Ancla — Restaurant in New York

Stopped by on a Thursday night (we were just cruising Broadway to see what's around) without knowing anything about the place besides the fact that it's Peruvian and I'm glad we did!

We were happily greeted by our lovely, jovial host/server Belen who seemed to be running the place with 2-3 other employees (it was a rather empty night, makes sense). We were seated in the "secret garden" (or, their backyard area) and I was immediately struck by how gorgeous the atmosphere was! Romantic, vibrant, and verdant! We have quite a few back areas in Astoria, and this is by far one of the more tastefully decorated spaces. Tables are a li'l small for the size of the food, but that's fine. Also, I love it when restaurants use real candles.

More importantly, the food. We ordered:

Pulpo Al Olivo (it's big, even for two, don't get anything else for appies if you're getting this. Deliciously seasoned octopus as well as the potatoes and onions. Even better with the picante.

Tallarin Verde & Churrasco: I strongly preferred the Tallarin Verde, but both were excellent, large portions, and were absolutely delectable. The pasta and pesto combined well with the steak (ordered medium rare and it was cooked as such!).

White Sangria: Fresh fruits, tasted great, visually pleasing.

Lucuma Ice Cream: I've never had Lucuma before! It carries a complex flavor that I'd describe as a pleasant mix of citrus, caramel, and maybe a little cinnamon? Delicious.

Belen also brought out some frozen passion fruit shots for us and invited us back to the anniversary this Sunday! We will definitely be back.

I had quite a different experience from the strange 1-star review about the Happy Hour (homeboy really thought 7pm on a Saturday had an HH?! Also, it says M-F on the sign in front), and I recommend stoppin' by! The menu and drink menu isn't wildly extensive but what they have is good. I'm curious about the seafood though, it seems like...

I came here to celebrate my father birthday since he requested Peruvian food in particular ceviche. First, to be fair the appetizers were great so I can complain there and would and can only recommend that to any future customers. We had Jalea and that was prepared well with the fish and Juca. I also ordered Papa La Huancaina to try out and the sauce wasn’t so great and lacked that extra kick of spice to it. Now for the main course we ordered Ceviche three different ways. None of this was made in traditional fashion and was to salty and the fish was not cut in cubes as should be but rather fillet into small slices like you would do for sushi. Needless to say none of us finished our plates. The restaurant saw this and asked what was wrong. We explained and they acknowledge that the receipt comes out that way and if we told them they would have sent it back as they do get those complaints based on people preference. We just didn’t want to bother since we were already turned off by the seasoning and not sticking with traditional flavors. Overall, servers are friendly but I had to keep getting their attention for simple things like napkins and my kids food that was just chicken nothing complicated that shouldn’t have come out last. I won’t be visiting this restaurant again as it’s not up to the standard’s of traditional Peruvian food...

Came here based on the reviews, Peruvian food is one of my favorites, it was in the neighborhood, and it was a birthday occasion. I ordered papa a la huancaina as an entree and it was spectacular. For main course I had the fish ceviche and my girl had the NY steak. For drinks I had the Moscow mule and my girl had a passion fruit mojito. The ceviche was nicely decorated but I was not too pleased with it due to the sauce that was used to marinate it. I prefer just the lime, like it is traditionally prepared, but that’s just me. My girl’s steak was pretty good. The drinks were pretty good as well. Afterwards, we get the bill, I paid and I added 10% tip, and that’s when the issue started and my reason for the review. The waiter came back and asked if the service was good and I said yes and he proceeded to demand an 18% tip by saying that it was the minimum required. I let him know that tips are still optional. That’s when I decided that I am not coming back to this place. This tipping culture has gotten out of control and the only ones benefiting are the owners, and they know it. The entitlement attitude got to go or pay your employees a...