The Omar Niode Foundation is honored to reblog with permission this interesting piece by NIKMEK.  Visit www.nikmek.com to read  more about interesting places, sounds, sights, feelings, and most importantly about people.

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Just a 5 minute walk from the Tottenham Court Road tube station in London sits the Peruvian restaurant Ceviche. Along Frith Street where a string of restaurants from Thai, Japanese, to burger joints rest, Ceviche specializes in just that, Ceviche!

What is Ceviche?

Ceviche is: A South American dish of marinated raw fish or seafood typically garnished and served as an appetizer.

During lunch it is quite quiet, but usually busy during dinner when everyone is off from work.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is very friendly, waiters and waitresses are extremely attentive so that they know what they are serving and how you would like it served to you.

I get a seat in front of the window and right next to the bar. There are 2 men chatting away over some drinks at the bar as they nibble on Cancha, a toasted Chulpe corn with a crunch to every bite (this is served with all drinks).

Further inside the main dining area is filled with people and tourists from around the area having their lunches. There is a glass hexagon shaped window that is fitted nicely in the center of the ceiling which sheds just the right amount of light upon the guests of the restaurant. Recipe books on Peruvian cooking (which are on sale through their website or through the restaurant itself) along with old vinyls and jars of spices are perched up on shelves along the wooden dining area and add a a toasty, homey feel to the venue.

You see the picture that reads “Tiger’s Milk”? It is what Peruvians put in the Ceviche. Tiger’s Milk (or Leche De Tigre), is a citrus based marinade which is put into the Ceviche to cure the seafood. It usually consists of lime juice, sliced unions, chili, salt, and pepper.

I am recommended by a very attractive waitress the Coetel Le Tigre. This is made up of seabass, diver caught scallop, crab meat, pisco, avacados, tomatoes, and seabass’ tiger milk.

She also then recommends the Causa Santa Rosa. What is Causa? Causa are potatoes mixed with oil, lime juice and usually ají amarillo all mashed together. A sort of soft potato cake. This particular one is topped with a creamy beetroot salad and avocados and mixed with coriander which is why the cake is green.

And because I am writing to try new things, I add to my order the plate of Ensalada De Quinoa, a circular looking dish with quinoa, tomatoes, avocados white beans, coriander, lime, and limo chili vinaigrette. The waitress then tells me that I must have their signature cocktail: Pisco Sour.

I’m not so much in the mood for alcohol, but hey what the hell, I want to try everything that this girl is recommending.

A Pisco Sour is a mixture of Pisco Quebranta, lime, sugar, syrup, egg white, and Peruvian Chunco bitters.

SO, lets do this one by one shall we?

The first thing that comes,

Along with my Chanca, the drink has just the right amount of alcohol, it is not too strong to drink in the middle of the day. The egg whites make a nice foam top layer making the first sip frothy. You don’t taste the alcohol until the after taste, instead the first thing you do taste is the lime, a citrusy sweet combination that gives a good zing to the tongue.

This has got to be the freshest thing I have ever tasted. The seabass tastes like it was just bought from a market and cut right in front of me, still pink and white. The avocados, tomatoes, and tiger’s milk mixed in overcoating the seabass give the dish a nice spicy kick waking up all taste buds. It is like a rainbow of all the primary colors (excluding blue) and is kept chilly through ice. The black mushroom and very crisp prawn which is placed faultlessly on the top of the glass that it is served to complete the presentation. Oh, and did I mention, it is just as delicious as it sounds?

The beetroot salad upon the lime green square potato cake is just the right amount of richness. Its not too creamy so it does not overtake the taste of the causa. The causa is like a fluffy potato pillow that is filled with coriander savor, and sort of has a sweet flavor to it actually. The avocados camouflage in the middle of the causa and the beetroot salad and become a sort of neutralizer between the 2 flavors. The flamboyant sweet potato chip placed beautifully on top add a touch of art to the presentation. The prettiest dish I have seen so far.

Recommended to me by none other than food blogger herself, Stephanie, this is probably the best quinoa salad I have ever had. The microscopic seeds are mixed in with the tomatoes, onions, and avocados perfectly, and the dressing gives the right desirable taste of tang. The beans give a good crunchy factor to the dish, and with that I finish the whole plate.

Stuffed and completely satisfied with my Peruvian lunch, Ceviche has to be one of the most unique restaurants I have tried in London (or maybe I haven’t been trying enough unique ones!). It isn’t so outrageous that your tummy can’t handle it, but it is unique in the sense that it is something new. I mean c’mon, how many times are you going to have quality Peruvian dishes beautifully served to you outside of Peru?

If you wanna check Ceviche out go to their website http://cevicheuk.com/.

You won’t regret it!

@cevicheuk

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All images by NIKMEK