PAPA LLAMA — Restaurant in Orlando

Updated review, 7/30/23, based on their newish chef tasting menu.

Papa Llama, now a staple within the Orlando food scene, has brought a welcomed enhancement to their offerings with a chef tasting menu. Five courses are expertly prepared by Chef Kevin and his team.

A tiradito of red snapper starts your meal with an excellent Leche de Tigre which exemplifies all the complexity of Peruvian cuisine. New to the menu is a Royal Red Shrimp dish with a cilantro infused gel, aji Amarillo crema and cilantro water which provides depths of flavor like your tasting the ocean in every bite. I appreciate that they will adjust and change these seafood offerings based on what is available fresh along Florida coast lines.

A beef cruda has been tweaked since it’s original addition to the tasting menu. This new take is a bit more flavorful and a nice bridge between the seafood courses and main short rib course.

The bone in short-rib Al Carbon is grilled to perfection providing a nice charred exterior while maintaining a juicy interior. The lomo reduction sauce topping it takes all the flavor of PL’s OG Lomo Saltado and concentrates it to provide an explosion of flavor.

The Picarones are a nice touch to finish the meal. Crunchy on the outside with a soft interior the honey sauce drizzled on top will have you considering if you want to lick the plate.

Along with the food is a well curated list of natural wines. A wine pairing option is available to take the guessing game out of the equation while you can also choose a bottle or one of a half dozen or so by the glass options.

I look forward to my return to Papa Llama as they continue to be an exemplary example amongst the Orlando food scene and a great highlight of Peruvian cuisine.

Original review below

Papa Llama is a great new edition to the Curry Ford Restaurant and a welcomed enhancement to the area’s dining options. I have tried their meals a few times during their curbside service soft-opening in the midst of the pandemic. Ordering is very easy using the Tock app and pick up has been smooth and quick each time. The staff is also very friendly. Dishes have held up well while I get them home to eat.

Since we’ve ordered a few times already we have made it through almost their entire menu which is currently limited. I appreciate that they’re focusing on perfecting a few dishes instead of having a bunch of mediocre dishes.

I really enjoy the Lomo Saltado. The steak is perfectly tender and deliciously seasoned. Every bite of steak, veggies and fries is incredible. ⁣The Shroom Saltado is the only dish we have not tried but since it’s substituting the steak for mushrooms I can assume it’s a tasty option for vegetarians. ⁣ Ceviche is a lovely starter. I was a bit curious as to how take home ceviche would work but they got it figured out. Full of flavor and a nice tangy bite. ⁣ The Papa Rellena is one of my absolute favorites. I love the seasoning on the meat and the egg inside. The sauces that accompany it are awesome, I try to save a bit to use on my own! ⁣ The arroz con mariscos is a very close second to the Lomo Saltado on my favorites list. If you’re a seafood fan or like Spanish Paella I would definitely recommend it, absolutely wonderful dish with a generous portion of seafood and perfectly cooked and seasoned rice.

I can highly recommend Papa Llama. I anxiously await the day we can safely eat out to enjoy the meal fresh from the kitchen and look forward to watching their...

Papa Llama, 2840 Curry Ford Road, Orlando- 4-Stars

Michelin Recommended- Bib Gourmand!

Peruvian immigrants, Kevin and Maria Ruiz, say they founded Papa Llama in 2016 as an experimental pop up and opened the doors of this location in August 2020. In 2022, they earned the Michelin Guide's coveted "Bib Gourmand" award for establishments that serve good food at reasonable prices so naturally, I got excited.

Paulina, my server, was well prepared and knowledgeable, making for an auspicious beginning in a gorgeous environment featuring good prices for dishes that could be made to satisfy both carnivores and herbivores alike. I ordered the entire family style menu which was, according to Papa Llama, "designed to be tasted together, shared, and fought over."

So much food for just over a hundred dollars. The prices may have been cheap but the taste and quality of (most) victuals valieron un Perú! A hearty Big Boy Thank You (Sulpayki!) to Kevin and Maria and the culinary dactylograms of their ancestors, on this amazing cuisine (Somaq Mihuna!).

The first item on the menu was Olives--whole green Castelvetrano olives marinated in house with aji panca--which were so delectable I could eat them all day.

Next, the Red + Gold Beets, a minty beet salad with honey ají amarillo vinaigrette, queso fresco, and candied pistachio, which started out smooth and creamy and ended with a pleasantly piquant bite.

Papas a la Huancaína followed, a fingerling potato dish with spicy aji amarillo cream, wakatay (black mint) salsa verde, and beef chicharron, topped with a fried egg. The potatoes themselves were not the star, but the combination of flavors in the sauce were amazing, unctuous but smooth.

Papa Llama carries a long list of natural wines, more wines than food items, actually. That evening, I chose the Yuzu Sake, and may I say, "Holy smokes!" How refreshing after consuming so many peppers.

The rest of the dishes I would give 4.5 to 5-Stars, EXCEPT for the side of frozen Sysco French fries which almost ruined an otherwise stellar meal. There are over 300 kinds of potatoes in Peru. Over 300! Perhaps in the United States we don't have the same abundance as found in El Valle Sagrado (the Sacred Valley) but, por favor, do not stoop to this!

The Big Boy says, "Eat here. All the authentic Peruvian flavors at Papa Llama are 5-Star, but skip the fries, which are a corporate conglomerate frozen food...

I have eaten Peruvian food in Lima, Peru; Montreal, Canada; Toronto, Canada; NYC; Washington, DC; Seattle; San Francisco; and Miami...and this restaurant is on the same playing field as the delicious eateries in Peru and in those places I have lived/visited.

Let's start with the papa rellena: it starts off with a crunchy exterior followed by a pillowey, perfectly seasoned potato and ground beef heaven of a filling. The salsa criolla that goes on top is one of my favorite salsa criollas because it's just the right amount of salt, lime, and onion flavor (some salsa criollas can be overpowering onion) - this one has just the right amount of zest.

I also ordered the avocado anticuchero with the sourdough bread. The torched ají panca avocado was delicious - smooth to spread on the bread but impressive enough to stand-alone as more than just avocado with toast. Peruvians have been eating avocado and toast for decades but this appetizer brought another of flavorful and re-invention to this delicious appetizer.

The chicharrón de calamar is not your 'typical' battered calamari that you order at many restaurants; instead, the breading is just right - it's flaky, and flavorful but not completely 'overbreading' the calamari itself. The wakatay salsa was also a nice way to get extra flavor out of the crunchy calamar(i).

I also tasted the lomo - which, to me, is a key dish in Peruvian cuisine. I liked the creative deconstruction of the lomo - with the meat, rice, and french fries being served separately. The skirt steak was stir fried with cherry tomato + red onion and you could taste the high heat used - I almost asked for more bread so I could soak up the leftover juices from the flavorful and tender steak. The french fries with ají amarillo crema, and the jasmine rice (which was delicious) were also perfect culinary 'partners' to soak up the juices of the lomo.

Lastly, we had the picarones. I have eaten my fair share of picarones off street vendors in Peru and this duo of sweet potato doughnuts was delicious - especially with the...