Peru Cafe Express — Restaurant in Houston

I am very disappointed in the customer service at this restaurant from the manager (yes, you read that correctly, the manager). My mother and I have ordered from here frequently over the past 5 years. We’re Peruvian and always on the look-out for Peruvian restaurants in Houston, however this one misses the mark entirely on customer service. Yesterday I ordered a Bisteck a lo Pobre as part of our takeout order (it’s one of my favorite dishes to order), I took a big bite of the beans and spit them out almost immediately, they tasted sour and spoiled. The beans had also drenched the steak and the rice. I let my mom taste the beans too just to be sure that my taste buds weren’t off, she immediately spit them out. We called them right after and asked if we could get a refund for the meal, the employee on the phone said to bring the uneaten food tomorrow along with the receipt and they’d refund it (they said tomorrow because it was close to closing time). Okay, so flash forward to today, we did just as he said, we brought the uneaten meal with the receipt, but there was a different employee working- she was unsure of what to do so she called the manager on her cell phone. My mother talked on the phone with the manager and he flat out refused to refund the meal. Instead he kept blaming it on Postmates. And yes we did order through Postmates, however, we were the ones to pick up our food- NOT a Postmates employee, so essentially he was blaming us. So just so you know, if Peru Café Express messes up your order or serves you spoiled food they’ll just blame the customer and that is coming straight from the manager of the entire establishment. They have no problem charging customers for spoiled food. This is not how you treat customers, let alone loyal customers! We’ll be taking our business to other Peruvian restaurants around Houston such as Peru Gourmet off of S Post Oak (the manager is always wonderful there!), Latin Bites, and other...

Good food, low prices (compared to California where I live). The chicha morada is excellent. The seafood jalea was plentiful, and so was the aji de gallina. My mistake was to try to be friendly with the waiter. Carlos got upset when I asked if the cook was Peruvian, and exploted, stating that I was asking too many questions. I had previously asked if masks were required, and for his name. Then, I asked if they had cau cau, the answer was no. Then I asked if they had anticuchos, the answer was yes, but later was told no. The exchange between Carlos and I, was embarrassing to say the least, and I felt like leaving at that point. But, because I was visiting a cousin, room i hadn't seen in about 45 years, I decided to stay. Even after his grossly unjustified treatment, I still tipped him 20%, because his attitude shouldn't change mine. But, I did asked him prior to leaving, why he kept addressing us as boys, when two of us were old enough be his father. He replied, because we are about the same age. When we both stated our age we were 22 years apart. I was told enough to be his father. Good restaurant, but I will not go back, based on Carlos' attitude. BTW, I am Peruvian, indigenous looking, and so is my cousin, who was appalled, but remained quiet, along...

My first time here, and gotta say the service was great! Carlos was my server and he was very polite and I noticed he walks right up to the door with menus whenever someone was walking in and he has such a personal greeting. I like that they bring you complimentary sauces. The ricoto was spicy and the green sauce was alright (maybe huacatay?) I ordered the chicha morada cup (it’s not very sweet drink, I was hoping for a more deeper purple corn taste but was very refreshing), Papa La Huancaina (Sauce was light and creamy, I felt like it needed more Aji Amarillo. And was a bit pricey for sauce and potatoes $7.50 + $1.14 which I’m not sure what the extra charge was for?) The best part of the experience was The mixed seafood platter!! (Portion was huge, the ceviche was fresh and had a great texture. The fried seafood had calamari, fish, a mussel shrimp and yucca. Sliced sweet potato, cancha and corn. The only take away was the shrimp was over cooked and dry. And I wish there was more tiger milk soaked into the ceviche. Overall, I throughly enjoyed it so much, I basically finished it. I’m a huge fan of Peruvian cuisine and I will definitely be back...