My obsession with Pollo a la Brasa started when I lived in Washington, DC. I used to make a weekly journey to the famed El Pollo Rico, or The Rich Chicken, in Arlington, Virginia. It was the first place I had the iconic dish of Peru and what started a twenty-year quest to find out how to master the dish. If ever there was a seemingly simple dish that is more beguiling then Pollo a la Brasa, I have not run across it. It seems easy enough, a chicken marinated in a spice rub and cooked in a rotisserie. That doesn’t seem hard—it lures you in with its deceptive ease only to make you agonize how complicated the dish is to do properly. The hint of smoke from the right type of wood coals, the perfect blend of spices in their proper proportion, the balance of acid and oil to keep the bird moist, and the right amount of fire to kiss the skin to keep it crisp without burning or drying out the bird. These were the variables before I went to Peru, but it gets worse.
When I finally made it to Peru, I was excited to try Central and Maido, the 6th and 7th best restaurants in the world, but I was on a mission to try the Pollerias offering up the iconic dish I had long waited to try in Peru. I had done my research on the places to try and had the good fortune to talk to one of the Sous Chefs at Borago in Santiago, Chile who was from Lima. He told me I had to make the trip to Granja Azul outside Lima as well to try Timbo in Lima. I heeded his advice and am the better for it. More on that below.
As with many foods that are transported to another place, there are slight variations in them. The chicken I loved at El Pollo Rico is completely true to the Pollo a la Brasa style, but like all things, varied slightly from the chickens and sauces I had in Lima. Most all of the Pollerias in Lima serve two sauces with the bird: Aji Amarillo and a Hucatay sauce. Huacatay grows in the mountains of the Andes and is somewhat similar to a mild mint without the sweetness; it is also called Peruvian black mint and is made into a creamy sauce. You can find frozen or jarred versions of huacatay in the US, but they do not come close to the fresh version. The Aji Amarillo, the yellow pepper that is ubiquitous throughout Peru, is a yellow pepper based sauce that is mixed with mayonnaise and a few other ingredients depending on where you go. Both are excellent smeared on the chicken.
A disclaimer on the restaurants noted below, I included comments on my favorites of the group. Granja Azul and Timbo were my standout favorites, but I am listing all the Pollerias I went to that are worth trying out. I made comments on the ones I would prioritize going to first in case your time there is limited. Ganja Azul, Timbo, Hilton Pollo, Don Beliasario, Passon Brasa Gourmet, La Panka, Las Cansastas, and Pardos.
Granja Azul is a bit of a hike from Lima, but well worth the trip. I would caution against renting a car and driving yourself though. I have driven on five continents and can easily say that the most harrowing driving I have ever done was getting from downtown Lima to Granja Azul on the outskirts of town, and they, sort of, drive on the same side of the road we do. The distance isn’t terribly far, but if it had been a few kilometers longer, a heart attack would have stopped me from trying the chicken.
There are few rules to the road in Lima and be prepared for people to swerve all over the road ignoring lanes or the fact that there might already be a car in a lane at the same spot they are moving to. If you weren’t driving, you would probably marvel at the large trucks with machinery whizzing in and out of traffic and coming within millimeters of hitting you or knocking you off the road. It was the only time I have returned a car within a few hours of renting it, happy to walk from then on.
The drive was worth the stress. Entering Granja Azul, the bustle and shear driving nightmare of getting there disappear when you see the oasis of a restaurant. The multiple dining rooms inside the building transport you back to an earlier time in Peru. The open kitchen and the wood fired rotisseries are a thing of beauty. The open courtyard outside goes on forever and makes you want to just sit and relax. It is a place you could spend an afternoon eating and drinking with friends. It is the antithesis to the drive there.
The chicken was the best I had in Peru. The small, moist chickens were not as heavily spiced as many of the other Pollerias, but the rich flavor of the meat tasted as if the chickens had been seasoned with fat itself—it was the richest and most decadent rotisserie chicken I have had. Everything from the staff to the serving platers is perfect. The only downside is that eventually you have to leave. One thing you do not see often in the Pollerias in the US are antichuchos. Grilled beef hearts aren’t very common in the States, but they should be. By far the best antichuchos I had in South America, including Argentina, were at Granja Azul. Even if it sounds like a bridge too far for you, give them a try here, just forget what they are and you will be fine.
I had never seen a sideways rotisserie like this one at Timbo. Go just to see it in action.
Luckily, the chicken and fries were outstanding at Timbo too. Hands down the sauces, aji amarillo and huacatay, and the french fries were the best I had at any of the Pollerias in Peru. I tried to go back another time, but they had closed almost an hour early because they ran out of chickens. Make sure you go long before the stated closing time as this seems to be common. I couldn’t have been more disappointed to make it all the way there and not get to have the sauces and fries again, sadly they were even closed to just eat that. An oversight they should remedy; I’d have been more than happy to have just fries with the aji and huacatay sauce.
As luck would have it, my disappointment of not getting to eat at Timbo again was remedied by my trip to Hilton Pollo; it isn’t related to the hotel brand. It is a small restaurant that stays open late. Hilton had the most distinctive Asian inspired flavors of any of the chicken I had in Lima. It is a very low-key place that serves up chicken in a hurry.
Don Belisario has multiple locations in Lima. The chicken was very moist and one of the largest birds I had in Peru with good sauces. Their rub had the most cumin and salt of the birds I tried and it was the most reminiscent of the chicken at El Pollo Rico. They were served very hot and extremely juicy with a nice flavor. While it was the most similar to the Pollo a la Brasa I knew from DC, my frame of reference for the iconic dish widened while in Lima and now I long for the style of the Granja Azul chicken the most.
I thought that my trip to Lima would help me demystify the Peruvian style of Pollo a la Brasa, but instead, I learned how nuanced each Pollerias’ take on the dish was; making what once seemed only a beguiling dish, even more complicated. It will warrant more research and tasting. I, foolishly, feel up to the challenge. At the very least, I look forward to trying to unlock the mystery while eating my way to poultry enlightenment.
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