A solid Peruvian restaurant, staff was friendly and food was decently good. My Abuelita's friend told her about this place and she was super excited to finally visit and try! read more

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My favorite thing about Peruvian ceviche is the use of ginger. The way Peruvian cuisine incorporates aromatics makes its dishes stand out from other Latin cuisines, adding a depth of flavor that's truly unique. I also tried chicha morada for the first time, and I can already tell it's going to be a new obsession. I love corn, and I've never understood why the U.S. doesn't take better advantage of it in our cuisine, considering it's one of our biggest crops. It's definitely more of a casual vibe. But my Peruvian friend assured me that the prices are extremely reasonable for what we got, so I can't complain too much. read more

Huascaran - Lomo Saltado a la Criolla Ceviche - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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I'm sorry that i hadn't shared this review sooner as I've now made 3 trips to my favorite Peruvian restaurant in NoVA. Huascaran is located in a small strip mall at the intersection of Mt. Vernon Avenue and Braddock Road (next to the Food Star International Market). If your only exposure to Peruvian food is charbroiled chicken (which can be awesome) you really don't know what you're missing. The menu is big with a wide range of Peruvian specialities mixed in with more traditional Latin and typical American food. While most of the staff are Spanish only speakers, for those with limited Espanol, they are happy to get one of their more English fluent colleagues to help decipher and suggest options. As you might know, I am a true sucker for a great tamale, and they have them here. Chicken, cheese, pork are all regularly on the menu. And yes, I loved it, as it was accompanied by a small side of red onions, tomatoes and Jalapeno slices. This was a great start to what was coming next. On the Specials Board were two other intriguing options. The Aquadito soup is sort of a Peruvian version of chicken and rice soup. The base is chicken, rice and veggies, but the Peruvian version is outstanding with a puree of cilantro, chile peppers, onions, garlic and lime juice. Oh my! For our entree we also harnessed the power of the Specials Board for the Sudado Pollo. This is a perfectly cooked, falling off the bone chicken leg and placed over a large bed of lentils served with a side of rice. With all of this great and delicious food, i did not leave hungry, and I certainly had wonderful flavors in my mind (and mouth) to satiate me throughout the rest of the day! read more

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Huascaran delivers authentic Peruvian cuisine executed with precision and respect for tradition. We ordered the fried fish chicharrón, which was perfectly done--crispy on the outside, moist inside, clearly fresh fish, and not greasy at all. The seafood rice was excellent: well-balanced seasoning, properly cooked seafood, and rice with the ideal texture, showing solid technique and attention to detail. The chicha morada tasted natural and well-spiced, not overly sweet, exactly how it should be. For dessert, the flan stood out for its smooth texture and controlled sweetness, far from anything industrial. Attentive service and a comfortable atmosphere complete the experience. This is a restaurant that understands Peruvian cuisine and executes it correctly. Highly recommended. read more

Probably the best ceviche I've ever had. Love this authentic spot. Will definitely be back. read more

Huascaran - Ceviche de Pescado - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

New location has parking and is a bit larger and brighter with the windows. Food is still good. Service is still a bit slow but you can flag people down pretty easily. I like the breakfast plate and ceviche. Pollo saltado was pretty good too but a bit salty. read more

Huascaran - Pollo Saltado - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Huascaran is located in Del Ray and is a casual family owned Peruvian restaurant that serves a variety of Central and South American dishes. There was plenty of street parking available. You get a piece of complimentary (warm) bread with butter. We got the pupusa with pork and cheese to start and it was one of the best Pupusas I've had in the DMV area. The sauce from the Loma Saltado was flavorful and the steak pieces were super tender. The Sopa de Mariscos (seafood soup) was such a steal! There is so many pieces of shrimp, fish, squid, and a full crab. Lots of people ordered their ceviche and they serve breakfast plates all day. Huascaran serves huge portions at an affordable price. Don't be fooled by the unassuming exterior. It is definitely a neighborhood gem! read more

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I had to think over whether I wanted to post this or not as I'd selfishly like to keep this hidden gem for myself, but alas, the fine people that run this place deserve all the praise. Top notch Peruvian food. I don't think there is one comparable within a 20 mile radius. read more

Huascaran - Lomo Saltado - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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I was there today with my wife for lunch,She ordered a New York steak And She was served a T-Bone steak When I see a 10 oz NY Steak for under $30 I thought was a great deal,instead They brought a T-bone steak. I ordered a cau cau ,it is is to be a stew of beef tripe with potatoes,I get in instead potatoes with few pieces of tripe Service very attentive Food very poor I'll get them a star because there is nothing lower read more

The ceviche is perfect The lady who runs(assuming owns too) Is GREAT! Always great service! read more

This place is amazing! I'm Peruvian, came here with my Peruvian friends because they told me it was great and it really exceeded all my expectations in terms of having an authentic Peruvian flavor. My standard for Peruvian food is quite high because I grew up eating homemade Peruvian cuisine, and the seco de carne that I got just brought me back to the way my mom makes it and how I've had it in Peru. The meat was tender and flavorful. The chanfainita my cousin got was also amazing, and I was super surprised that they had picarones with the homemade sauce on the side (these are Peruvian donuts )! You'll see authentic Peruvian dishes on the menu that are rarely ever seen at your typical Peruvian restaurants. This is the beauty of it being a Peruvian family-owned restaurant, you really feel at home. 10/10 recommend! read more

This place is a hole in the wall, doesn't look great from outside, inside is okay but the food is another level of amazing. I have had good Peruvian food before but this took it to another level. I recommend!!!! read more

No frills little spot right across from the Birchmere that was pretty great. From the outside, I had my doubts, but inside it was a family run Peruvian restaurantwith lots of good options. I had mixed ceviche which was good and my kids had the lomo saltado (one had chicken and the other beef) and they both loved it. This place isn't fancy, but it's also not expensive. I'd recommend this spot to anyone looking for really good food at a great price. read more

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Food was good, rich in flavor. The spicy sauce was delicious. Not too overwhelming. The service provided was a tad bit slow, but still friendly and professional. The atmosphere was welcoming. read more

Huascaran - Jalea Mixta - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

They have been their for 25 years and getting better with age. Traditional dishes have been updated the fresh and brightly colored vegetables with just the right amount of seasonings. We got one of each and shared around, everything was perfect and surprisingly the fish dishes were the groups favorite. Overall a great experience!! read more

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Unfortunately we did not like their food. We order tamales con chicharrón. The tamales were ok, but we could not eat the chicharrones it tasted like it was old and reheated a few times...horrible!!! read more

This review is based on the service, food quality, and overall experience. For reference I've ordered: ceviche mixto, arroz chaufa de mariscos, and the sopa de marisos. Service: I've come to this restaurant multiple times and this place is pretty busy! Normally there is one server and one helper. The server is always helpful and patient. She will answer any questions you have and recommend things off the menu. Only down side- when the restaurant is packed you do not get as much service. For example, it might take 10 minutes for her to refill your drink, or you might have to ask her. They need more hands during peak hours. 4/5 Food: This restaurant is majority Peruvian food. I am Peruvian so I feel like I can give you a pretty good opinion of the dishes they serve. The ceviche here is excellent. It is always fresh when I visit and it is a great portion to share. The arroz chaufa de mariscos is good. I would say that it doesn't taste very Peruvian so it is prepared a bit different than what I am used to. They give you plenty of seafood and a good variety which is nice. This portion is also huge! Finally, the sopa de mariscos was good also, This is a very large bowl so it is enough for two people to share! As you can probably tell by everything that I order, I love seafood and this is a great and filling soup to have if you enjoy seafood as well. 4/5 Experience is always good! This is a home-style restaurant with TV's always playing soccer or Peruvian news. This is a good place to come and try Peruvian food, the prices are very reasonable. This place is small so you might have to wait for a table, but I doubt you will wait too long. They menu is full of variety and they have wonderful lunch deals during the week. 5/5 I would recommend this location for authentic Peruvian food. This is a gem to me since I live 10 minutes away and my other favorite Peruvian restaurants are in Maryland. For the portion and price, I say you can't beat it! read more

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Que el barrio ni su apariencia los asuste: El servicio, porciones y el costo son muy buenos. El ambiente es bien humilde, chico y solo hay espacio para que dos autos se estacionen. Huascaran es Totalmente recomendable #buenazo! read more

Yummy! As others have remarked, this is a no-frills, hole-in-the wall destination. Servers were attentive, but it definitely helps if you know some Spanish. We had the Aji de Gallina, Arroz Chaufa de Mariscos, and Lomo Saltado. All were solid dishes with good portion sizes. The Arroz Chaufa had a very good amount of calamari, fish, and other seafood. The Aji de Gallina and Lomo Saltado were also very good (although I've had better). We finished off our meal with warm donuts - delicious! read more

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In town for a meeting. There are no Peruvian restaurants in my home town so was excited to see this one. Fantastic casual atmosphere and delicious ceviche mixto. Would definitely recommend. read more

Huascaran - Ceviche Mixto - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

la comida muy buena pero tienen un problema que se sale todo el humo de la cocina a las mesas y yo salgo con el olor de comida demasiado impregnado en la ropa es urgente que pongan algun tipo de fan o extractor en la cocina me gusta mucho la comida pero no es comodo sentir que no quieres ir por el olor tan fuerte que sale de la cocina repito la comida muy buena pero tienen que resolver ese problema read more

Love this spot! Great food made with love. I've had dinner and breakfast here now and both were worth coming back for. The staff is also very friendly :) for breakfast I had the Desayuno Typico and that was plenty of food - steak, sausage, two eggs, pico, refried beans, plantains and cheese. Delicious and good value! I cannot say enough about the spicy green salsa, it's absolutely amazing!! read more

Pros: - Authentic MOM and POP Peruvian cuisine that was delicious - Homemade smoothies and juices - I had 3... mmmm.... - Extremely friendly service - Prices were well below market value for the area. I loved that they were reasonable and cheap! - They accept all major credit cards. I only mention this because a lot of Mom and Pop businesses prefer cash only. This isn't the case here, obviously. I am grateful. Cons: - If you don't know a lick of Spanish, then you're basically fucked. Their English is as limited as your Americanized watered down Spanish. Bring someone who has some intermediate level of comprehension to make this dining experience smoother. Either that, or pull out Google Translate. I'd go with the the first option though. - Service was SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. We sat down at 4:30 and didn't get our meal until 5:40. It wasn't that busy to take that long. I think they forgot about us, but there was no way to really ask her.... since we didn't speak Spanish. - Small restaurant means crawling over people. This happened. - Parking is availbable, but the lot is very small. Find parking down the street in the public lot for easier access. read more

Huascaran - sexiness on a plate. beef, cilantro, beans, rice in a stew. I forgot the name. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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I am Peruvian and every time I come to this place it reminds me of when my mom and I would ride the coach bus from Lima to Huancayo. The coach buses would stop at these road side restaurants/road stops where one could grab a bite to eat. Their food is fantastic and homestyle. Although, I wish the sopa de mondongo(tripe soup) had sheep's tongue in it, alas. They have also really recently started selling Firenze Gelato in the flavors Lucuma (!), passion fruit, and a few more that I can't recall off the top of my head. Good stuff. I recommend it if you like good homestyle food. read more

Huascaran - Live music today. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Breakfast in the afternoon ya'll! Omg good. I'm loving this. Straightforward, uncomplicated, clean food. Home feel to the place, comfortable. I had breakfast tipico - 2 fried eggs, beans, platanos and tortillas. With a Cristal beer. You could eat this and then chop wood for the next 8 hours no problem. I hope there's a subway station around here close bc I need this food every trip. read more

Huascaran - Breakfast tipico with a Cristal beer. 2 fried eggs, beans, crema, platanos and 2 tortillas. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The only reason I am giving this a 4 star rating is because of the service. The food was excellent. I had the papa rellena and aji de gallina - I gobbled them both up. The waitress was very scattered. It took a while to get her attention when we were getting ready to order. From the outside appearance, I was very hesitant to enter. I had heard good things about this place from some of my Peruvian friends so I decided to give it a try. read more

Huascaran - Aji de gallina - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Ordered seco amazing, ordered anticucho was flavorful. Chanfanita w mote was on point and you can't get it everywhere, I added lime to almost everything and green sauce. I have tried Peruvian restaurants all around the dmv, I am definitely coming back and bringing friends to try m read more

We used to go often, so we decided to go for Mother's Day. We literally well put in a corner and forgotten for over an hour without an explanation. We had the same glass of water the whole time. The food was bland and cold. If you are not a Peruvian regular, don't expect any service. It is clear we were not wanted there. read more

This quiet, small spot has a very domestic feel to it - haven't decided if the tables are all in what used to be a living room. In this case, it's a good thing - Huascaran is casual and welcoming. The pupusas were great, and at less than $2 each, a great value. Looking forward to the next time! read more

Hidden gem: I've been wanting to go here for years but never got around to it considering the many options in this zip code. And considering the limited info online and questionable exterior, a question marked always lingered in decision making. But finally we decided to go on a random weekday at noon and left more than satisfied. With many options, there is definitely something for everyone here. 5 stars: while it does take longer than typical places to get your food, they really put some heart into their product! read more

Huascaran - Carne asada, amazing... - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Before I start my review,, I'll just say that my fiancé is Peruvian. I've been to my fair share of Peruvian restaurants in the DMV area and I've had homemade dishes made by his family. This unfortunately will be marked as "probably won't return" on my imaginary Peruvian restaurant list. To start, the restaurant itself isn't that pretty. It's a white brick building and looks almost like someone's house inside (in a bad way). But sometimes places like these have the best food! We got what we usually get: ceviche de pescado, choros a la chalaca and an entree of anticuchos de corazon. About 30 sec after we got our food, I was greeted to the lovely sound of a fly dying on the table. Gross. My fiancé liked his ceviche, but my order, the choros a la chalaca, was mediocre. It didn't have much flavor, and the mussel taste was way too strong. We hoped the anticuchos would be a good last impression, but they were bloody and didn't taste good.. I couldn't even finish one skewer :( Sorry... The service was nothing to brag about either. The lady got annoyed because we "were asking too many questions" and didn't come back to the table until we finished. Wow read more

Huascaran - Choros a la chalaca - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

What a gem! A friend's bf, who is Peruvian, suggested this place for a pre-movie dinner. It's a true hole in the wall, in the best way possible. No frills, delicious and authentic food, and reasonably priced. Like others have said, it helps to have a Spanish speaker in the group to do the ordering - but I'm sure you could get away with simply pointing at menu items. For a group of 4, we ordered 2 pork tamales, ceviche, lomo saltado, and a large fried ball of dough filled with ground beef - the name escapes me - and we finished it all. The ceviche was fresh, and I loved the surplus of sliced red onions on every dish. And the tamale...probably one of the best I've had anywhere. They also offer Peruvian beer, and a handful of authentic beverages like horchata and a yummy corn based drink. Places like this tend to be cash-only, but luckily Huascaran accepts cards. Highly recommend!! read more

I must admit that I never would have stopped her if my Peruvian friend didn't take me. Def a hole in the wall but delicious. Don't expect anything visually glamorous when you walk in though as it could use a make over on inside. I'm a vegetarian so wasn't expecting to find much to eat however let's just say I left with a happy (and full) belly. I ordered: 1.) Papa la huancayina (potatoes in a spicy cheese sauce). I really liked the sauce here compared to other places I have had this because it def had S little spicy kick. The potatoes however were a little on the tougher side. Would have liked them more soft. 2.) Cheese Papusas - I loved these! Prob some of the best ones I've ever had. 3.) Ceviche - my friend ordered this and he seemed to slurp it down right away so it must have been good. The lady running the show there (.guessing the owner) was very nice and I will be back for more! read more

Huascaran - Papa la huancayina - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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A true hidden gem. As close as you will get to authentic Peruvian food in the area. Fresh pastries and made from scratch drinks. Food will take awhile to make because it is FRESH. If you are patient and want quality freshly made food then this is for you. If you are looking for something quick and subpar go to one of the chains around available everywhere. read more

Stumbled on this place when I was looking for something new to try. The outside doesn't look like much but inside it's full of families and people on their lunch break. I had the Sopa de Mariscos -- seafood soup. The crab and mussels were a bit overdone but the shrimp and the broth were excellent!!! Next time I would probably get the Shrimp Soup. House salad was really good too -- fresh and I really liked their homemade dressing. read more

Go for the food, not the ambiance! They serve pretty good Peruvian food. This place has a mom and pop vibe and the dishes have a homemade feel. Don't let the squirrelly looking exterior fool you! Yes it's a hole in the wall, but sometimes that's where you get solid authentic food. read more

Good Peruvian food. Lomo saltado was delicious. Papas a la huancaina were so good. Small little place but the food is authentic and delicious!! read more

Huascaran - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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My wife and I were in Potomac Yard and nothing there really struck us as a great place to eat. After doing a search and reading a couple reviews, we decided to try this place. This restaurant is right across the street from The Birchmere. It is very small and parking is minimal. There is some street parking though. I had a bean and cheese pupusa and the lomo beef saltado. The meat was tender and the potatoes were not soggy. Overall it was pretty good. I also tried a bean and cheese pupusa, which was also good. The reason for the 3 star review is because the service wasn't that great and it was a long wait for food considering the size of this restaurant. I would also say I have had better Peruvian food and would recommend "Mi Rico Peru" in Franconia. read more

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Doesn't look like much from the outside but the place is clean and people are very friendly. I've been there a couple of times and so far everything has been great. I had the Leche de Tigre (it's a cup with ceviche and lots of ceviche juice) and it was great and perfectly spicy. I had the crab soup and it was very tasty but I liked their Parihuela better. It had big shrimp, clams and mussels. Just amazing. During the week they have lunch specials for $9 and I ordered 2 to go for later. One is Aji de Gallina (creamy shredded chicken stew), and the other was Asado (roast beef with delish gravy, rice and mashed potatoes). Both awesome! Big portions and a great deal! Each one came with beef soup, full of veggies, a piece or corn and a chunk of tender beef. This place is legit Peruvian. Their flavors are on point and prices are fair. I'll be coming back to try more dishes from their menu. read more

I wanted to support this business. But the lomo saltado was dry and uninspired. Not the same cut of meat (tough) in pictures. Very disappointed. read more

Huascaran - Lomo Saltado a la Criolla Very dry and uninspired - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia