El Inka Peruvian Cuisine Burlington — Restaurant in Burlington

Unique and memorable restaurants warrant comprehensive reviews. So here we go!

My mother, sister and I had dinner at El Inka in November ‘23.

The atmosphere was nice - upscale yet casual. It’s the first time a menu has made me feel this conflicted! So many things looked so delicious, I felt like I was going to miss out on something special no matter what I chose. We all had a hard time picking just one thing.

We shared an appetizer of Papas a la Huancainas which was delicious. It’s an adjustment for people used to a North American diet. As our server explained to us, the Peruvian diet is high HIGH carbs. Most dishes have double or even triple carbs and no vegetables. This is the only criticism per se I would be able to level, though it’s not a knock against El Inka - it’s authentic Peruvian cuisine. Our server explained that a few dishes have been altered slightly to try to better match the North American palette; for example, the double carb option in the Pollo de la Plancha has been replaced with one carb and salad. I didn’t realize there was no issue substituting the carb heavy dishes with vegetables - will definitely take advantage next time.

I had the Tallarin a la Huancaina con Pollo. It was similar to our appetizer - I regret not trying something different to start so we could try more of the flavours. Our server was able to answer all of our many questions about the menu and it was his detailed description of Huancaina that won us over. It was delicious, but warning - also heavy - plan on taking what you can’t eat home. For me it will make 4 or 5 meals.

My sister had the Tallarin Verde and my mother tried the Lomo Saltado. We were all impressed, but we all ended up bringing a lot home with us! The Italian and Asian influences on Peruvian cuisine is tangible and the pesto in the Tallarin Verde is muy rico.

We also ordered a Maracaya Sour cocktail which was out of this world. Even as a former bartender, I’ve never tried anything like it and I’m now inspired to try to reproduce it at home. Definitely recommend!

I must say that the highlight of the experience for I think all of us, was Javier. Right from his greeting, he single-handedly created for us an amazing ambience of warmth, friendship, and what we Danish call hygge - loosely translated into superlative comfort. He’s the perfect blend of professional training to be able to share his extensive product knowledge and a fun education in Peruvian culture, and a personality that fits perfectly into his role as a very likeable host. When we bombarded him with questions, he sat down with us in the empty seat and no joke - it felt like he was an old friend who brought joy to our evening. I worked for years for The Keg chain, which is big on product knowledge for staff - they have nothing on Javier. The menu was overwhelming at the start and he helped us to navigate to where we needed to be and be ready to order. (“Listo!” - Javier). 🙂 Javier was a treat- he indulged me in practicing my unfortunate Spanish, he made us laugh, he made us want to come back. I may have enjoyed Javier’s company even more than my family’s - shhh, don’t tell them!

The positives to be said about El Inka are abundant, and the negatives are few and not faults of the establishment at all. I would advise perusing the menu online before your visit, to gain an advantage and narrow down to a couple entree choices and make that process easier on yourselves (and Javier). Otherwise you may be a little overwhelmed and have a lot of questions. Also, if you have a vegetable/protein centered diet, like myself, ask before you order about substitutions or custom tweaks to a dish. They are open to altering dishes - but as expected, they don’t push it - if you don’t ask, you won’t know. I thoroughly enjoyed the Peruvian tastes, but the carb-heavy focus is a tall ask for someone centres their diet on protein and vegetables.

We’ll be back. Hopefully we’ll see Javier again! Thank you for a...

Took advantage of Taste of Burlington and went with a bigger group of friends so ended up trying a lot of food. Overall food was 4.5/5. Price would be very reasonable if you are not doing taste of Burlington ($45/person with reduced portion not including alcohol, service or taxes). Service and atmosphere were amazing! Will definitely recommend to friends!

Lamb Shank ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was AMAZING both texture and flavors. Very flavorful with adequate lamb taste but not too gamy. It was marinated in a cilantro sauce and I personally HATE cilantro but I was ok with the taste in this one. It was light, not overpowering. Texture was so tender the meat just felt of the bone.

Steak with Risotto ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Both steak was very flavorful and risotto was so rich and creamy!! With there were more risotto it was too good but the portion size was already pretty big so it is not a complain

Grilled Beef Heart Appetizer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Very well seasoned with strong cumin flavor and charcoal!! Texture was a bit chewy but not rubbery. Taste of Burlington portion was enough for one person. But if you just order this dish alone it was three times the size (one of my friend was smart enough to do a la carte)!

Deep Fried Pork Belly Appetizer⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good flavor with crispy texture. Love the fried cassava on the side!

Dessert ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (vanilla cake and flan) The cake was very moist and soaked in syrup. Nothing special but the taste of Burlington portion was a bit too small.

Passion Fruit Cocktail ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was one of the best cocktail I had in a very long time. Extremely smooth and good balance of flavor. Highly recommend!

I also tried ceviche, fried seafood platter from my friends’ plates. Ceviche was amazing! Deep fried seafood flatter was the ONLY disappointment of the night since it was a bit too dry and repetitive!

Service was amazing and super attentive! Our server was very cute and he looked like Neymar (the soccer player). Ambiance fit the theme well took you to a Latin American country (I have not been to Peru so I cannot confirm if it was Peruvian).

👎🏻Only downside was that the menu was too difficult to navigate for non-Spanish. Had to rely heavily on google review, limited pictures provided on the menu...

Visited El Inka for my partner's birthday swayed by the high ratings and we were left very disappointed.

The Pisco Sours were overly sweet and I was the only one that managed to finish mine.

For appetizers, we got the Pulpo a la Parilla, and while the presentation and flavour were there, the octopus itself was chunky and chewy.

The Ceviche de Pescado tasted fresh and had a great tang to it, but the size of the chunks of tilapia were massive and not the easiest to slice through.

The Parihuela looked so promising on the menu, but had zero flavour - absolutely no salt to bring out any of the other goodness of the broth. The calamari was rubbery and the shrimp tasted like cardboard. This was the most disappointing dish of the night. The Sopa de Quinoa in contrast was extremely salty, which overpowered the existence of any other flavour.

For the main course, we ordered the Pargo Entero Frito, and while the snapper was fresh and decently seasoned, it was a lackluster dish overall. The Tostones we ordered as an accompaniment to the fish again had zero salt.

We hoped to end the meal on a good note and got excited about the Picarones. However, they were doused with oil that softened them up by the time we waited for them to cool down.

At $170 before tip for three people with one appetizer, two small soups, a ceviche, a main course and one dessert, along with a single drink each, this was incredibly expensive and we will definitely not...