Aromas of Peru Wilmington NC. — Restaurant in Wilmington

I was craving some clean seafood tonight but also wanted to find a place that I knew my wife and son would eat at. After short deliberation and 10 months since I last visited, Aromas of Peru it was gonna be.

FOOD: "Kitchen Sink" Ceviche, Miraflores Burger and a whole, Rotisserie Chicken. Starting with the Rotisserie Chicken...it's the best in Wilmington and is in a league all of it's own. AoP has this bird on a rotisserie spit for hours on end, slowly cooking through and permeating through a heavenly blend of herbs and spices. This chicken is juicy. This chicken is tender. This chicken is simply perfect in every way. By far...this is my favorite dish from AoP! For the next dish, it had been 5 years since I've eaten ceviche and AoP is known to have the real goods....true, authentic, Peruvian ceviche. The "Kitchen Sink" ceviche included shrimp, fish and various morsels of calamari. The seafood was ridiculously fresh, flavorful and wasn't overpowered by the citrus. The dish also included a sweet potato cake, fried corn, white corn and fried yucca. As good as this dish was, the fresh cilantro was so powerful, it overpowered many bites of the ceviche. 1/2 of the amount of cilantro used, I believe, would have been more than sufficient. The fried corn reminded me of homemade Corn Nuts....love those things. The white corn was cooked well and plump but needed some seasoning. Prior to adding some salt, the white corn tasted as if it was just shucked off the cob from a farm in Nebraska and was just bland. Once some salt went on...the flavor was enhanced and I was able to enjoy it more. My wife had the Miraflores Burger for the first time, allowed me to try a bite and then....whoa! This burger was flippin' phenomenal!! The house-made, yellow sauce, arugula and smoked Provolone cheese added to this American classic, making it even better! Truly, I would have never given any thought to order a burger from an authentic, Peruvian restaurant...but I will next time. It was solid! This was the second best dish I had this evening. SCORE: 4.1 STARS!!

SERVICE: I placed my order over the phone for pickup on my way home, encountered very friendly service and my food was ready shortly after I arrived. Although I did not dine in, I observed the interior and surroundings for COVID-safety measures and everything was in place. Sanitation stations...check. Masks worn properly...check. Social Distance seating was in place and there were no customers dining inside at the time. Very clean and sanitary. SCORE: 5 STARS!!

OVERALL SCORE: When you want authentic cuisine from a true Peruvian restaurant...this is the place to go. I stopped in craving ceviche...I finished, enjoying the chicken and burger more. Lol. What do you do? Reason for this score is due to more weight given to the meals rather than service. If the cilantro wouldn't have been so powerful and the corn would have had some seasoning, this would have been another 5-star review. But still....very, very good!...

While visiting Wilmington we were pleasantly surprised to find a Peruvian restaurant. One of us is Peruvian and knows it’s cuisine well. The other has learned it well. We found Aromas de Perú very authentic. We had a chicken empanada, the ½ chicken with salad and Peruvian beans, the arroz chaufa (fried rice) and the lúcuma ice cream (we loved it- not often available in other Peruvian restaurants!). All dishes were very nicely prepared and tasty. We really enjoyed them. To make the food “perfectly” Peruvian (life is not perfect!) the empanada should have been baked and not fried, and served with salsa criolla (pickled red onions). Also, there were some very small parts of the dark meat of the chicken that looked a little undercooked to our taste. The other parts were moist and well dressed. The salad was made with fresh and crispy vegetables and the Peruvian beans were done perfectly. The fried rice was one of the best we have had in a Peruvian restaurant. It had the authentic Peruvian flavor and came with fried plantains. The restaurant also sells Peruvian staples at a very reasonable prices. All those of us who enjoy cooking Peruvian food will find those staples very convenient. We left agreeing that we will come back to Aromas del Peru next time we visit Wilmington to try some of their...

OMG my first time trying Peruvian food and it was a 5 star experience. The flavor was superb - I can't describe the taste, other than being a delicious blend of flavors that keep you wanting to go back for another bite. I also tried the passion-fruit juice, which was equally as yummy! They also offer Mexican soda varieties, which taste fresh due to the real sugar ingredient (as opposed to high fructose corn syrup varieties).

The staff was so welcoming and it felt very family-oriented. Our server hadn't tried all of the dishes, making it a bit hard to choose - but just go with your gut - because you can't go wrong! The onion relish was fresh and perfectly paired with the calamari, the chicken fried rice was smoky and bright, the fried yucca with the yellow sauce was tangy and rich, and the jumping cow was one of the best steak flavor blends I've ever had.

Although indoors, the ceiling is decorated with string lights and music plays softly in the background adding to the experience.

The food, ambience, and treatment of staff of this restaurant make you feel like you've stepped into dinner with a family in Peru with impeccable food to match. Please try it if you're looking for something new, as it is one of the best restaurants I've tried in...