Nuyores

Nuyores is a new Peruvian restaurant located in the former spot of Flex Mussels in the West Village and Chelsea boundaries. The restaurant’s cuisine was inspired by the rich flavors of Peru and offers Chilean wines. I stumbled onto this higher-end restaurant looking for something new to try, and I knew my partner loves Peruvian cuisine. We’ve had mostly misses in NYC because they compare NYC Peruvian food to a classic Los Angeles establishment, Mario’s. We made a reservation for 5:30 PM on a Friday evening easily a few days in advance.

Ambiance & Service

The interior was very similar to the previous Flex Mussel location interior. The restaurant is thin and deep. We were seated in the back part of the restaurant in a comfy corner booth. The music was not too loud, and they played Spanish music in the air. When we arrived, there was no one there, but diners started coming in closer to 6:30 PM.

The ambiance was dark, and it reminded me a bit of the same feelings that Flex Mussels previously offered. It was a dark place meant for casual date nights or a fun, trendy social outing.

The service was very speedy, and they were honest with the portion sizes. Within a minute of ordering, they served out the ceviche. Otherwise, the ribeye took about 20 minutes to come out.

Food

For some nibbling, they gave some nice toasted corn with some nice seasoning. This was not greasy, crispy, and very tasty.

The Classic Pisco Sour came with pisco, lime, and egg white. This was surprisingly well balanced and good.

The glass of Carignan ($25) came from Bodegas Odfjell, Maule Valley, Chile 2020. This was similar to a Cabernet Sauvignon. It has some interesting peppery, oaky notes with plenty of black fruit and red fruit flavors. To the nose, there was something interesting that reminded me of earthy and leather smells. It finished smooth and had smooth tannins.

The Ceviche Clasico ($29) came with catch of the day, aji limo-leche de tigre, corn, sweet potato, red onion, and cilantro. It felt like the fish pieces were large chunks and were not as fresh as I would’ve hoped. I did like the leche de tigre though. The sweet potatoes were thinly sliced and fried, so it was a slightly different take on a ceviche. Generally, we thought this was decent, but we’ve had better elsewhere.

The Ribeye Lomo Saltado Style ($139) came with Argentinian grass beef 20 oz ribeye, tomato, onions, aji amarillo, cilantro, and crispy yucca. We asked if they can substitute in the yucca for the potatoes. This was cooked medium rare, and it was a large portion of meat for two people. This higher end take on a classic Peruvian dish stumbled a bit. I think many of these places are trying too hard to reinvent the intention of the original dish. The original dish was meant to have the tomatoes, onions, and fries sauteed together with the meat, so it can have plenty of flavors. Instead what we got here was distinct separation of each ingredient. For the steak, it was cooked good, but it was too fatty and large to eat with the rice. The overall dish tasted good, just that the concept of it missed a bit.

Here is the rice, yucca, and aji amarillo. These ingredients were all pretty basic though cooked with some finesse. The aji amarillo was mildly peppery, and it added a bit of some nice flavors to whatever you top it with.

Overall Impression

Nuyores was yet another decent Peruvian restaurant in NYC. Its higher-end take on Peruvian was a decent pursuit, but it missed the mark because the flavors were not elevated enough. Their take on the classic lomo saltado dish was not memorable, though it did taste decently for two. Nuyores’ ambiance can be well-fitted though for a date night out.

Yelp & Google Jabs

The chef comes by the table to greet and make sure everyone is being well taking care of.

I am assuming that this Elitist went on a unique night where there was not a lot of traffic, but the chef didn’t come out for our night.

Menu didn’t have a lot of protein options and was heavy on starches… We love Peruvian food and wanted to try but probably wouldn’t go back.

Peruvian food’s proteins usually consist of seafood and meats, but they definitely rely on starch such as rice, potatoes, and yucca. Although I understand their desire to do a larger steak portion for the table, I think it may be better to break this down to something more individualized.

Revisions

1. Dec 5, 2025 - Initial revision.