Manuel Bañón 260 (cdra. 2 Camino Real)
San Isidro - 422-4323
http://www.matsueiperu.com
Mon. - Sat. 12:30-3:30; 7:30-11:30
I'm don't remember where I read about this restaurant, but someone's blog spoke very highly of Matsuei, and in a city with a wealth of excellent places for sushi, that's quite an ambitious statement.
Well, chalk another one up. I have a new favorite Sushi restaurant.
Matsuei is on a sidestreet off of Camino Real, and equally unassuming inside as it is outside. The menu is classical Japanese sushi (with the Peruvian touches that makes dining in Lima special), and being traditionalists, my date and I were happy with the options. We ordered the Premium Sushi Boat for two people, and the waitress assured us that it would be enough for us.
Since I always want more than enough, we took the blogger's advice and also ordered an appetizer of Isoyaki de Conchas. This is where the Peruvian influence comes in. These scallops were de-shelled, and four or so were prepared in each shell, soaked in sake (the menu said) and served on a plate of fire. Now, I love scallops, and I'm a big fan of fire, so I was happy. The waitress then brought some sushi rolls on a plate. We told her that it wasn't ours, because we ordered the boat. She explained that the boat wasn't big enough to hold all the sushi, so it was really just a virtual boat. My date saw my disappointment, and after a flurry of Spanish, the waitress returned with a boat full of sushi. The waitress was correct, as we also received three other plates full of food.
Everything was fresh and high quality. We wound up leaving over pretty much the amount of food that was in the appetizer.
The check, including the boat, the scallops, two soft drinks, cover charge and additional tip came to 153 Soles. Without the scallops, it was an excellent value, especially as sushi goes. I will return to Matsuei, and probably before I go to a different sushi restaurant.