If you are searching for a neighborhood cafe in Miraflores that serves great sandwiches, coffee, tasty desserts and various other dishes, Aurelia may be a destination for you.  Aurelia's menu is simple and ideal for relaxing with friends or for grabbing a quick bite for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack.  Many readers may recall Aurelia's previous location for many years on Av. Petit Thours.  Aurelia has new owners, new management and a new address and recently opened their doors in November 2011.     

 

We began our dining experience at Aurelia with a unique snack of deep fried pasta.  We also sampled three of their five juices they offer.  The passion fruit, strawberry and mango were delicious and served in some interesting glasses that added to their appeal.   

We sampled the Pastel de Choclo (a corn pie stuffed with ground beef, raisins, onions and an assortment of Peruvian spices) and the Pastel de Alcochofas (Artichokes) y Champignones (Mushrooms).  The flavors were decent and portions generous.  Aurelia offers four different pasteles ranging from 9 to 11 soles.  Aurelia also offers the option of ordering an entire pastel for your home.  They range in price from 48 to 75 soles. 

Aurelia offers eight different sandwiches on their menu.  We happily devoured the Chicharon Crocante (Crunchy Pork) and Pavo a Horno (Baked Turkey) sandwiches.  I occasionally indulge myself and have a sandwich of chicharon and this one was outstanding.  The pork meat used for the sandwich was a combination of the pancetta (stomach), arm and the meat found behind the neck, which is the most tender.  The meat on both sandwiches was perfectly prepared and delicious. Aurelia offers six other sandwiches as well and I will make sure I return to savor another one.  The sandwich prices range from 12 soles to 14 soles.  An extra plus is that you have a choice of 8 different sauces to accompany your sandwich.  I suggest the salsa criollo to accompany the sandwiches we ate.  I must mention that Aurelia prepares their turkeys, jamon del pais and jamon glaseado (glazed ham) on the premises.  What a difference it makes in the flavor of the sandwich! These meats are also available for purchase as well.  The turkeys are definitely a popular hit since they sold over 130 during the Christmas holiday. 

 

Aurelia also promotes their pasta and offers various selections, 12 in all, as well as 11 different sauces to accompany the pasta.  Aurelia definitely gives you options for all different pasta lovers (lasagna, raviolis, cappelletti, gnocchi, canellonis, fettucine, spaghetti, malfatti). The sauces range from the traditional pomodoro or creamy pesto) to the more unique beef with mushroom sauce or light red sauce with salmon and dill.  We shared four different pasta dishes.  The gnocchi with creamy pesto sauce was good, although I would have cooked them a bit less.  The same for the Spaghetti with Asado y Champignones.  I would suggest that the pasta be ordered al dente.  The pumpkin ravioles were served with a slightly pickled and concentrated vegetable sauce.  These raviolis were a pleasant surprise instead of the typical ravioli filled with cheese or meat.  My favorite had to be the Malfatti de Ricotta y Espinaca in the white sauce with parmesan.  This malfatti was a combination of spinach, ricotta, nutmeg, eggs and parmesan which is lightly rolled in flour and then boiled quickly.  This was the first time I ever ate malfatti and I truly enjoyed them.  These malfatti were incredibly light and airy and slightly addictive.  It has a dumpling/gnocchi texture.  Aurelia sells their fresh pastas (1 kg. and 2 kg. sizes) to bring home as well as their salsas (580 ml. or 900 ml.).   

 

We gladly sampled several of Aurelia's desserts.  They currently have five different desserts on their menu ranging in price from 8 to 14 soles.  We tried the Lucuma Mousse (lucuma mousse pie with a light brownie crust and chocolate sauce), the Strawberry New York Cheesecake and the Bruselina in a Toffee Salsa.  The desserts were generous in size and in flavor.  All three were delicious and worthy of a repeat performance during another visit.  The coffee at Aurelia is top notch and comes from the region of Jaen.  Our espressos and cappuccinos were delicious.  I would also suggest their iced mocha cappuccino on a hot, summer day.   

 

I did return to Aurelia a week after my first visit with my husband in tow and we ordered a couple of juices and sandwiches.  The sandwiches were just as delicious as the first time.  I had to order the New York-style Strawberry Cheesecake again since it was so good the first time.  Their cheesecake is one of the better ones I have had in Peru.  We also decided to order some fresh pasta to take home and prepare for the following day.  We purchased the fettucini and gnocchis plus their white sauce with the pecans.  We enjoyed all of it the next day.  Fresh pasta is so much better than the dried pasta you buy in the grocery store.   

 

Address:    Av. Angamos Oeste 393, Miraflores

Phone:       447-8688 / 447-8679

Hours:       Monday thru Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

                 Sunday:  8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

 

 

 

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COMMENTS:

Total coments: 2
Commented By: abrown
On: February 17, 2012

Thank you for posting this! I pass by this every morning I decide to take taxi to work! I always meant to try it, but never get around to it. With such a rave review, I will definitely be trying it this week! Am going to post this review in our blog for next! www.rischmoller.wordpress.com Thank you!

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Commented By: amco
On: February 18, 2012

Unfortunately, though the Aurelia cafe looked very attractive to us as near neighbours, we had one very bad morning experience! Wife ordered a chicharon sandwich, served in a pretty basket, where the bread had become soggy with a sort of gravy and the meat was small offcuts. I requested a cheesecake, and was informed that deserts would be delivered past midday. My wife´s cafe Americano was brown water weak, and requesting a remedy resulted in a merely a browner water update quite unrelated to great Peruvian coffee. And finally my double espresso was terrible: brown, weak, no aroma and a flavour like if you put low roast filter cafe in an espresso pot at home. Sorry, don´t want to damn them on one brief visit ... but yes, all that glitters is not gold! Try the Gian Marco cafe across the road in Angamos for unfailing in the very best of Italian coffee, icecream, wines and also great sandwiches on homemade bread. BTW the chocolate mousse is INTER-GALACTIC!

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