Puro sabor is the bomb bizzle! Especially the seafood dishes.

I've been coming here on and off since it opened. It's hard to find good peruvian food in certain areas. First few years were really good. Staff was friendly, food was good, portions were good and you got your food fairly fast. Lately though, it hasn't been all that great. I'm not basing it of a single experience either. This has been consistent the last 5 times I've gone. Portion sizes have gotten much smaller, prices have not. I just ate there yesterday for lunch and I was still hungry after eating my meal. The flavor was still very good, just not satisfying... even my wife was able to finish her meal (before she could not). The staff is friendly, but can be slooooooowwwww depending who is working that day. Going in for a late lunch (after rush hour), you can easily spend 30 minutes waiting for your food after ordering (happened the last 3 times I was there). I know to order two Inca Kolas for myself because it could be a while before I see the waitress again. I think the flavor is the best you can get withing a 15 mile areas. If I'm short on time (but still have 30 mins to wait for my food just in case) I'll eat there. read more

Puro Sabor has amazing food. The ceviche is amazing, it's so simple and fresh. Sometimes I order a strawberry or fresh fruit juice for my daughter - it might take a little while longer, but it's worth the wait. Also the Lomo Saltado's are really good and worth trying. The area is fine - there is nothing crazy about it, just park on Van Nuys or around the corner (meter parking) and you'll be ok. Service might be a little slow sometimes because there is only one waitress working there usually, with one chef as well. But everyone is very nice and the food is worth it! read more

The lomo saltado is very tasty! The pan Frances is always fresh. The green salsa is delicious! read more

Puro Sabor - Latin American Near Me - Van Nuys, California

See all

Sabroso! Puro Sabor is a delicious Mom&Pop Peruvian joint in the NoHo ghetto but don't let the location fool you. The food is humble with just the right touch of sophistication. The ceviche mixto and lomo saltado are each stellar and IMO better than Mario's. Two caveats: it is only open until 9pm so get there by 830p or 840p at the very latest. Also, there is no beer or wine so it's BYOB with a receipt if you so desire. read more

*gahhhhh* Am salivating just thinking about the food here. That also pretty much describes what I was doing during 40 minute wait I had for my food after ordering. I watched plate after delicious plate being handed to other tables until finally my order arrived. Total bliss! I don't know what took so long, but my food was hot and delicious so I considered it worth the wait. Hands down the best Peruvian food I've had in Los Angeles. I'd give it 5 stars if not for the slow service. read more

I had dinner at Puro Sabor with friends last night. I ordered the Saltado (sauteed) with beef, shrimp, and chicken. It was served with a side of steamed rice. The saltado was delicious. The portions were perfect. My friends I got to the restaurant fairly early in the evening and we were seated immediately. By the time we finished our dinner, the place was packed. I would definitely go back again. read more

I love the food hear. The Lomo Saltado was tasty, spicy, and it was interesting to see fries sprinkled throughout it. My favorite part are the appetizers. The fried plantains are like candy, and the salmon and avocado is good as well. I'd say that the only vice I have with the place is that the server usually hangs out in the corner doing homework or on her laptop, and she's not always aware of when customers need attendance. She's always very nice and polite though, and it doesn't take too much effort to gain her attention. read more

Have been wanting to try this place for quite a while, so when a friend of mine said he would love to try Peruvian food, the decision was made! I had the Tallarin Saltado con Carne, and he had the Bistec a lo Pobre. Both were delicious. I'm Peruvian and my friend was a first-timer and we would both come back. The servers were also both very nice with just the right level of attentiveness. read more

They don't speak English. Atmosphere left me empty. Fish was cold and wet. read more

This place is one of 4 Peruvian joints in the 4 mile radius. The food is good though a tad bit overpriced. They're a little trigger happy with the salt, maybe it's just me. The service is good however sometimes when the non English speaking lady is there it's very hard to place a phone order. Other that no complaints as I continue to come back. read more

Puro Sabor - Good wall colors. Ugly ceiling. Yummy food. - Latin American Near Me - Van Nuys, California

Love this Peruvian Restaurant. Granted the parking in situation is not ideal but the food is great. The customer service is great. Food is ready promptly. It is a little pricey but I wouldn't say it's overpriced. It is worth it. Been going for more than 6 years and never disappoints. Highly recommend. read more

I was debating to five 2 or 3 stars. The food service of our waitress prompt me to give 3 stars. I think this place is overrated. It does not have good solid dishes for a 4 star It is on van nuts Blvd between victory and Fryars. There is metered parking in front, but there is parking on the rear of the building. Just go around the corner and enter the back Alley The place look clean. Decor and furniture looks a lil outdated We ordered aji de gallina. ( some call it spicy almond chicken because the almond flavor) unfortunately , this was a big disappointment it has no chicken, chile, or pecan/ almond flavor. It was just a bread suace with pieces off boiled chicken. We also ordered a lomo saltado and it was a good solid lomo saltado. Beef was tendered. Good flamed flavor, juicy and with a good hint of soy sauce Service was good. Our waitress was very friendly and polite. When she noticed that I only had one bite of the aji de gallina, she offered to change the plate I would need to try other plates here to see if this restaurant delivers good flavor, but sen read more

See all

I love Peruvian food, but this is the only place I've been to that specializes in seafood. You can get things here that regular Peruvian places don't have. Both my girlfriend and I got fried fish dishes and they were both very good. The oysters looked good, but I didn't have room to try them. read more

I ordered the lomo saltado and it was good. The meat was tender and the flavor was savory. Not the greatest but I will be back from time to time since it's close to my neighborhood. read more

I called today to order take-out, since i know they close at 9PM. They said within 15 to 20 minutes, and sure enough, when I arrived, food was ready and packed. But I noticed there were tons of people still in the middle of dinner, so I knew it'd be long before they closed. I asked the waitress if I could eat the food there at the restaurant, to which she said "of course!". She offered if I wanted her to serve the food in regular plates, but I was fine with the foam containers (and hungry!). I had the fish called Pescado A Lo Macho, and it was even better than the Lomo Saltado beef I'd had a few months before. This fish was so fresh! And it was breaded and fried in vegetable oil, and they pour seafood in a butter based sauce on top of the fish. It came with about 5 regular sized shrimp, calamari and I believe conch meat or octopus, all in that yellow butter sauce. It came with a side of steamed white rice. DELICIOUS! And I had the Picarones for dessert, which are doughnuts in honey sauce -- these are not your typical doughnut made of flour, but rather made with something else, a little different in taste, but good. And of course, I had a passion fruit juice, all natural and refreshing. Total came to $22.72 w/ tax. :-) read more

#74 of the "101 Cheap Eats" article in the June 2012 issue of Los Angeles Magazine. First off they have free parking that can be accessed through the alley out back. The gated door to the far left is open. We sat ourselves and were handed menus soon afterwards. Started with the Papa Rellena. It's a fried mashed potato about the size of a fist stuffed with seasoned ground beef and chopped raisins, olives, and hard boiled eggs served with a side of pickled purple onions. It was a nice start to the meal. They also serve complimentary bread that's baked fresh daily for them from the "Las Americas Panaderia Y Pasteleria" in North Hollywood. For our entrees we ordered the Lomo Saltado (rib eye strips) and the Lomo a lo Macho (rib eye, shrimp, octopus and squid). Both were stir fried and mixed with french fries, sliced tomatoes and purple onions along with a sauce I can't quite put my finger on. Soy sauce & vinegar? I don't know. Overall we were happy with the meal and left full and satisfied. Our server today was Mary and did a great job considering she was the only one in the front of the house. She greeted the guests, handed out menus and silverware, took orders, answered the business phone several times, served the meals and dealt out the checks. We never waited very long for anything. If you've been to Choza Mama the Saltado here is not as salty as that one. Not to say that Choza Mama is too salty. read more

See all

I decided to be a little adventurous and tried Peruvian food for the first time in my life. I had the Lomo Saltado which was very good -- strips of steak, fries, onions, red bell pepper. The steak could have been more tender and flavorful if it were marinated longer. The Peruvian aji sauce (green sauce) was fantastic! It was so spicy that a little tiny fleck of the sauce made my mouth burn. :) I also had the fish ceviche which was also good because it was really flavorful, but there was so much fish that I got tired of eating it. Chew chew chew...chew chew chew... Let's just say I still prefer sushi. I don't know how Puro Sabor's food compares to the other Peruvian restaurants in LA, so I'll definitely need to try a few other places for comparison. read more

A delightful little Peruvian space, unassumingly located in Van Nuys. Who would've guessed it? I was one of the only people in the small dining room who probably spoke English as a native language. The lomo saltado was delicious. The bread was hot and tasty. Slather some of that green sauce on both and your mouth will be on fire, but it's worth it. There was some good live music which put you in just the right mood. Too bad it's so far away from where I usually hang out. read more

This place has still got it! A hit or miss at times but I can't stay stay away; I can't help but to love it for what it is. Service can be a little slow but on a good day it's very prompt. I always have the lomo saltado but I saw the tallarin saltado that my mom ordered and I can't wait to go back to try it! In the end, this place still has really great food and it's all about the flavor like the name says :) read more

Just about the only perk of our AAA membership is Westways. OK, that and the battery service...but I digress. Puru Sabor was excellent! fish, steak, rice, plantains...all of it fresh and tasty! Food just took forever to come out and they never brought any time killers out while we where waiting like bread or water. read more

The lomo saltado is stellar here. The steak has really great flavor and I love mixing in the rice with the sauce. I'd really recommend getting the lomo saltado. We also ordered a fresh pineapple juice here which was really good as well. I've missed the selection of fresh fruit juices that was on every menu in Latin America! The complimentary bread they brought out at the start of the meal was also really warm/fresh - yum! The other dishes we ordered were not as good. The fried plantains were a little thicker than I was expecting, so it tasted more banana-like (I'm not super fond of bananas :p). The picantes de camarones were disappointing as well. I ordered it because it seemed to be popular according to the other yelp reviews, but I found it overwhelmingly buttery without much flavor. I wouldn't get it again. Tl;dr get the lomo saltado, it's really good! Was not as impressed with the other dishes read more

Best Arroz Chaufa in town.. buffett first Wednesday of the month .. delish Great service read more

I'd actually give this place 3 and a half stars if I could. I thought the lomo saltado here is pretty good but it just wasnt as good as Mario's in Hollywood. Don't get me wrong though its very tasty and I definitely head over to Puro Sabor whenever I have a craving for peruvian.... On the plus side compared to Mario's its a lot more accessible for people living in the Valley. read more

Yummy food that I can't pronounce! I had the ceviche entree as well as the beef squares with potatoes. Everything was delish! My boyfriend thought the ceviche was too acidic but I thought they were yummy. I put minus one for not so great service. I mean, the lady was nice, but she wasn't very attentive especially when it came to filling our empty water glasses. We ended up getting the pitcher and filling them ourselves, but the food was tasty. Plus, I think they were featured in Bon Appetit so it must be pretty darn good. Yum! read more

Great tasty Peruvian food! My foodie aunt, uncle and cousin told me to pick up food there and I wasn't disappointed. We had Lomo Saltado and Chicken Saltado AND chiviche! All great tastes. I can't wait to go back. Up side, the prices were reasonable for Peruvian food...downside, because they don't give a lot of meat. But its still a good value. read more

When I first read about this place in the Triple A magazine I immediately went the next day to try out there Lomo Saltado plate, and there Fried Pumpkin donut's. The dough nuts were okay as for the Lomo Saltado it was great. The last time i had a really good Lomo Saltado dish was at Mario's Peruvian on Melrose. I live in the vicinity of Puro Sabor, when ever I get a hankering for Lomo Saltado I go here. Parking can get a bit sucky sometimes. I have heard many of a complaint about the service also. I usually get my order to go. read more

The camaron saltado was ok. Their green sauce tasted like cilantro with pepper. The plate was good except their proportions were off. Very little fries but very generous with the shrimp! The place was shabby, like most. It looked clean but there was a cockroach in the restaurant. Very possible that it trailed in from outside(we were sitting in the back though), but still gross. read more

Puro Sabor - Little fella that waddled in while we were dining... - Latin American Near Me - Van Nuys, California

Thr best peruvian buffett every second Wednesday of the month The best lomo saltado,nice restaurant and good service Good job Puro Sabor read more

This was my first exposure to Peruvian food and I was told from friends this was a great place to eat. We ordered the Tallarin Saltado de Camaron (Shrimp with pasta and vegetables) which was very tasty. We also had the Pescado Frito (Lightly Fried Fish with rice & onion salad) The food was very good and I will go back again, but the portions were a little on the small side and I still felt hungry. For 4 of us to eat it cost a little over $50. I will definitely come back again to try some other dishes. read more

I only deducted 1 star because I agree with some of the other yelpers reviews and the service is a bit slow. I definitely want to come back because the food was Delicious!!! read more

Puro Sabor - Ceviche de mariscos - Latin American Near Me - Van Nuys, California

See all

Huge disappointment! Shrimp ceviche with remove the tails from your shrimp? Really??? Food lacks flavor. Won't be back! read more

Very good authentic Peruvian food! We were craving some Picarones a fried donut like pastry that you dip in syrup. They were delicious! My girl also ordered "Jalea" fried shrimp, calamari, clams and fish. I've never had it (I'm Mexican she's Peruvian) it was awesome!!! The waitress, Mary took our order over the phone. She was very nice. When we arrived our order was ready to go! I totally recommend this hidden gem. read more

Puro Sabor - So, so bad, yet so good!!! - Latin American Near Me - Van Nuys, California

My wife and I decided to go here after reading a blurb in a magazine about "cheap eats" in the valley. I know, I know...it's totally not my style to take the recommendation of some writer gearing his article toward the "bonehead masses", but it was a rainy weekend and I had nothing to do. The neighborhood is a bit shady (but that is to be expected with Van Nuys Blvd. near the state building). We decided to get the Ceviche, muscles, and a fried combination platter. $30.00 and waaaay too much food for or two normal people (regardless of what the menu claims). The Ceviche was truly amazing! I'm a huge fan of every variation on this dish (and I make a pretty good one myself too) but it's difficult to find one that has as much character as this one. The roasted Hominy and red onions add a brilliant textural difference in the dish. The muscles were pretty good (about a 6/10). The muscles themselves weren't anything to speak of, but they were topped with a pico de gallo style chutney which really "made the dish". We probably could've done without the fried combo plate but we were really interested in sampling the whole gradient. The fried plantains were good but the calamari, fried muscles, and fried white fish were all pretty average. The Service needs a bit of improvement. Although the owner was courteous and very eager to please, the rest of the servers were negligent in delivering our beverages and were reluctant to check on us throughout the course of the meal. Luckily, the quality of the fare was enough of a redeeming factor. If you find yourself in the Valley and in need of some cheap eats with some culture behind them, this is definitely the place to go. read more

Found this place through Yelp. The Lomo Saltado is tasty!! Small place. Service could have been better there's was only one waitress working at the time and had to call her over every time. read more

Started with the Yuca a la Huancaina. The sauce was tasty but the yucca was small and very dry. The waitress said "well, they are frozen and that's how they come..??!!" Really? Had the Seco de Carne con Frijoles. Certainly looked great. The meat was very tender but I really wished that it had flavor! Seems that they cook the meat separately and add it to the stew. Beans and rice were spot on. All in all, I've had worse. Will come back back but not order the yuca. read more

Best lunch ever... I was amazed with the flavor and color. Fresh food, quality service, promped. Highly recommended. read more

Puro Sabor was great. We got a ceviche with Shrimp, Squid, and Octopus and it was tasty, maybe too many onions for my wife, but we both liked. I somehow convinced myself to get the $12 shirmp chowder soup, and surprisingly it was worth every penny. There must have been a dozen shrimp in it and the broth was excellent. The fried pumpkin dish for dessert was glorious. I can't remember what it was called but the second I asked the waiter for the fried pumpkin dish, he knew what I was asking for. Go here now. read more

The customer service at this place is AWFUL! Went here for lunch the host was a young guy who pointed to nothing but dirty tables. We sat for 10 minutes and nothing! No one came to clean the table or ask if we'd like something to drink. After about 15 mins. We decide to leave! Mind you the tables were still unattended! Ps, the parking SUCKS! read more

Best Peruvian restaurant in the valley. Love all their food and the service that Mary our waitress give me and my husband all the time it's excellent never disappointed. The food it's great always fresh and delicious and the service leave me wanting nothing else. If you stop buy make sure to try the ceviche, the lomo saltado and the steaks are great too. read more