My partner is fanatical about ceviche, and I am fanatical about lomo saltado. Our level of comparison is Mario’s in Los Angeles, and there has yet been a tolerable comparison to that so far. There are not too many Peruvian options in the Williamsburg area. We’ve been to Chimu Bistro which was decent, and Llama Inn was a little too upscale. On this super sunny and muddy day after getting my hair chopped and despite all the plethora of options for anything but Peruvian, we decided to check out this restaurant based on recommendations. This is the second location of this restaurant, the first being in Maspeth.
Ambiance
They do have an outdoor setup, but we opted to sit inside. As expected, there weren’t many people desiring to eat a late lunch. The interior seems to be set up to allow parties, and it has a very festive feel to it … kind of like a karaoke bar.
For COVID, they just check your wrist temperature. Each table is spaced out pretty adequately.
The service was attentive.
Food
The pisco sour cocktail tasted pretty much the norm. I was indifferent, but my partner enjoyed it.
The ceviche mixto came with raw blue snapper, shrimps, octopus, calamari, and mussels. They were marinated in fresh lime juice, mixed red onions, cilantro, and hot pepper rocoto served with sweet potato and corn. The seafood tasted pretty fresh, and it was surprisingly a good portion size. I was pleasantly surprised by the octopus and calamari because neither was chewy. The sauce was sour and just a little too salty. But all in all, it was pretty good.
The lomo saltado came with strips of filet mignon sautéed with onions, tomatoes, and soy sauce served over French fries and white rice. Of all the NYC lomo saltado places, this place is pretty good but still not the best. The sauce was a little on the sweet side, and there was a lot of cumin in it. The steak was pretty good and tender. The portion size for this is a pretty good size for 1 person, but also the price is quite expensive at $26.
The combo special came with 1/4 of chicken served with french fries and avocado salad. The chicken was unbelievably tender, albeit very small. The skin had a very nice rotisserie char to it. The french fries were thick, very nice, and crispy.
The avocado salad that came in the combo special was fresh and crispy. The salad dressing reminded me of Italian, but instead of vinegar there was a lot of lime in it. It was sharp, but it tasted good.
Final Verdict
This really is a pretty good Peruvian restaurant in the North Williamsburg area with the standard Peruvian menu such as ceviche and lomo saltado. I really think the chicken was the winner here, but if you are craving lomo saltado, this place is pretty decent. The portion size is very good although the price is slightly on the high side if you order something other than the chicken.
Yelp Jabs
The chicken was 9 bucks with no sides. They say half I say quarter.
The chicken was a little small, but it tasted very good. It makes me think the chicken is from a good source.
Incredible and much better than Pio Pio, which was a former favorite of mine.
I actually thought Pio Pio was pretty mediocre. The chicken here is definitely much better than The Inkan in LIC, but the lomo saltado is better at Jora.