Peruvian in Toronto

Here's the official best of Peru in Toronto

1. El Fogon

Ian, Anne and I went on Friday night. Things started well with the obligatory Inca Kola and some bread with aji (spicy pepper sauce). For appetizers, papas a la huancaina (potatoes with creamy egg sauce) and calmari were delightful. Main course of pescado frito (fried white fish with rice, plantain and salad), lomo saltado (beef with tomatoes, onion, fries and rice) and chicken with rice, beans and coriander sauce were all excellent and reasonably priced. Dessert was a highlight with flaky alfajor cake (dulche de leche filling) and creamy creme caramel.

Review #1
Review #2

Best of all - high marks for authenticity!

We've been about 10 times, and it's always consistently tasty with good service and decent prices.

2. Boulevard Cafe

Ian has been a number of times and me once. No major complaints, although much of the menu is Peruvian "influenced" rather than dishes you would actually find in Peru. It's a bit higher end and higher priced than El Fogon.

Review #1
Review #2

3. El Plebeyo

See our previous issues with this place. Not noted on Ian's post is the horrendously large multipage menu. For a small, not very busy joint, how could anything possibly be fresh? I suspect quite large portions of the menu are coming out of the freezer!

Ian's El Plebeyo vs El Fogon showdown post

4. Chachy's in Etobicoke

Ian and I went on a Friday night about 7:30 and were moderately disturbed to find only one other table eating and a couple of crusty bikers drinking at the bar. The live music was ok, but kinda loud. Crusty guys at the bar kept giving us the evil eye when we didn't applaud the musician after every song.

Even worse, the waiter was rather unfriendly and we felt like we were intruding and bothering the staff.

The lomo saltado was ok, but the beef was somewhat chewy. Ian had no major complaints with the really cheap roast chicken and fries.

The poor service combined with drinking bikers means we'll keeping making the trek to El Fogon.