Oct. 21, 2015 By Michael Florio
A Peruvian restaurant opened last week in Jackson Heights.
Lima Restaurant & Bar, located at 85-07 Northern Blvd, opened Thursday and is serving rotisserie chicken, seafood items, steak and rice dishes, according to owner Carlos Mejia.
Mejia, who emigrated from Lima to New York when he was a child, said he has opened an upscale restaurant that offers authentic Peruvian cuisine.
He said he selected the Northern Boulevard location since he believes this section of the neighborhood is where the high-end restaurants are based.
“I want to offer quality food,” he said. “We will not just have rotisserie chicken dishes that [other Peruvian restaurants] bring to the area,” he said. “We will offer more than that.”
The menu includes pan fried fish, seafood platters, green Peruvian spaghetti and a range of stir fry dishes (see attachment).
The restaurant seats roughly 220 people and is broken up into three levels.
The first floor, which is the main area, seats about 120 people and has a 25-foot-bar, where beer, wine and liquor will be served. There is a mezzanine area that seats up to 30 people and a basement that can hold up to 70 people.
The basement will primarily be used for private events.
Mejia is waiting for the State Liquor Authority to issue the restaurant with a liquor license. The community board has already approved the application.
The restaurant is currently operating from 4 pm to 12 am Monday through Wednesday, and 4 pm to 1 am on Thursdays and Fridays.
It is open from 10 am to 1 am on weekends.
Mejia plans on extending the hours after he receives his liquor license, which he anticipates having in about 6 weeks.
Mejia is hopeful that the community will embrace the new restaurant.
“We hope the neighborhood welcomes us,” he said.
