This may turn into one of our favorites when visiting the area. We started with the Pulpo Al Olivo; it's a ceviche-type dish of thinly sliced octopus bathing in a delicious, spicy sauce. It was so good that we soaked the toasties in it before adding the octopus on top. We've never had octopus this way before, but we will be having it again!
For my meal, I ordered an appetizer (I don't eat a lot), the Pulpo, Camarones, and Calamares...octopus, shrimp, and calamari rings. My husband ordered the Chaufa Ponca, a bowl full of rice beef tenderloin, shrimp, calamari rings, pork belly, chicken breast, sweet plantains, and a fried egg (a Peruvian fried rice).
We sat at the bar so Christian was our bartender and server and what a guy he turned out to be. I had told him we found the octopus appetizer to be so delicious and that we enjoyed the flavoring and spiciness. He brought us our meals and after we had some, he asked how we liked them. My husband immediately answered that they were good, but Christian looked at me and said, "Are you sure? I feel like you don't like yours." I said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the meal and that I just didn't care for the flavoring of it. I asked him to not take it off our bill because we were taking it home and my husband would eat it because he liked it. Christian insisted I order something else. I tried to tell him I was okay because I don't eat a lot. He talked me into ordering some nigiri because it comes as 2 pieces only. So I ordered the salmon nigiri and I'm SO glad I did! The flavor on top of the salmon was a lemon explosion that was so good and he saw my loving expression. Of course, my husband had the 2nd piece and he agreed with my description. It was a salmon belly with lemon zest and white truffle oil. Christian truly went above and beyond and although our dining experience was good before he did that, he made it that much better! So thank you, Christian. We are definitely returning.