Rocotos Grill Peruvian Cuisine — Restaurant in San Antonio

Went to this Peruvian joint again yesterday (Aug. 4 2018). Been there a few times in the last year. I had the Pollo a la Brasa with Yuca about a month ago. Very good. Tender and tasty, spiced in a very unique way, not quite pesto or italian, but a bit similar. Very aromatic. This time I had the Bistec a lo Pobre and a couple of appetizers. Review of those 3 is below and photos attached.

This last time, for appetizers I ordered Anticuchos (skewered beef heart) and Papa a la Huancaína (boiled yellow potato with Huancaína sauce, a yellow mustardy and light spice sauce traditional to Lima, Perú).

If you've never had Anticuchos before, they are an acquired taste for more junior foodies. Strong beefy taste, a little like wild game in strength and consistency, and a bit tough and very lean because the heart is the most active muscle; it gets a workout. If you're a junior foodie willing to stretch the range of your culinary taste and deepen your international food experience (like any foodie should), and can get past the "but its cow heart!" bit, give Anticuchos a try. Appetizer came in a long dish with 3 skewers with 3 chunks of beef per skewer. Garnished with some corn (called Choclo by Peruvians) and a couple of slices of small potatoes. Presented very neat.

I like strong flavors so I liked the anticuchos. Will order again. I don't ding food taste because it's outside of the traditional American range, as this ain't traditional American food. Go to Denny's or Applebee's for that. I've had Anticuchos before in other joints and these aren't bad at all. 4 stars.

The Papa a la Huancaína appetizer was also great, it was basically a whole potato sliced at 1/2" to 3/4" slices, resting on lettuce leafs, covered with Huancaína sauce, and garnished with half a hardboiled egg and an olive. Tasted really good, the sauce totally different from any sauce used in Mexican restaurants. Very unique. Potatoes are very popular in Peruvian dishes, as Peruvians produce and consume more potatoes per capita than most other countries and this dish is very popular with Peruvians. A classic. 4 stars.

For the main dish I got Bistec a lo Pobre (literally translated to Steak in the Style of the Poor, or Poor Man's Steak). The name doesn't mean it's a small meat cut, or small food portions; quite the contrary. It means its charm is based on its simplicity and abundant use of basic, everyday, traditional food staples and not fancy "rich man's" ingredients.

In this particular case, it is a chunk of what appeared to be top sirloin, about 6-8 ounces, seasoned, grilled, and accompanied by fries, white rice, fried plantains, and a fried egg. By design, nothing fancy. Simple but effective.

Without asking, the steak was cooked medium rare (pink middle) so if you like to murder your cuts and eat them cooked more than that, I recommend you tell the waiter. The fries were good, they use a batter that sticks to them and adds crunch, taste, and texture. It's tough to screw up white rice and a fried egg so those were solid, the egg on top of the rice. The fried plantains were also good, similar to the servings at Caribbean and Puerto Rican joints: soft and a bit sweet.

I really liked the Bistec a lo Pobre. Simple, strong, plentiful in protein and carbos, and got the job done. 4 stars.

The service was good. Polite, courteous, uniformed in black. No shortage of staff noted and no delays in sitting, ordering, getting the ticket, or paying. Day was Saturday at about 1pm.

I will be returning sometime soon. Their menu has a lot of dishes that got me curious. Will post on those in time.

Menu photos...

This was my first experience with Peruvian cuisine and I don't have a lot of experience with it so I cannot judge its authenticity. I can say, however, that it is refreshingly good. In general, the prices are on the high average end and the dishes I've tasted were definitely not bad. My judgement:

Price: A bit high, particularly the a la carte nature of a lot of their drinks and accompanying sauces with their dishes.

Drinks: -Chicha Morada: I recommend it if you haven't tried it before. It's like a dark agua de jamaica with a cinammony spiced flavor. Drinks are not refillable.

-Inca Cola:If you don't like Big Red (like me) don't try it. It's a pineapply bubble gummy yellow version of Big Red. (sold by the bottle a la carte)

Appetizers: -Papas ala Huiancaina: Cold Boiled potatoes with a garlicky hollandaise sauce. Nice appetizer...but not worth $5.

-Choclo con Queso: Basically it's boiled hominy with some slices of queso fresca...or a close equivalent...small portioned, insipid (bland) and disappointing.

Food: THE GOOD: -Pollo A La Brasa: Their house specialty and the one thing I believe that do consistently right. It is grilled chicken with fries and salad. The grilled/roasted chicken is made in batches so it's not always fresh and rarely crispy...but it reheats well. The fries are fresh and crispy and partner well with the chicken and table sauces. The salad is my favorite. It is consistently cool, crisp and refreshing with the right balance of iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced bell peppers, and tomatoes. The standard dressing pairs well with everything. And the price is "Pollo Loco" average. I'm probably being overly critical of this dish...but I do recommend it, it's worth the visit.

THE BAD: -Escabeche de Pollo: Not the sweet/tart escabeche I grew up with. It was blander then my expectations and i don't really recommend it. It's also a bit pricey for what you get. But I'm a bit cheap.

THE UGLY: -Cau Cau: In my opinion, the Peruvian hangover medicine. A bit lighter than Menudo, which I liked, but it's also very pricey and not always available. You could do better here.

Sweets: THE GOOD: -Mazamorra Morada: Tastes like a hot spiced Christmas pudding. Nice desert for the winter. Almost $6 bucks for a small bowl.

THE BAD: -Alfajores: the only sweets made in-house. Small dry biscuit/cookies. So pricey I think the owners would prefer you not buy them.

THE UGLY: -Tres Leches Cake: Bakery bought. A thin slice of decent tres leches. But you're paying well over...

Let me start by saying that my wife of almost 16 years is Peruvian and we eat traditional Peruvian food at home about 5 nights a week, so when I talk about la comida peruana I know what I am talking about. I ordered Aji de Gallina and Ceviche Mixto, and while it wasn't quite as good as what my wife makes at home or what you would find in Lima (I've been there several times), I was still pretty impressed.

The Aji de Gallina was excellent - not too spicy, but it has nuts in it so if you have any allergies beware. My wife has never put nuts in her aji de gallina so it was a little off putting for me, but once I got used to the idea I thoroughly enjoyed the plate. Personally I like it a bit spicier than they make it, but that's just me.

The ceviche would have been perfect if they had used flounder, but they use mahi mahi which sort of took over the flavor a bit. Ceviche should not taste like fish, and this did (just a little). The seasoning of the ceviche was spot on - I ordered the spicy version and it was excellent. The seafood was really good and tasted exactly as I expected it should. One thing I will add - a lot of places that serve ceviche load your plate up with tons of onions and just a little fish or seafood mixed in - this is what the cheapskates do to rip you off. This was NOT the case here - there was a ton of fish, shrimp scallops, squid and muscles in the ceviche. I was really impressed with the amount of meat compared with the onions.

I had a big fat alfajor for dessert and it was fantastic - just as good as my wife makes them.

If you are in San Antonio and looking for authentic Peruvian cuisine, check out Rocotos Grill - you won't be...