Aji Limo Peruvian Cuisine — Restaurant in Tampa

While on business in Tampa, I stopped in this little neighborhood restaurant because it was a Peruvian. I never miss a chance to try Peruvian food while on business trips. I was so very glad I did. The location is unusual; in the middle of a neighborhood with what seems to be barely a business around it. After I arrived I opened the doors and was transported to a small corner of Peru. As luck would have it, there was a duo on a faux stage singing and entertaining the food crowd. I was seated at the bar (place was very busy). The bar is wide in an L shape with an open area to see drinks being created by the absolutely and stunningly beautiful, Paola. She made me a Pisco Sour which tasted like I was sitting in a bar in Miraflores...! Truly delicious. I started with a Tiradito. I will give it 3 stars. The fish was cut way too thick to be tiradito and it was drenched in a yellow chili sauce. The saving grace was that the taste was pretty good. But Tiradito it was not. I then turned to my Lomo Saltado. The gold standard of any good Peruvian restaurant is how well they make Lomo Saltado. To us Peruvians, believe me, it is a measure of how well a Peruvian restaurant it is. Happy to say Aji Limo's lomo saltado was delicious. Plenty of lomo (beef) mixed with the right portions of red onion and tomatoes which were not overcooked. Bravo! The rice arrived on the plate in a pyramid style and was cooked to perfection. I like that, unlike tradition, the french fries were kept separate from the beef and veggies. When on a diet, every little bit helps. Whether it was the bright, red color and mixed fruit of the drink itself or the magnetic charm of Paola, I could not resist ordering a Sangria to finish my meal. Paola's smile reminded me of an angel and it was enough to finish the evening listening to music and sipping the delicious Sangria. Having listened to way too many American ballads, however, I was courageous enough to get off my butt and ask the guitarist and singer to play "Alma, Corazon y Vida", a traditional PERUVIAN ballad which they played and sang, expertly. After that, more spanish style music followed (who does not like Luis Miguel ballads?) and my night was complete. I was going through so much stress on this particular night but the meal, the music and the effervescent, angelic smile of Paola brought me back to life. If I ever visit Tampa again, I will be sure to return...

First and foremost thank you for accommodating us to a much better location than the original. Let's divide this review into 3 categories to enable a proper score and review.

Atmosphere: Once you enter, you come across a contemporary atmosphere, walls decorated in wood and accessories to compliment it. The logo of the restaurant was well placed, one of the first few things you notice, next to the bar which seemed to be well designed as it covers a roundabout of the whole restaurant. Unfortunately the back side of the restaurant's layout seemed a bit lost, and could have been designed a bit more efficiently to not interfere with the kitchen door. Now the lighting was something that did strike me as smoothing and relaxing, something more personal and intimate where you can look around to dimly appreciate your surroundings and focusing on the stage. That is until I took off my Ray-Ban, and my pupils dilated and I went into a trance, or so I thought, I hadn't drank any wine.

Yet.

I could advise that if the lighting was dimmer, it could have helped with the temperature, as it felt a UFO was shining a light to abduct you. It could also help that if the lights were lower, it could have been a more intimate dinner between couples, families, parties,etc. Heck we wanted to order more wine, but it was so hot and the light was killing us, it was hard to stay longer.

Staff/Service: Waiter was nice enough to take us to a new table without having to take anything with us, she came a total of 3 times, however none of those times was to ask if there was anything we needed, that was only asked once the appetizers or plates arrived. She did ask the chef to make a small fix on my plate to replace Tallarines Verdes with Lomo Saltado instead of steak. Overall she was polite with us. Forget her name.

Food: Very good umami, fresh ingredients. I had the Choros A La Chalaca, Anticuchos for appetizers and a Lomo Saltado. The flavor was almost on the spot, the tallarines could of used a bit more basil maybe in the sauce, but good call on the scatter bits of basil around the plate, even then it was missing a...

Poorly Managed and Disrespectful Experience on Mother’s Day

I made a reservation a week in advance for a Mother’s Day dinner. The process was easy and I received the confirmation email the same day and a reservation reminder on the day of.

When we arrived, we waited nearly ten minutes before anyone acknowledged us, and when someone finally approached, I was immediately told—without checking—that the restaurant doesn't take reservations. When I showed my confirmation email, the staff member continued to question whether it was a “request” rather than a real reservation. She then abruptly turned to my parents, assuming they were a separate party, without resolving our issue.

Eventually, a table opened and we were seated, but only after a long and frustrating interaction. When I asked our server about the reservation situation, she initially claimed it was for another date—until I pointed out the correct one. Only then did she apologize.

At the end of the meal, we noticed an automatic 18% gratuity was added to our bill. The menu states this applies only to parties of five or more, and we were a smaller group. The waitress claimed it was because of Mother’s Day—something we were never informed of ahead of time.

While the food was pretty good, the service was unprofessional, and the whole experience felt disorganized and disrespectful. This kind of treatment is unacceptable, especially on a day meant to be celebratory. I hope the management takes this feedback seriously and improves both communication and customer service...