El Rocoto — Restaurant in Gardena

I want to start off by saying I know food is never going to the same as it does in your home country. Now, the food is VERY mid and definitely does not go in hand with prices they have. I had anticucho de corazon, chicha sour and tallarines verdes con carne (the last item I got to go) just those three items came up to 70 dollars for one person. The anticucho was not too bad, a bit hard and flavor was decent because of the chimichurri, It was supposed to be served the corn and potato, it had a fourth of a potato and like 7 grains of Peruvian corn 🤷🏽‍♀️. I didn’t finish all of my anticucho so I decided to take it home. Again flavor was decent because of the chimichurri so I ordered some of it on the side to finish it at home. Chicha sour was minuscule and it goes for for 16 dollars, and there’s nothing extraordinary about it. Finally the tallarines verdes were the biggest disappointment. When I checked the box it was so dry so I asked the waiter if they could add some more sauce to it. Waiter was very friendly and agreed to go back BOH and ask the kitchen for more sauce, I also got a side of huancaina sauce which 3.50 for a 4 once container that wasn’t even filled to the top. Once I got home and tried the tallarines verdes I spit it out immediately. The sauce was tart and it smelled incredibly unpleasant like the sauce was rancid and had gone bad. So that went went straight to the trash Also forgot to add they tried to charge an additional 3.50 for chimichurri that once again wasn’t filled to the top. Very disappointing and overpriced food is how it felt. The only good thing was the huancaina and the anticuchos...

I've always been curious about this place because it was on my daily route to work. I've been told it was a really great place so I finally decided to take the plunge. I was about to get a seat for two rather quickly. I did go on a Monday afternoon so the wait was non existent but I can only imagine what it looks like over the weekend.

The first dish brought to us was a plate of dinner rolls with butter and two dipping sauces. One was a creamy green cilantro sauce that had a really nice flavorful kick too it while the other was some kind of orange sauce. I'm not sure what it was but it was a nice contrast to the other sauce.

We then ordered a plate if fried plantains. It was very delicious. We ended up using the butter from the rolls to coat our plantains with just a little more flavor. Not necessary as the flavor was spot on. It was just a little more kick.

We received our two min dishes rather quickly. We had ordered Peruvian fried rice and the lamp shank.

The fried rice had a mix of beek, pork, and shrimp. From the small sample I had it tasted good. Fried rice is fried rice and it's really hard to mess that up.

The lamb shank was so tender. The meat just slid right off the bone. Either it was cooking all day or they have one hell of a pressure cooker. It was served with a scoop if rice along with beans in a soupy sauce. I loved it so much I practically cleared my plate.

I definitely will be coming back. The menu has so many other interesting dishes that look delicious. This is a...

Disappointing Experience – Not Authentic Peruvian Cuisine

As a Peruvian, I was excited when I saw a menu featuring dishes from different regions of Peru. Naturally, I asked where the chef was from so I could choose a dish from their region (like arroz norteño). I was surprised to learn that none of the cooks are Peruvian. Their social media suggests otherwise, which feels misleading. I hoped they had at least been properly trained—but sadly, the experience didn’t meet expectations.

This is what we ordered:

Arroz con Pollo – Very Bad Clearly pre-frozen and poorly reheated. Both chicken and rice were cold inside. Rice was soggy and bland, which is unacceptable for a dish where rice should shine. The Papa a la Huancaína was dry and old—the sauce was thick and crusted like cement.

Lomo Saltado – Just Okay Very oily, possibly made with low-quality oil. Edible, but not enjoyable. I didn’t finish it.

Tiradito Limeño – OK Fish was fine. The corn turned into "mote". Corn was overcooked and had the texture of cork.

Additional Note: It’s disappointing that they don’t mention on their website that picarones are only available on weekends. We were looking forward to dessert, but left without it.

Overall: Looks good on social media, but lacks real Peruvian flavor and authenticity. Hopefully they can improve with proper training or by hiring someone who truly understands...