Sorry, But We're Spilling the Beans on Lima Taverna

Living in a strip mall in the shadow of the ghost of the former Collin Creek Mall in Plano is Lima Taverna, a Peruvian restaurant that has weathered the storm of the road construction on Alma Drive and the razing of the former mall for the past few years and remains standing, at least for now. We read about this place on social media, where people seemed to be torn between wanting to keep it a secret hidden gem all to themselves. They also worried a that lack of customers might cause Lima Tavern to disappear for good while at the same time wishing more people got to experience and appreciate it.

Quite the quandary. It's very reminiscent of discovering a great indie band and lamenting the fact they're not appreciated by the masses, while also worrying that mainstream success would tarnish the band.

As much as we love genius indie bands, we also love undiscovered and underappreciated restaurants, so we had to try this place.


When we visited, Lima Taverna was relatively empty, with just a couple of other parties already seated. We took our seats in a cozy booth near the back and ordered a couple of sangrias while we perused the rest of the menu.

Appetizer selections include three different types of ceviches, but we’d heard raves about their empanadas. The beef is probably the more popular choice, filled with seasoned beef, raisins, olives and sweet peppers, but not being fans of raisins, we went with the chicken, filled with aji de gallina (shredded chicken breast) and an aji Amarillo cream sauce. This arrived with a spoonful of green dipping sauce and was pretty … pretty good. The shredded chicken was flavorful, and the rich aji Amarillo sauce — yellow chili pepper from Peru blended into a paste and mixed with crema — created a wonderful mélange of flavor and texture.

Next, an order of beef filet anticucho: two skewers of grilled beef marinated in aji panca (a Peruvian red pepper) and served with potatoes. There are also traditional anticuchos de corazon, grilled cow heart, but that is subject to availability. The beef was slightly spicy and tender, but perhaps the star of this appetizer was the wonderful potatoes, which had a slightly crisp outer layer and a light-and-fluffy interior. We could have eaten a bucketful of these babies.


Our main selections were lomo saltado and tallerines verdes con asado, both in the mid-$20 to low-$30 price range. The lomo saltado was beef tenderloin chunks with lightly cooked and charred tomato slices and red onions atop some potato wedges, dusted with cilantro. This was a generous portion that arrived in a large bowl, sort of like a stew, living in a broth created by the stir-fry process. It was rich in flavor and character.


The tallerines verdes con asado was Peruvian-style, oven-roasted slices of beef served with a large mound of spinach and basil fettuccini. The beef, covered lightly with a subtle sauce, was tender and shredded easily with a fork. The fettuccini’s spinach and basil flavor profiles were more upfront than we’d expected, and while cooked to a perfect al dente, it was perhaps a bit too dense on the plate, an issue that is not uncommon with fettuccine served in the Alfredo manner. Still, the plate was a success.


The servings are large, so you’ll probably have leftovers to take home, as we and everyone else we saw eating there that night did. Unfortunately, this meant we could not try some of the desserts such as picarones, Peruvian donuts made with sweet potato and squash, or the alfajores, a shortbread cookie sandwich filled with manjar blanco.

The service was extremely efficient, helpful and friendly, and the food was different enough and successfully prepared and presented. So, yes, we hope they continue to build up their clientele, even at the possible expense of no longer being a secret, favorite hidden-away spot that not enough people appreciate. There are worse fates.

621 W. Plano Parkway, No. 247, Plano. Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; closed Monday.