Guess what features prominently on the menu of this couple of months old Peruvian restaurant in Soho? Yep, Peru's national dish, ceviche. Flip the menu over and it's an equally Peruvian proud read of cocktails and shots centred around Peru's famed grape brandy, Pisco.
If your mood is raw, then Ceviche is the place for you. From the simple raw fish/lime/chilli/sea salt creations on the front of the menu to the raw egg white/Pisco/lime/sugar syrup/bitters concoctions on the back, the restaurant does this trendy cuisine delicious justice … and just in time before heavy weight Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez opens the doors to his Lima restaurant later this spring.
Dishes are tapas size and made for sharing. Three or four savoury dishes per person is the recommendation. At roughly six or seven quid per item, a proper dine here is not cheap but as good a deal as any on Frith Street. Quality of the food and drink is high. Service is warm, efficient and incredibly accommodating (or at least it was during our lunchtime visit). The vibe is mellow yet still has a bit of a buzz about it.
Dishes worth sampling? The Don Ceviche (fresh sea bass ceviche in ají amarillo chilli “tiger’s milk”, ají limo, chilli and red onions, £6.75) and the pulpo anitcuchos (grilled skewers of braised octopus marinated in ají panca chilli anticucho sauce with a “coriander cool” Peruvian potato mini cake and anticuchera olive sauce, £8.75) are but two deserving special mention. As for drinks, the house Pisco sour (Pisco Quebranta,lime,sugar syrup,egg white and Amargo Chuncho bitters, £5.50) sets a tasty standard for action behind the bar.
Think of Ceviche as the Peruvian equivalent of Wahaca, Camino or Dishoom. And if this newbie Latin resto can garner similar success, then London will be all the yummier for it.
Ceviche is located at 17 Frith Street, W1D 4RG.
Photo/Chris Osburn
