember) and cheese, and was topped with a very garlic-y sauce. Outstanding.
For our main dishes, my friend went for the Pollo Saltado, my amiga had the half order of Mollejas (some part of the chicken that I don't want to think about) and I selected the Lomo Cordon Bleu.
The cordon bleu was prepared as if it were the standard chicken dish, except with steak. It was cooked very rare, just as I asked. The one problem was that they didn't want to overcook my steak, so the cheese inside was not thoroughly melted. Regardless, it was excellent. And huge. I guess that my friend's Pollo Saltado was good -- he didn't say a word until he was done and asked for the leftovers to go, and my other friend liked her chicken parts -- I will have to take her word for for it. Her dish was a half order, and it was more than she could eat.
We passed on dessert. The check, including one alcoholic drink, three sodas, a side vegetable and the cover charge came to 227.5 soles (around $75). The service was attentive, the food was good, and it's walking distance from most of Miraflores. I would return, with the only problem being a sushi place on its left, and Brujas de Cachiche on its right.
