The food is incredible. Me & my husband are Peruvian food fans & wherever we travel we try the local restaurants, to remind us of our dating years. The food was a variation of traditional Peruvian that was really well done, something unique that we hadn't tried in more than a decade of sampling Peruvian restaurants. Portions were small, but that's what we expected. That mango chicharrón salad, my dear goodness, it might have been the best chicharrón I have eaten in my whole life.
Unfortunately, the glorious experience of the food was tainted by the atmosphere. Even if we had reservations, we were led to the bar, where I was given a seat at an end & only one of my feet could reach the underneath metal rail, while the other was hanging. My leg hurt by the end of the meal & we had to rush our dinner. I saw a couple of tables still available on the terrace, but we were told only the bar was available. When we left, the tableS (yes, plural) were still available.
The music was incredibly LOUD, YES, VERY LOUD TO THE POINT OF HAVING DIFFICULTY HAVING A CONVERSATION & WE HAD TO SHOUT AT EACH OTHER, & it was very annoying reggaeton more apt for a dance floor than for drinks with friends while you eat & talk. The food had amazing presentation, or that's what we think, because the inside of the place was very dark & they had this very bright red neon sign making everything very red, so the work spent on the presentation of the food was wasted.
I am sad writing this review, because this is truly a great, innovative approach to Peruvian food. This food is extraordinary, is so well done, with so much craft & attention to detail. We truly loved it, & that's something that doesn't usually happen with us & variations of Peruvian food. Yet, the rest of the experience left a lot to be desired & shows a lack of respect for the food they make. The lighting choice was truly puzzling, honestly, what's the point of investing so much effort into the presentation of food that you can barely see? You can see in the pictures of other reviews how red everything looks here.
I hope that they fix these issues, because the food is truly remarkable. & maybe we are not the target audience of this place, true, but, hey, at least seat people in such a way their legs don't hurt & they have ti rush dinner.
Repas INCROYABLE, service INCROYABLE, un endroit à essayer à MTL! Merci à Pauline pour l'excellent service & recommandations.
