I came here on a Sunday night keen to try something a bit different from the typical chain food slowly blighting the palates of much of the western world. I certainly wasn't disappointed.
On arrival I was given the choice of sitting outside to enjoy the last of the evening sun or inside on one of many tables well spaced apart but all with views into the open kitchen and the inviting bar.
I was presented with 3 menus. Food, wine and cocktails.
I decided to go with a combination of the recommendations made and my personal tastes.
The food menu covers 4 optional courses and priced consistent with any major city. The sourced ingredients I would discover later made all the difference to the flavours and I was grateful for the choice of quality over value which so often takes the edge of many great dishes.
Having spent the day running the Rotterdam Marathon and several weeks of training restricting both what I eat and drank, this meal would be an opportunity to get some calories and pleasure back into me. I wasn't going to restrict myself.
I ordered 2 cocktails to contrast the spectrum of traditional Peruvian cocktails. Starting with a Pisco Sour followed by a Chilcano. The Pisco Sour was an instant hit. The zest and flavours of the limes mixed with the sweet sugar syrup, bitters and egg white served as an excellent palate cleanser and set me in the mood for a great meal. I do not tend to enjoy cocktails usually finding them too sweet. But the Pisco Sour I think may now be my drink of choice.
To Start I ordered Civiche Mixto. This consisted of prawn, octopus and kingfish served with sweet potato purée, corn, avacado and red onion. Flakes of sea salt had been added to the Avacado which helped bring out the flavour and juices. the sweet potato purée was a revelation with the fish, raising it to a whole new level.
I them choose a lamb dish Seco de Corderito a la Nortena. This was beautifully presented. The intense sauce was fantastic full of flavours and heat which hit your tongue, but did not overpower the flavours. The lamb was cooked to perfection. Flaking away and melting in the mouth, yes still with the pinkness require to deliver the flavour.
This was all served with a Peruvian White Chardonnay. Bursting with flavours of bananna and much drier than the buttery Australian versions we have become accustomed.
Absolutely outstanding. I shall be back despite it being in a different country. read more