Surquillo: the neighbourhood that feeds Miraflores

A district born of Miraflores

Surquillo was separated from Miraflores by a decree-law of 15 July 1949, when the original district was becoming too populous to be well administered. Its name is said to date back to colonial times: Indigenous inhabitants are thought to have formed a community there similar to that of Santiago de Surco, hence this diminutive. It is a working-class shopping district, crossed by the Paseo de la República expressway, and served by four Metropolitano stations: Aramburú, Domingo Orué, Angamos and Ricardo Palma.

Two markets not to confuse

Surquillo has several numbered municipal markets. Two are of interest to a visitor, and they do not tell the same story: No. 1, the historic market hall known to cooks, partly reopened after two years of closure, and No. 2, another covered market, a kilometre away, which is working normally. According to our information from October 2026, both receive visitors: No. 1 is open, not fully, but enough for a visit.

Between the two markets: 1.1 km, about 15 minutes.

Market No. 1: partly reopened

Market No. 1 was inaugurated in 1939, built by the Municipality of Miraflores at a time when the land still belonged to it; it was designed by the architect Alfredo Dammert Muelle. When Surquillo became a district, the building remained registered in the name of Miraflores. A supplier to the neighbourhood’s kitchens, it became over the years a point of reference for Lima’s gastronomy, widely frequented and promoted by well-known chefs.

The building. It was closed in August 2024 because of failings in its electrical and fire-safety installations; an inspection then found structural problems. A reopening after works had been announced for May 2026. At the end of August 2026, it remained closed: a court ruling ordered it to reopen, the Municipality of Surquillo cited risks (part of the roof coming away) and the funding of the works depended on an agreement with Miraflores, the registered owner. Today, according to our information from October 2026, the market is open again, not fully, but enough for a visit. No public source yet gives a date for this reopening: what is on offer may vary from one day to the next.

During the closure, traders from the market sold on the Alameda Narciso de la Colina, the pedestrian street that runs alongside the building, and in the neighbouring streets: about 70 according to Panamericana in June 2026, out of more than 300 waiting for the reopening according to El Comercio; in July 2026, the municipality was still authorising a fair held by their association, from 7:00 to 17:00, on cuadra 5 of Jirón Narciso de la Colina. So expect a market that is getting going again, not yet the great market hall described by guides from before 2024; look at what is there that morning. The best time is the morning, as at any market: that is when a food market’s range is at its fullest.

Market No. 2: another market, covered

Market No. 2 never closed because of the problems at No. 1. It underwent its own upgrade: the municipality reopened it on 1 May 2024, after it was issued its technical safety inspection certificate, at the end of works on the electricity, fire protection and the layout of the aisles. Nearly seventy years of existence, more than 500 stalls according to the municipality: groceries, vegetables, poultry, fruit, butchers, small restaurants, textiles, flowers, confectionery. It is an everyday market, less well known to visitors than No. 1, which lets you see a covered market hall in operation without crossing the city.

Several addresses circulate (Leonardo Barbieri 742, Lizardo Montero 727, Santa Rosa): these are entrances and landmarks of the same block, not two different markets. As everywhere, come in the morning, and have a simple meal at one of its counters rather than buying something you will not be able to cook.

Where to see other stalls

The markets, their units of sale and how to buy are detailed in Lima’s markets.

Eating in Surquillo

The neighbourhood has become a food destination: many restaurants have set up around Avenida Manuel Villarán and in the shopping streets, from the neighbourhood cevichería to chef’s-cuisine tables. It is also a good place for the menú, the fixed-price lunch (starter and main course, often a drink) offered by small neighbourhood restaurants. Choose a restaurant full of local people at lunchtime, and ask for the set meal of the day. The useful vocabulary is in Ordering in Peru.

The cevichería that made the neighbourhood known well beyond Peru, Al Toke Pez, left Avenida Angamos in August 2025: it now serves in Miraflores, at Calle Manuel Bonilla 113, near Parque Kennedy, and its former premises in Surquillo serve as its production kitchen, with no service to the public announced. On Avenida Angamos, the Siete Sopas branch at No. 609 is the only one in the chain announced as open 24 hours a day: a hot soup at any hour.

Getting there

On foot from Parque Kennedy: 1.3 km, about 20 minutes to market No. 1, 1.8 km, about 25 minutes to market No. 2, crossing the expressway at the designated crossings. By Metropolitano, the Angamos and Ricardo Palma stations serve the district. Keep your bag and phone close to you in the shopping streets, as in any market neighbourhood.