An unloved South American city is home to the perfect sandwich

That one place in … Callao, PeruWhere Don GiuseppeWhy Lidia Siles and Juan Hernandez at their restaurant, Don Giuseppe.instagram.com/dongiuseppe_lpAlmost every visitor to Peru goes to Callao, though, most don’t hang around for long. The country’s main international airport is located in this port city, which has been effectively subsumed by Lima, the capital. For the most part, Callao is the sort of gritty, unloved part of the world that most people are more than happy to leave. It’s a far cry from the beauty of Lima’s tourist hubs of Miraflores or Barranco.Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletterGet exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.That lack of interest in Callao, however, is a shame because so many people miss La Punta, the finger of land in Callao’s far west.Callao’s upmarket coastal district of La Punta.AlamyThis is an upper-class neighbourhood originally settled by a migrant Italian community, and you can still feel that influence at one of its most cherished, historic restaurants, Don Giuseppe.The charming owners here, Juan Hernandez and wife Lidia Siles, have an Italian background, but their food at this no-frills diner is distinctly Peruvian, with home style dishes such as sandwiches and seafood soups, served with the sort of warm hospitality that will have you hankering for a Don Giuseppe visit long after your Peruvian adventure is over.Order thisThe famous pan con pejerrey.instagram.com/dongiuseppe_lpDon Giuseppe is best known for its “pan con pejerrey”, a sandwich featuring silverside, a small local fish similar in look to an anchovy. These pejerrey – meaning “king of fish” – are battered and deep-fried and served on a fresh bread roll with white onions dressed in vinegar. It’s a simple dish but when every ingredient is just so, as it is here, you have lunchtime perfection. Don’t miss the seafood soup too.Eat it hereFor down-home Peruvian food of high quality, in Sydney check out Ayahuasca in Glebe (ayahuascarestaurant.com). In Melbourne, try Inti Gourmet in Chelsea (facebook.com/intigourmet). And in Brisbane, visit Latin Manna (latinmanna.com).More Don Giuseppe is on Avenida Manuel Grau in La Punta, Callao, about a 30-minute taxi ride from Miraflores in Lima. The restaurant is open daily from 8am to 4pm, and is busiest over lunch. Expect to pay about $10 a person for an excellent meal. No bookings necessary. See instagram.com/dongiuseppe_lpBen Groundwater is a Sydney-based travel writer, columnist, broadcaster, author and occasional tour guide with more than 25 years’ experience in media, and a lifetime of experience traversing the globe. He specialises in food and wine – writing about it, as well as consuming it – and at any given moment in time Ben is probably thinking about either ramen in Tokyo, pintxos in San Sebastian, or carbonara in Rome. Follow him on Instagram @bengroundwaterConnect via email.From our partners