Eli's Peruvian Kitchen — Restaurant in San Diego

Disappointing Experience at Eli's Peruvian Kitchen

I visited Eli's Peruvian Kitchen on January 2nd for my birthday, bringing my husband, toddler, and baby along. Unfortunately, our experience was far from what I had hoped for.

Upon entering, we were greeted by the waiter with no warmth or welcome. Instead of a polite greeting, he simply asked, “How many, two?” (Even though we were clearly a party of four). This lack of courtesy set the tone for the rest of the experience with the waiter.

I had high expectations for this restaurant based on the positive reviews I had read, but sadly, the food did not live up to the hype. I ordered the Lomo Saltado, and my husband had the Lomito con Frijoles. Both dishes had sautéed vegetables that were burned, which unfortunately affected the flavor of the entire dish. As someone who has tried other Peruvian restaurants, I know how this dish is supposed to taste, and the burnt vegetables, which even had visible black spots, made the meal unpleasant. Maybe they were re-used.

We arrived around 3:20 PM, and since the restaurant closes at 4:00 PM, we were still finishing our meals when, at exactly 4:00, the waiter began to turn off the lights. This felt very rushed and inconsiderate, especially since we were still trying to enjoy our meal. We left the restaurant at 4:06 PM, feeling very disappointed by what was supposed to be a special birthday meal.

Overall, the combination of poor customer service and subpar food left us thoroughly disappointed. Unfortunately, I won’t...

This place looks humble from the outside but inside packs true authentic Peruvian food and beverages. We chose the sampler--ideal for beginners and for expert foodies. Shrimp, calamares, fried yuca, traditional papas huancaine (Potatoes in special sauce), and traditional ceviche, served with 2 sauces. Awesome!! We also shared rotisserie chicken, with dark meat this time, with flavorful chicken falling off the bone garnished by rice and salad with a traditional dressing. I chose a Diet Inca Kola, the lo cal version of age-old traditional Inca Kola, an upscaled version of cream soda. We also tried the traditional Peruvian tea, a sweetened earthy tea found nowhere except Peru. HUGO offered great attentive service in this venue with linen table cloths, silverware, and large screen TV. The subtle background music of real Peruvian tunes contributes to the ambiance. Legible laminated menus. Accessible entry/exit and tables. Accessible restroom with grab bars, small area. Accessible free street parking that can be hard to find in busy times. Excellent food. Excellent service. Tak home some canned...

My family is from Peru and we were craving Peruvian food. After googling a couple of restaurants and reading reviews we decided to try Eli’s and I’m so glad we tried it. Frustrating at first because we could not find parking whatsoever, it took us around 15 mins and lots of circling the restaurant to find a spot. We were greeted nicely by our waitress, she was bilingual which was a huge plus and very nice. She recommended some drinks and we ordered food. The food had a great taste, causa took me back to my grandmas kitchen and the ceviche took me back to a beachfront restaurant in Peru. Taste was on point, my dad had the lomo saltado and he said it was good and my mom had the arroz changa de camarón and it was okay. The empanada was good, a little small but good just not amazing but the flavor was there. Dessert was delicious. Wish I would’ve taken more pictures but we were hungry! Bathroom was clean, only one bathroom, shared but the restaurant is small, so no issue there. Restaurant has only 6-8 tables, I’m not sure. Overall 5 stars and would...