Limón — Restaurant in Oakland

My family, including my wife, son, and sister, and I had the opportunity to dine at your restaurant on Thursday, March 7th, 2024, with a reservation set for 8:15 pm. Having just arrived from a flight from Portland, we encountered a slight delay but proactively adjusted our reservation to 8:30 pm to accommodate this.

Despite our efforts to communicate and adjust our arrival time, beginning at 8:00 pm, we received multiple calls from the restaurant's staff—three calls, to be exact. These calls inquired about our certainty in honoring our reservation, and the tone felt notably pressing and somewhat aggressive, which was a surprising and unwelcoming prelude to our visit.

Upon our arrival, we found the dining experience to be passable. We understood and complied with the restaurant's request to expedite our orders due to the impending last call, which seemed reasonable under the circumstances. However, our dining experience was overshadowed by observations that we found to be less than professional. Notably, several members of the restaurant staff were congregated at the bar, engaged in loud laughter and openly counting their tips. This behavior, in our view, detracted significantly from the ambiance and professionalism expected at a dining establishment of your repute.

Furthermore, as the evening progressed towards closing time, the situation regrettably deteriorated. Two of your servers approached our table with a demeanor that was far from welcoming. Their communication about the restaurant closing and the implication that we should leave was delivered in a manner we felt was unnecessarily brusque. One server, in particular, exhibited a demeanor that was not only unprofessional but outright rude, going so far as to give what could only be described as a 'stink eye.'

It is with disappointment that we reflect on this experience. Dining out, especially in a new city, should be an enjoyable and welcoming experience, a chance to unwind and savor good food in good company. Unfortunately, the interactions and atmosphere we encountered during our visit fell short of these expectations. As such, we are compelled to share our experience and express our decision to not patronize this location in the future. We hope this feedback is received as an opportunity for improvement, to ensure future patrons do not share our...

Space is beautiful, but I was recommended this spot for their ceviche. I went on NYE and it was NOT busy for a NYE dinner spot. It was steady. My partner and I were sat and we didn't get a server for about 20 minutes. The servers to the left and right of us saw us. I made eye contact and even said hi, didn't acknowledge us and even noticed we didn't have water. The other tables that were being seated were promptly helped. After 20 minutes, we finally got a server. We order as soon as she arrived. She was kind and friendly. It took forever for us to get drinks and people who arrived afterwards were already getting their food. It took 45 minutes to just get water and that was after asking after we got our first appetizers. We ordered the ceviche, but as someone who is Peruvian and eats plenty of ceviche - this was mediocre, and portions were ridiculously small for the price. It's more geared to the gentrified community who think this is top-notch Peruivan cuisine. The one dish we agreed we liked was Arroz con Mariscos. The Anticuchos de Pollo were over salted and the Lomo Saltado was bland and meat was tough. We tipped over 22% and know it wasn't the servers fault, and as someone who has worked in the industry a majority of her life, I would not recommend this place and would hit up and support a mom and pops Peruvian restaurant over Limon. I didn't eat teh...

Service was great, that is why they get 2 stars. Some dishes were good, some were terrible. However THIS IS NOT PERUVIAN FOOD, it is Peruvian inspired at best. Nothing wrong with fusion, but fusion is not Peruvian. Taro root is mostly Asian and African, chimichurri is Argentinian, panna cotta is Italian. They did get the tacu tacu, the cancha and the yuca right. Besides the lomo saltado they had none of the Peruvian standards like causa rellena, papa a la huancaina, ocopa, palta rellena, ají de gallina, escabeche, seco de cordero, chupe de camarones, mondonguito a la italiana, etc. The ceviche was most definitely not Peruvian style. The chicharrón de pollo was hard as a nail, it is supposed to be tender and juicy. The pollo a la brasa didn’t have the right condiments, also it was dry, over cooked, the wings were burnt to a crisp. The chicken is supposed to be juicy all the way to the wings. They had none of the Peruvian deserts, like mazamorra morada, suspiro limeño, alfajores, turrón, picarones, etc. This place should be advertised as Latin fusion, not Peruvian. Or they should get a Peruvian chef. Or they should get their non-Peruvian chef to watch some u-tube videos to learn how to cook...