We finally have a traditional Peruvian restaurant in our neighborhood, Recoleta. We’ve had the more upscale, fusion, Nikkei style food available nearby – from a few years back when La Causa Nikkei opened, to the more recently opened Che Perú and Lima, the place I reviewed in the last post. And, of course, our own Casa SaltShaker with our heavily Peruvian influenced cuisine. And, a friend of Henry’s spot San Vicente that includes a couple of Peruvian dishes among its Argentine offerings. But we haven’t had a full-on homestyle Peruvian cooking restaurant any closer than barrio Once until just a few weeks ago.
Enter La Cocina de Yovita, Talcahuano 1048, just off of Av. Santa Fé. Now, Yovita has been a friend of ours for years. We first met her back in 2006 where she was helping out the chef of the Peruvian embassy put on a ceviche demonstration for a weeklong Peruvian cultural festival. She was a friend of one of Henry’s dance teachers, and she worked as a private chef near to us, so I often run into her at local markets, and she’s come over for lunch or dinner a couple of times. And, finally, she got to open her own restaurant – spurred on by the pandemic, when the private chef gig disappeared. I’ve been twice now, once with the Horde, to check out the food. There’s not a lot of decor yet to check out – I’m assuming that’s coming, down the line. At lunchtime, the crowd seems mostly neighborhood folk, and heavily Argentine rather than Peruvian, which, given the area, is probably to be expected.
The menu is a lot shorter than the typical Peruvian spot offers here, focusing on a maybe two dozen dishes total, between appetizers and main courses, and definitely Lima-cuisine oriented, which I believe is where she’s from. There are a couple of Argentine simple classics, like a milanesa, as well, probably to attract some local custom, though on two visits I didn’t see anyone not trying Peruvian dishes, including several people who clearly weren’t familiar with the cuisine, and who were taking recommendations. That’s a good thing!
Here, their classic ceviche, a portion big enough to share around the table. Pristinely fresh fish, really good leche de tigre, albeit for our tastes we could have gone far spicier, but extra chilies and hot sauce brought to the table. Excellent!
A very good pork tamal. Not a lot to say about it other than we’d happily eat more of them!
I rarely see a papa rellena, stuffed potato, on Peruvian menus here, so we had to go for one when we saw this. Much more refined than the usual version I’ve seen in Lima, and it could have used a bit more filling in relation to potato, but absolutely delicious.
Always one of my test dishes of a Peruvian kitchen, the chicharrón de pollo, my favorite of the various types of Peruvian fried chicken (see the bottom of this post for details). A generous portion of boneless, crispy chicken over beautiful slices of roasted potato, an excellent cebollito, an onion and tomato salad, and decent, if mild, hot sauce. Happy camper.
The one dish I was a bit disappointed in. I love tallarines verdes, which are noodles, usually spaghetti or linguini, tossed in “Peruvian pesto” and accompanied by either a highly seasoned steak or piece of chicken, and papas a la huancaina. Now, the way I learned to make it, and acknowledging that there are many ways to make a traditional dish like this, is a blend of basil, spinach, garlic, white onion, peanuts, cheese, milk, salt, and white pepper. This was a very liquidy sauce that tasted of little more than spinach. The steak was fine, if a tad overcooked. And the huancaina sauce was a bit bland. What can I say? Oh, I said it.
A European influenced dish that’s become a staple of fancier Lima dining, as well as here in Argentina, lomo a la pimienta, or, as we tend to refer to it in English-French mashup, steak au poivre. Perfectly cooked piece of sirloin, tender as could be, roasted Andean potatoes, and a creamy pepper sauce. Yum!
Although the dessert menu offers half a dozen selections, only three were available on either visit, and we decided on a torta tres leches, a three-milk cake, a dish that’s ubiquitous, though widely varied in how it’s made, throughout Latin America. Delicate sponge cake soaked in three different milks (in the Peruvian version, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and evaporated milk), and with whipped cream and a hefty dose of cinnamon atop, plus a cream sauce. A whole lotta dairy going on, and tasty as could be!
I love the coffee service in terms of visual, though that handle-less cup gets a bit hot to pick up. Interesting that it’s not served with milk, not that I put any in my coffee anyway, but it wasn’t offered. I’m sure you could ask for it. Oh, and it was really good coffee.
Overall, nice space, though it could use some artwork or something to warm it up a little. Service was excellent on both visits – friendly, efficient, and from what I saw of the waitresses’ interactions with other tables, very helpful for those who aren’t familiar with Peruvian dishes. Food, with one exception that was just okay, was very good to excellent. Prices are reasonable, especially for Recoleta, with appetizers running around 600-700 pesos ($6-7) and main courses from about 800 to 1200 ($8-12). They also offer a menú ejecutivo, the lunchtime prix fixe, though I didn’t ask what it costs, nor did I see anyone, on either visit, ordering it. Definitely recommended!
