La Casa de Gloria is my absolute favourite place to eat when I’m in Punta Hermosa (one of the beach towns south of Lima), and to be honest I crave their food at least once a week. I’ve genuinely been begging my boyfriend for the last couple of weeks to drive us down so I can get my fix. Luckily, the warm weather is here, which means a beach trip is definitely on the horizon…

It’s a beautiful little restaurant, with a very relaxed vibe and modern beachside decor. Think faded wood, flowers and tropical prints.

When we lived down the road we used to come here at least once a week for breakfast, main meals or dessert. It was usually the latter, but they do everything amazingly. We would either take a walk on the beach before or after (to walk off all the food we had eaten!) looking for starfish and crabs. It’s usually packed on a weekend so be ready to wait for a table, but everything is freshly prepared when you order. Let’s kick it off with the part I order most often; dessert. I like to consider myself a bit of an expert. I heard that if you complete 10,000 hours in a skill, then you are classified as an expert in that field. I guess eating dessert would be that for me then? Does that count? I’m going to say it does.

Their desserts are all scrumptious (I’ve tried almost all of them myself – it’s a hard life but someone has to take one for the team), but we tend to go for the same ones again and again. My favourite has to be their chocolate cake as it has a much deeper, darker chocolate flavour than the majority here in Lima. Plus it comes drizzled with a dark chocolate sauce, as opposed to fudge or manjar, which I really can’t get enough of. My boyfriend prefers the cheesecake, and swears it’s one of the best he’s tried in Peru with that proper cheesecake texture that, again, you don’t find everywhere here. They have different fruit toppings to choose between to top your cheesecake too, so it can be different every time! (Unfortunately at the moment I have no photos of their desserts as we always get them to take away, but the next time I go back I promise to pop a photo in!)

For breakfast I love their fresh fruit salad with honey and orange juice, and a big glass of juice on the side. It’s literally the best start to the day and they don’t skimp on the fruit either. It’s seasonal so you’ll get a variation depending on the time of year you go.

They do a tip-top sandwich though, and I would recommend their avocado, black salt and onion on toasted white bread. Their avocado is always perfectly ripe and creamy and the black salt is a super interesting touch. Or I also love their shredded chicken and avocado (photographed above).

The causa (left) here is dreamy, and instead of shredding their chicken they actually fry little chunks so you get a completely different texture and flavour when you eat the whole dish. I can also completely recommend their arroz chaufa (fried rice), as you get a giant portion of chinese style comfort food goodness. Perfect for those winter days.

Basically, if you order anything you won’t be disappointed. The atmosphere is lovely, especially the outside area on a sunny day, and the staff are super friendly. It’s family run and they also have rooms you can stay in too alongside the restaurant, and there really is an easy going, laid-back vibe to this place that just makes you want to return again and again.

It’s my favourite for a good reason!

La Casa de Gloria – Ricardo Palma 203, Urb. La Planicie – Pta. Hermosa (at the top of the larger bay of Playa Caballeros behind the long grassy park area – along from El Gringo Cevicheria)