Aji Ceviche Bar Casselberry – Peruvian Restaurant — Restaurant in Casselberry

Where do I begin. Alright, first let me start off by saying that I've been to Peru six times. Yes, you heard right, Six. That being said - visiting Peru has taught me to not only appreciate the culture, but to love the food. Eating at restaurants in Peru is absolutely nothing like eating at restaurants in the United States. For one, unlike the US, restaurants in Peru don't rush the check to you when you are finished eating - they give you all the time you need to enjoy the food with the person/family you are with while simultaneously providing excelent service. Second, like very rarely found here in the states, you can taste the freshness in the ingredients - the food you eat is notably fresh and time consuming to prepare.

Why am I ranting off about this seemingly irrelevant information, you may ask? Well, to point out that the Ají Ceviche Bar is the only restaurant I've been to that has made me feel like I was in Peru - if I close my eyes, I feel like I'm in "Segundo Muelle" (if you know, you know). This is our third time here and today we decided to order the "Mar y Tierra" which is a generous sampler dish made to share. It includes a Rice with Seafood, Ceviche (fish marinated/cooked in lime), Causaki (Causa with a sushi-like presentation) & Jalea (fried seafood). The rice was perfectly cooked, mixed with peas, carrots and a combination of shrimp, calamari & octopus all pulled together with a creamy yellow pepper cream sauce. The ceviche was perfectly seasoned with a ying yang like balance of acidity to salt ratio with a lucius peruvian yellow pepper lime sauce. The causa had a tangy yellow potato outer layer filled with a chicken/mayo mixture topped with a rich tangy sauce. Finally the Jalea was a mixture of perfectly fried and juicy fish, plump shrimp and calamari covered with a light crunchy breading topped with limes, savory pickled onions with a side of chucky tartar sauce. I don't normally go out of my way to review restaurants, but then again there aren't many restaurants that make me feel like I'm in a different country and during the pandemic, this is a very welcomed feeling. However, don't take my word for it, give it a try and see for yourself.

Ps on Weekends it gets really busy after 1pm so come early or be prepared to wait...

They don’t even deserve one star. It was a Wednesday afternoon, I took my brother , my mother and my daughter out for dinner. Well our server was courteous but sadly very disappointing, same as our good quality. She forgot one of our additional side dish, she didn’t ask if we need it any sauces, napkins or utensils. The Anticuchos were very hard that we couldn’t eat it, when I told her, she responded “that’s well done” so it went to the garbage because we couldn’t eat it and it was not taken from our receipt. I had also order food to go and it was the same disappointment. The chaufa had no flavor, all I could taste was soy sauce, same as the tallarin saltado, what an awful taste. I had to be chasing and constantly asking to get my server because we were not getting water or either could I order any additional drinks. It was very unpleasant to sit there, unable to eat that awful food and on top, be chasing around for my server. Well the worse was when I got my bill, she included an 18% percent tip which was a bit over $38.00 dollars but what service did she provide? She was gone and rude when I told her that my food was so hard that I couldn’t eat it. I had never had such a horrible experience. I know the prices are not cheap, so the least they could do, it’s provide some tasteful food and some descent service. If you want to taste Peruvian food, I will tell you to go anywhere else because the quality and serve was worse than a fast food...

We went to another Peruvian restaurant first but it was closed, but thank God we found this gem! First when entering, you see distinct Peruvian 🇵🇪 wall art which was vibrant and colorful, along with cute ‘Toritos de Pucará’ throughout place which I love to see! We were greeted by Dani who was very friendly and inviting 😊. Now to the food….it was soooo good! 👌🏾 We ordered a classic fish ceviche 🐟. It was tasty and had all the ingredients you would want in a fish ceviche, however the only mini complaint would be the portion size of sweet potato, but I got over that quick when the anticuchos 🐄 🫀came out sizzling on a cast iron skillet! 🤤 The smell alone let me know they seasoned it with aji panca (as it should be) and the flavor was delicious and meat so tender! Next, we got our main food, lomo saltado and seco de res 🐮. The lomo meat was tender and seasoned well, not too salty like some places like to drench with soy sauce 😒….I appreciated the portion size of rice to fries to meat & onion/tomato. The seco was great as well, however my man wanted yuca instead of rice 😬 which they were great for accommodating. For my drink, I ordered a chicha morada which was a little too sweet for me, but a cup of ice did the trick. Overall, the decor, food and service was excellent! If you want real Peruvian...