Mark T.
Yelp
Our first visit to Cafe Cusco was back in the Fall of '13, several weeks after they first opened, enjoying it as a novelty. My wife has since been to Peru and, matter of fact, had her first Pisco Sour in the restaurant's namesake city, Cusco. She did not, however, have the roasted Guinea Pig which seems to be a Peruvian staple! Thankfully, we didn't see it on the menu or I may have been forced to sample it.
We had two hours to kill tonight, were hungry enough to eat but not enough for a bounty so we decided to hit C-Street for a lighter, more unique meal. We got to CC before it started filling up & promptly seated in a sizeable booth near the kitchen. It was nice to watch them work, though a beautiful evening & setting to dine outside.
Our waiter, Ryan, brought us two waters & menus when he first arrived at our table. He was pretty laid-back but highly attentive though not to the point of encroaching on our privacy - yet we never wanted for anything. Now, that's my kind of service!
We told Ryan we were eating light, starting with two Pisco Sours, then the Jalea Mixta appetizer of calamari, shrimp, Wahoo & plantains to split, with a cup of their Chupe de Rio spicy crawfish stew for me. We also split the Colorado Chicken Skewers entree, served over aji amarillo mashed potatoes with agave chipotle sauce & pico de gallo atop all.
Everything was very good: The drinks were well-prepared & tasty; the seafood appetizer was delicately fried to perfection; the Chupa was more soup than stew but delicious; and the skewers couldn't have been any more tender. The sauce had 'creeper heat' that snuck up & bit you but 2 refills of water plus half of my wife's tamed it. Ryan said that the heat was a matter of the day & peppers...I got the hotter day apparently but I could not stop eating it, it was that good on the pleasingly slightly-chunky, mashed potatoes!
The tab was around $70 including Ryan's 18% tip. We had a delightful evening at CC which took no more than an hour, with plenty of time to make our next engagement at 8pm. There's no question that CC is still a novelty, serving unique, satisfying Peruvian cuisine in an eclectic ambiance with great service. It would be a great place to share with friends after you sample it first.
