Lima, Peru, is a city known for world-class dining. On the current list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, are in Lima, including the current number one. However, until recently only Carnaval had made it on to the bar equivalent ranking – that is, until Lady Bee arrived. Alonso Palomino, his wife Gabi León and her sister Alejandra opened the bar in Lima in 2021, and it’s thriving.

“Lima has an amazing reputation for restaurants but not so much for bars,” says Palomino. “The drinking culture is behind the food so we wanted to do our best to change this by bridging the gap between food and drinks.”

The team has successfully accomplished that goal. Gabi trained at Denmark’s famed Noma and is now the chef at Lady Bee, while Palomino heads up the drinks side and Alejandra heads up operations.

In 2023, Drinks International went on an expedition with Lady Bee and the team from Sub Astor in São Paulo. During the trip, Palomino and Gabi sourced new ingredients from the Amazon as part of their research and development for the bar.

The team also champions Peruvian produce and each cocktail on the menu is accompanied with something from the kitchen to create a modern crossover between world-class food and drink.

The result is a spot in The World’s 50 Best Bars and in August Lady Bee won the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award as part of the build-up to this year’s ceremony in Hong Kong.

“I think our style surprises people,” says Alejandra. “It’s very important to us to sit down with each guest and explain to them the menu, the drinks and the different producers involved with us. Bars are always busy but taking a moment to truly appreciate what you’re drinking or eating makes a big difference to the experience.”

New location

The biggest change for Lady Bee this year was a relocation to the Barranco district of Lima in July. In the old venue space was limited to just 20, with no standing – the owners sometimes keeping stock in their car to save room in the bar.

“It was a risk moving because we were worried about what people might think, but we’re much more comfortable in the new bar with more space and it gives us more flexibility,” says Palomino. “The new bar was actually built with hospitality in mind. From behind the bar, you can see every guest, which makes it much easier to attend to people straight away.”

Alejandra adds: “In our old space we were seeing 90% of our guests were foreign, but we’re hoping this will balance out because we want the local community to see and appreciate what we’re doing. We don’t have bottles behind the bar and this means that not only are people choosing products instead of brands, but it means we’re always engaging with our guests.

“Of course it’s nice to have a new bar, but it was important to keep the team’s sense of family. It’s also the people who make a bar, not the design, so we’ve worked hard to maintain the sense of an ecosystem in our team because that’s why people come to us.

“We want to create something not just for us, but for the future generations of people in Lima to be proud of and inspire.”

The Three Sips Martini – a blend of Intira gin from Cusco, sherry, and extra-dry vermouth – is presented with a garnish of olive, succulent plant salicornia, sea lettuce, and Arapa trout caviar from Puno, on a spoon made from wood salvaged from trees felled by storms in the Amazon.