Café
Neira Café Lab
The specialty coffee brand of champion barista Harry Neira, whose original café on Calle Enrique Palacios in Miraflores serves beans from Cusco and Cajamarca.
El Pan de la Chola
Jonathan Day's bakery-café, founded in 2011, known for naturally fermented loaves made with local flours and grains, served with Peruvian coffee on Avenida La Mar.
At a glance
- Type
- Bakery and café
- Area
- Miraflores, Lima, Peru
- Price
- $$ · Mid-range
- Opening
- Open daily · 07:00–21:00
- Official site
- elpandelachola.com
Good to know
- Natural-fermentation bread
- Breakfast
- Peruvian coffee
- Takeaway
Why we recommend it
El Pan de la Chola is one of Lima's best-known bakeries. Its founder and owner, Jonathan Day, spent about five years in Europe and the United Kingdom, where he fell in love with bread culture, and when he came back to Peru he started baking at home. Family and friends kept asking for his loaves, and that steady demand led him to open his first shop in 2011. As he puts it, it was never a business idea.
The bakery's approach is simple: respect the natural fermentation of the dough and use local flours and grains, some of which it now mills in-house. Look out for the hard-crusted loaves, the focaccia and the baguettes, as well as Japanese-style shokupan milk bread and brioche. The stated aim is good bread with Peruvian coffee, and the café sells its own espresso blend, whole or ground, along with granola and a house chilli sauce, Ají Chola, to take home. The menu has grown from bread and coffee to include brunch and pizza.
This branch on Avenida Mariscal La Mar in Miraflores is the Pan and Café shop, open every day from 07:00 to 21:00, which makes it a reliable choice for an early breakfast before a day of sightseeing or a late-afternoon coffee and slice of cake. Further along the same avenue, at number 1081, a separate Brunch and Pizza branch stays open later. There are also shops on Calle Alcanfores in Miraflores, on Calle Miguel Dasso in San Isidro and in La Molina, plus counters in several shopping centres. The business now has around 120 staff, and its largest shop slices about 300 loaves a day.
It suits solo travellers, couples and anyone who misses a proper crusty loaf. Contact is by WhatsApp or email, both published on the website.
Avenida Mariscal La Mar is also home to Mayta, so it is easy to combine breakfast or a coffee here with dinner on the same street later in the day. The company describes its brand as simple, delicious and sustainable, and says it focuses on simple, quality products and sustainable growth. Quality and simplicity, in Day's words, are the key to the place, and that comes through in everything on the counter.
El Pan de la Chola FAQs
When is the La Mar café open?
Every day from 07:00 to 21:00.
Who founded El Pan de la Chola?
Jonathan Day, who opened the first shop in 2011 after years in Europe and the UK.
What kind of bread do they make?
Naturally fermented loaves using local flours and grains, plus focaccia, baguettes, shokupan and brioche.
Can I have breakfast or brunch there?
Yes, the café serves breakfast, and the separate branch at Av. Mariscal La Mar 1081 focuses on brunch and pizza.
Do they sell coffee to take home?
Yes, including their own espresso blend, whole bean or ground.
Are there other branches?
Yes, including Calle Alcanfores 410 in Miraflores, Calle Miguel Dasso 113 in San Isidro and La Molina.
How do I contact them?
By WhatsApp on +51 914 680 244 or by email at [email protected].
Is it good for a takeaway loaf?
Yes, bread, granola and the house Ají Chola sauce can all be bought to take away.