DMV’s best Peruvian restaurants
in honor of my Peruvian roots
Of course, nothing is better than my mom or grandma cooking traditional Peruvian food in the comfort of our home but when we choose to dine out these are my favorite restaurants.
Maryland
La Canela This one is my ultimate favorite. It was formerly known as the “La Flor De La Canela” in Gaithersburg about 20 years ago. My family and I would go pretty much every Sunday after mass to indulge in our native food. The restaurant then moved to Rockville in 2007 and is now named, “La Canela”. This continues to be a family owned and operated restaurant. The food is always delicious so you can’t really go wrong with any dish! Great cocktails and excellent service. If I had to pick three of my favorite entrée’s I would choose canilla de cordero, lomo saltado and fettucini al pesto. This restaurant is a must!
Crispy + Juicy – There are several locations but the best one is on Rockville pike (mostly based on the sauce or ají as we would call it). This is definitely an easy go to casual meal when we we’ve had a busy day or just don’t feel like cooking. We usually order two family platters; each family platter comes with three sides. My favorite sides would be plantains, rice + beans, and their fries. I more recently, noticed that they are selling lucuma gelato – YUM! Lucuma is an Andean fruit with a unique taste I can’t even really describe it. I will be honest and say it is definitely not for everybody but worth a try and if you want to try a “safer” Peruvian dessert get their alfajor. This restaurant is a must!
La Limeña – For all my ceviche lovers this one is great! It is a casual, family friendly restaurant. This one is almost like a combination of La Canela and Crispy + Juicy because you can sit down and enjoy traditional entrees but can also stop by to grab Peruvian rotisserie chicken. This is a local favorite so expect a wait on the weekends as they do not accept reservations. As I mentioned the ceviche is great but so is their pescado a lo macho, bistec a la Limeña, papa huancaina and lomo saltado. (Little note, they opened a second location called, La Limeña Grille but I don’t think it’s nearly as good)
Virginia - Huascaran
This a little restaurant in Alexandria my family and I recently discovered in search of Peruvian breakfast. I’ve never had any of their lunch/dinner options, but their breakfast is so tasty! We order the traditional breakfast platter that comes with tamal, chicharron, sweet potato, bread and salsa criolla (Little note, this platter will feed two + we order the tamal with pork vs. the one with chicken). I also love their fresh juices! I always get the pineapple juice but have also tried their strawberry and milk one. This is a little place that I can literally go in sweatpants and spoil my taste buds.
Washington, D.C. - Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar
This is more of an upscale restaurant with a modern take on Peruvian cuisine. It also has a beautiful bar so a fun place to go with girlfriends for happy hour and sip on some pisco sours. My picks would be tartare as an appetizer, ceviche mixto if I am not too hungry, plancha anticuchera de mariscos (grilled seafood platter) to share with someone and if I am very hungry then pescado a lo macho. I would definitely recommend making reservations prior. (Little note, a perk to this one is their outdoor seating.)
