Pepito's Marrickville — Restaurant in Sydney

With a diner-meets-small-bar (taberna) vibe, the South American Pepito’s is a pleasant diversion from the Vietnamese food that dominates the Illawarra road. The drinking menu, which includes cocktails, is tightly focused. It’s mostly Pisco—a distilled, ferment grape spirit that originated in Peru’s & Chile’s winemaking regions—and a Pisco Sour ($19) is the best way to get acquainted with it. It’s somewhat of an acquired taste, coming up bigger in a Chilcano ($18), Peru’s answer to the vodka-based mule.

Punctuate your drinks with tapas-style dishes, like Choros a la Chalaca ($15) where cold mussels are served on the shell accentuated by lime and salsa. The Leche de Tigre ($21) is your must-eat. It’s a soupy mix of white fleshed fish, prawns, lime juice, garlic, ginger and chilli topped with deep-fried crumbed baby calamari rings.

While talked up by the personable waitress, the Jamón del País ($9) is just another name for a ham sandwich, even if it is made on house-made ham. The charcoal-grilled Corazon ($16), or ox heart, is a better bet, avoiding the usual too chewy trap. Codorniz Nikkei ($19) is a nod to Peru’s waves of Japanese immigration, teaming skewered quail with ginger and sake.

Portions are small and light on carbs, so big eaters and drinkers may find themselves footing a not-insubstantial bill while still...

Pepitos is the kind of place that makes you wanna wow the discoveries of fabled, distant exotic lands of flavours; unfamiliar, but familiar enough to blab incessantly tonyour friends about your Livingstone-esque discovery...maybe your enthusiasm will seep into the zeitgeist and presto, Tay-tay is gramming from here...and all because of you. Well, no. But there were highlights. The service proves that crumbed calamari can sit with raw fish and lime juice and make friends. The pisco watermelon cocktail is a winner. The spuds (though a little tired before frying I sense) pair wonderfully with spiced red onion and a really good emulsion. Their grill needs to upgrade to charcoal (a smallish portable will do the trick), so that the chook skewers find a bitter char for the decent salsa to play off. Breast is an interesting choice for skewers. Thigh is more dependable and forgiving. The beetroot salad is billed as carpaccio...well, no, that's raw and this wasn't...though a pleasant enough salad. The energetic waitress was great, ans I'm sure comes into her own in a full dining room. The one dessert on the menu was as uninspiring as the beef noodle main course offer was..maybe some descriptive adjustment would help. All in all, a good place to hang...

Pepitos is my favourite place to eat in Sydney. My wife and in-laws who are Peruvian also love it here - the food is just so, so good.

I've eaten here about 5 or 6 times and every single dish I've ever had has been super tasty. Like, you make a face when you're eating it because it's so nice. Our favourites here are their pan con chicharron, causa (may not be on the menu currently, I've never had causa like their interpretation but its insanely good) and the anticuchos are proper good too. Also, of course, the pisco sours are perfect. The last time we went they had suspiros for desert and they were nicer than when I had them in Peru, definitely recommend. The portions are tapas style rather than traditional big Peruvian plates - which I like because it means I get to have loads of different food.

The owner is a really lovely dude and always remembers us when we come even when there has been a gap of more than a year, and in general the service and atmosphere are ace. Looking forward to my next trip. If you're unsure, give it a go, it...