La Bodega y Taberna Queirolo

La Bodega y Taberna “Santiago Queirolo”

 

Located on the Av. San Martín 1062, just one block down from Av. Sucre and across from Av. Vivanco in the beautiful and tranquil residencial district of Pueblo Libre.  This is the bar I managed to stumble on during one of my many photowalks through the city.  Tucked away in the vast urban jungle that is Lima, I practically stumbled upon this famous watering hole around mid day one Saturday weekend (looking back it was the same day that my intraocular lenses decided to come loose, but that's another story entirely).  The sky was grey and overcast and I had just trekked all the way from Av. Canada near the Via Expresa, which for those who don't know is a fairly long walk, especially since I passed through two districts to get there (about a hour and a half walk).  The mere sight of this ancient corner tavern literally packed and overflowing with inebriated patrons.

As I drew closer the roar of laughter and loud conversations echoed through the opened windows and doorways with an alure all to powerful for the regular drinker and bar hopper to pass up.  Walking into the bar through the old saloon doors my seemed to gravitate towards the bar and before I could really realize what was going one I had some how managed to ask the bartender for a house drink, only to find my hand clentching this ice cold refreshing drink.  One taste was all it took for me to render my verdict, I was hooked the Chilcano de Pisco that I tried was beyond delicious and had somewhat classy presentation that could be given a place alongside other sophisticated drinks like gin and tonic.  The drink was served in a high ball glass with the tavern's logo etched in gold on the side.  I would think it was safe to say that the bartender gave a more than generous help of Pisco in my drinks as I began to quickly feel it's effects, and boy did I like it....total relaxation!  As I let the sweet alcohol work it's magic through the inner confines of my body I grabbed the closed available seat I could find and began to absorb my new surroundings.  The tavern's environment is so inviting that you feel like you've been there many times before, something similar to the feeling you get when you share a few drinks with you best friends in your hometown bar.  You feel welcome in it's environment to the point where time just seems to fly, what makes this amazing is that I wasn't even with anyone, I was alone, imagine what one would feel if they had gone with friends and/or family.

El Queirolo is one of Lima's most famous and older bars and has maintain a large following over the years.  Here you will find both men and women of varying ages from both young and old alike all present to enjoy the warmth and inviting comfort of the wonderful antique atmosphere, the outstanding drinks and food, and above all with most popular bars in Lima, a great social environment.  Speaking of food El Queirolo offers a variety of food options from typical and traditional meals to the popular and widely sought after sandwiches made up of delicious meats like Jamon de Pais among others.  The drinks are amazingly good and a recommended drink would definitely have to be their Chilcano de Pisco.  This refreshing drink is made from their very own Queirolo Pisco mixed with ginger ale and a few squeezes of lime juice, making it the perfect refreshing summer drink that's actually great just about anytime of the year.  Their Chilcano de Pisco is recognized by many Limeños to be the best in the city! 

El Queirolo has won such recognition in the eyes of the citizens of Lima that it is a highly frequented and recommended location.  The old tavern is seen as a cultural and social hub where people can gather to pass the time with friends and family where they can have that experience of being in a bar that is literally frozen in time from an era long forgotten.  The feeling that you get when you first walk into the tavern is that similar to stepping back into the past, as the decor and old wood floors, furniture and ceiling along with the many antiques that embellish and adorn the place.  Some of the antiques that will catch your eye when you first walk into the tavern will be the old cash register and phonograph, but what really stands out is the old telephone near the front entrance of the tavern.  This telephone is one of two very first telephone's to ever be installed in Peru!  It's even more amazing to see all this antiques still in their preserved state.

 

El Queirolo's history is an intriguing one which dates back to the year 1880 when the Queirolo family first arrived it what was once called the district of Magdalena Vieja, which is today named the district of Pueblo Libre.  The name Pueblo Libre was given by the famous "Liberator" General Don Jose de San Martín in 1821.  The Queirolo family was a traditional winemaker family whom upon arrival to Lima set up and founded the "Bodega Santiago Queirolo",  this was to be the very first location of the families vineyard.  It's important to for the reader to understand that in those times Lima was a much smaller and centralized city that it's much larger and gigantic iteration.  Many of the outlying districts that surrounded the central city hub were known for being the location of many vineyards, plantations, and farms all of which are long gone in today's modern version.  As the city of Lima began to grow throughout the first have of the 1900's so did the Queirolo families need to relocate their operational facilities and in 1963 they did just that by moving their vineyard operations to the southern coastal city of Cañete (which is one of many wine producing cities along the souther coast).  Today the wine-making tradition continues as future generations of the Queirolo family continue to keep the family practice alive and well.  Their wines and Pisco's are among the most popular and respected in the country and can be found and purchased in many of Lima's supermarket's, liquor stores, and especially at La Taberna Queirolo.

The Queirolo family business maintains an amazing company website which offers very interesting and useful information about their wines and Piscos for those interesting in learning more about the process of production. 

I highly recommend this bar/tavern and give it 5 stars out of 5 for it's over the top service, drinks, food, environment and overall excellence which is hard to find in a city of 9 million inhabitants.