Pacha Nikkei — Restaurant in Houston

A friend suggested I should go to try this newly opened Peruvian&Japanese Fusion eatery in Houston.

The place is nicely decorated and has an overall trendy vibe. The room was dimly lit, which is something I personally appreciate. These are points worth mentioning. Just in case that you are in the mood for a romantic dinner. For me, the atmosphere of a place adds up to the whole experience. Thumbs up for this.

That being said, the service was good. Our waitress was helpful to describe the dishes we wanted to try, and the dishes themselves were tasty, but that will be it on the positive side.

Now comes the negative part. We arrived at this restaurant on a Friday evening around 6:45 PM. We were directed to our selected booth table, and not long after our waitress came to assist us.

As stated above, our waitress was kind and knowledgeable about the details of the dishes, but she informed us there were no choices if I wanted to switch one of the sides for let's say, a side salad instead of potatoes which happens to be the side of my chosen dish. Very disappointed at this, most restaurants within a similar category will offer at least one side substitute choice. The only option I was given was to remove the side. Which I accepted. My dishes came first, less than ten minutes after ordering them. They brought the two of them at once; my choice of appetizer and the main course. Huge mistake. There I was, looking at my two dishes while my partner waited for his choice. Even though he insisted that I started to eat, I refused. His dish came 10 minutes later. Again, this puts customers in a truly awkward situation. Adding to the previous faux pass, was the volume and the selection of the music. The restaurant has a casual&elegant vibe, but the loud music disrupted this mood. I understand that Latin music calls for rhythms that are fast-paced and dance-inducing beats, but I went there for dinner, not for a bar experience. On this part, I believe this restaurant is both. There is a section that has a long bar seating area. This may explain the selection of the music and its loudness.

I think I’ll go back, as the food was delicious. I probably will choose a...

My husband is half Peruvian. We had a favorite Peruvian spot in NYC (Flor de Mayo for those visiting), but we have struggled to find a Peruvian spot we love in Houston. Pacha Nikkei is a Peruvian and Japanese restaurant on Briarpark and Westheimer. It was fairly crowded for a lazy Sunday afternoon but we were still seated right away. Unfortunately there seemed to be some miscommunication about which waiter we were assigned to so it took quite some time for us to get service after we were seated which irked me, but I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and choosing to believe it was not the norm. My daughter ordered the Lomo Saltado with corkscrew Mac n’ Cheese which we waited for with bated breath because it is always made with steak fries—it was BOMB! The seasoning on the beef complemented the cheesy homemade sauce perfectly. 10/10. My husband got conventional Lomo Saltado and it was great, but after having sampled my daughter’s I wouldn’t order his version. I ordered what I always order at any Peruvian spot: ceviche. I got the one with the fried fish on top which was crunchy and buttery goodness. The ceviche itself was made with tiger milk, which is not how I usually enjoy it (with limon), but it was yummy—a little sweeter than the homemade version I am used to but I was completely happy with it. 9/10. I ordered the smoky peach cocktail which is mezcal based with egg white and it was scrumptious 10/10, but my husband was not happy with the chicha. Keep in mind our perspective may be different because we enjoy this made from scratch regularly, but my in-laws usually prepare this with cinnamon sticks and seasoning so this was a disappointment. He gave it a 5/10. Not nasty, just not what we...

This is a must-go for ceviche…I don’t want to ruin any surprises but you must come here! Service at the bar with Jose and Sergio was excellent; they were both so attentive (as well as the other staff members). Jose was able to answer all my questions and both Sergio and Jose Ola Ola bid me farewell.

Aside from the Ceviche Chalaco (as it is not a tab below to select) I highly recommend the Panetone served with homemade ice cream made from a Peruvian fruit. The bold, nutty, and roasted notes from the fruit in the ice cream balance wonderfully with the richness of the bread pudding as well as the subtle savory notes of basil in the white chocolate sauce.

Lastly, I did have Pacha maki but unfortunately cannot recommend this roll. The dish did not come together for me because the primary flavor of tempura shrimp in the roll did not bode well with the sauce. There were flavor components of this dish, also, which did not come through as well as a missing component to the dish (micro shiso) In any case I believe the missing component ma have been overshadowed by the sauce anyway.

I feel a small amount of their yellow huancaine sauce would pair better with the Pacha maki than the acevichado sauce which the restaurant uses. The acidity of the acevicado sauce fights with the various flavors of the roll: raw fish, fried & battered shrimp, fresh fruits. I don’t have a suggestion for another maki as this was the only one I tried. For sure I will be back to try the Sunday menu and will definitely be back to try other ceviches another day!

Pictured below is their cheesecake (it is a light dessert, however). If the bread pudding with ice cream sounds a bit much go for this one with a fresh...