Magma, Costa Verde

We've been to the Magma just off Larco Ave in Miraflores a couple times. This was our first visit to the Magma that's connected to Costa Verde restaurant.

We started off with soups, Shitake and Miso. Both soups were good and served promptly. The table was a bit annoying though as it would almost tip over with the slightest lean on one side.

We had come really wanting to have some tuna. My wife ordered the Mango Maguro (only warm tuna dish), but after a few minutes was told that the tuna in stock was a bit small so it might be better to get some Salmon or Lenguado (sole/flounder). We really wanted the tuna and in the end they were able to make it happen. The dish turned out to be pretty good, but more of a Japanese style (small thin cuts) than we were hoping for (something more like a braised tuna steak).

We also had some lenguado in a Japanese wine sauce (mirim) and BBQ'd octopus in a sweet and sour sauce. The lenguado was good sized and the flavor was quite good, but there were some bones. The octopus was incredibly tender and tasty! The only complaint was that it was only 1 tentacle of a medium octopus, so slightly less meat that I would have liked. This was remedied though by the rice. The dishes came with Thai rice (peppers, green bean pods, etc) and Magma rice (salty w/ pecans). The Thai rice was really tasty. The Magma rice was good, but much too salty. They were both extremely heavy (thick and sticky to be eaten with chopsticks) and filling.

Unfortunately, they had run out of green tea (which seems really bad for a sushi / Japanese place). It was pretty disappointing. We ended up having some maracuya (passion friut) juice and lemonade, both were good. My wife had a Chardonnay, Navarro Correas (Argentina), while it was served cold, the wine itself wasn't anything special.

The bathrooms had a fancy fountain type sink that was pretty nice to use, but they had completely run out of paper towels (in both men's and women's) and there was no other way to dry your hands (wife had to use toilet paper). This was during prime dinner time (9-10pm) on a Thursday night.

Back on the positive side, they have a really nice saltwater fish tank that separates the bar and the dinning area. They have 4 colorful and interesting fish (3 of them the same). It's a nice touch but certainly not anything exciting to real saltwater tank enthusiasts.

The music was electronic and really had a good fun vibe going the whole time we were there. We didn't use the lounges (some nice red and black leather couches) but they looked quite nice for getting together with friends for drinks. Good environment for the late 20s - 40's crowd, but not a family oriented place. Many of the tables offer a nice view of the Costa Verde (towards Miraflores/San Isidro). Service was not outstanding, but it was certainly was good.

Quality: 9
Flavor: 7
Presentation: 9
Selection: 6
Value: 8
Environment: 9
Bathrooms: 6
Overall: 8