Así Es Mi Peru — Restaurant in Oranjestad (city)

I've come to love Peruvian food after spending a few weeks in Peru and eating at some great Peruvian spots in London, New York and Texas. Overall, this is a nice spot. Vibrant textiles and Peruvian trinkets try in earnest to transport you to the Andean countryside, cheapened only by the gift shop at the entrance. The food is generally good: authentic ceviche swimming in electric "leche de tigre", colorful and enchanting plating for sampler platters and towering causas (stacked potato casserole). The Japanese, Chinese and Italian influence on Peruvian cuisine is also well-represented, albeit without the sophistication and restraint you'll find in the cafes of Lima. The "lomo saltado," a Chinese fusion dish with cult popularity, was not inedible but certainly a let down, trading tender chunks of beef tenderloin or sirloin for thinner cuts drowning in soy sauce and an abundance of onions that made for a very uninteresting $27 plate of rice, fries and sauce.

Dessert was a standout: don't miss the lucama ice cream or caramel custard (suspiro de limeña).

Their Pisco Sour, on the other hand — a litmus test for any Peruvian bar — was a massive disappointment, resembling the candy-coated sweetened (and likely blended) drinks of nearby beach bars rather than the tangy, balanced original. I ordered a second with a plea for less simple syrup, but it did not change much.

Service was good, although COVID precautions weren't top of mind for all; while most staff wore masks correctly, our (otherwise lovely) waitress wore her mask...

My first experience at this restaurant at dinner time was really good because the server and the Peru chicken was really delicious. That`s why I came back for the second time for lunch.

However, I had a very terrible experience on my second time for lunch because the lady boss was serving us. The lady boss is super mean. She gave us a dinner menu instead of a lunch menu. She wants to charge us more as lunch menu is cheaper. I remembered on my first visit, the waitress did tell us dinner menu is different from lunch menu. However, at that time it was 1 pm and we are in a hurry so we took the dinner menu instead. Only the lady boss is super mean but the other waitress is really nice. I wish the waitress is serving us than the boss lady.

She also charge us extra for hot water too probably twice the amount because we asked twice and we didn't know that she would charge extra for hot water. When she took our order she didn't tell us that there is a extra charge for hot water otherwise we would have order tea or something else instead.

So please be advised if you do go to this restaurant during lunch hour, ask for a lunch menu if they do give you a dinner menu.

Also don't order hot water unless you don't mind about the charge. She considers it a tea charge.

I only know that in Aruba McDonald, they charge you for hot water but other restaurants in Aruba, they never charge us for hot water. This lady boss seems very cheap lady.

The bad service from lady boss made me don't want to come back to the...

I just finished a simply awesome meal at Así Es Mi Perú. The service was great and offered great insight to the menu. The food was top notch and everything on the table was delicious. Next time through Aruba we will be back! Oh and the Pisco Sours are splendid!

Update 1 year later. Different story. I felt like our table was forgotten. We arrived at around 6:45 for our reservation and was seated promptly. The indoor section of the restaurant was empty when we sat. Order was taken promptly and then...nothing. Apps took a solid 20 minutes to arrive meanwhile the dining room filled up. One app was the wrong item and was replaced. After the apps were cleared we waited a solid 30 minutes for our entrees. During this time our waiter was nowhere to be seen. One of my groups entrees was wrong and was promptly replaced. We noticed that others seated around us all had received their orders promptly while we waited.

After the meal we asked our server if everything was ok noting the discrepancy of other tables receiving their orders promptly and he made a bad joke and then ignored our complaint. As he dropped the check off he then noted that their credit card system was down and we could only pay in cash but the was an ATM down the street. No apology just left it there.

The food was overall descent but the service was...