Celeste
Peruvian restaurant · Somerville ·
Bright ceviches & refined Peruvian cooking in a compact setting
Bright ceviches & refined Peruvian cooking in a compact setting
"Born from a couple’s runaway dinner parties, this intimate Somerville Peruvian spot showcases big, authentic flavors using local seafood and fresh ingredients: shrimp and mango ceviche, housemade shrimp-and-cheese pupusas, tuna tartare spicy potato terrine, and mains like cilantro lamb stew with canary beans and rice, capped by a lucuma mousse dessert with ideal mouthfeel." - Todd Plummer, Shannon McMahon
"Celeste is quite possibly the most fun restaurant in Somerville. Head here with a date or even a double-date (more people, more sharing) for ceviche that’s been marinated in the Peruvian-style leche de tigre. Get the mixed seafood ceviche (blue cod, shrimp, and squid) and a glossy lomo saltado with perfectly cooked steak and softball-sized onion slices. Top it off with a purple pisco drink while you watch the flames dancing from the fast-moving pans in the kitchen. The energy is generally chaotic, but everyone who works here is extremely nice and your waiter will probably do a shot of pisco with you. Get access to exclusive reservations at this spot with Chase Sapphire Reserve. New cardmembers get $300 in annual dining statement credits." - tanya edwards, jonathan smith
"It’s shocking how tiny the kitchen is at Celeste. If you’re seated at a bar stool you will feel the heat from the stove. Also shocking: the consistently excellent Peruvian dishes being pumped out of that postage stamp-sized room. Originally set to be open for just five years when they started in 2018, the team ended up having so much fun they decided to just keep going and quickly became a neighborhood institution. Come here with friends after wandering through nearby Bow Market, or with a date who’s open to doing a shot of pisco with the server. Get the blue cod ceviche that’s been marinated in the Peruvian-style leche de tigre and a glossy lomo saltado with perfectly cooked steak under onion slices. If it’s available, the mousse de lucuma is the way to end a meal, washed down with a purple pisco drink. photo credit: Natalie Schaefer photo credit: Natalie Schaefer photo credit: Natalie Schaefer photo credit: Natalie Schaefer Pause Unmute RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE CARDMEMBER BENEFITS FOR Get access to exclusive reservations at this spot with Chase Sapphire Reserve. New cardmembers get $300 in annual dining statement credits. SEE EXCLUSIVE TIMESAPPLY NOW Food Rundown Causa de Avocado and Tomato Layers of mashed yellow potatoes seasoned with lime juice and aji amarillo chili paste are filled with tuna, avocado, hard-boiled eggs, and topped with an olive. Served cold, the terrine of potatoes drinks up the chili flavors and cream sauce, while the tomato adds a nice hit of acid. Lomo Saltado Made with beef tenderloin, Celeste’s Lomo Saltado is hearty, with a surprising tanginess that reminded us of the first sip of a whiskey sour. Bring your extra stomach for the rice and fries it’s paired with. Ceviche de Blue Cod Celeste's ceviche is sharper than others due to the shorter marinade time needed with Peruvian-style ceviche. The cod, cut in larger chunks than you might be used to, is firm and holds its shape in the acidic marinade, which is great because this is a big serving that could easily be shared with three or four people. Seco de Cordero con Frijoles Celeste’s lamb stew is one of the best meals in town on a brisk night. The slow cooked lamb, flavored heavily with cilantro and garlic, might fall apart if you so much as fan it with a napkin. The stew sits on top of a bed of rice, with a scoop of creamy beans alongside, and it’s topped with a fresh salsa criolla. Scallops con Pasta a la Huancaina Slightly briny black pasta is tossed with a cream sauce made from aji, a Peruvian yellow pepper that’s distinctly fruity—it almost has a hint of mango—with moderate heat. The richness keeps climbing with the addition of four seared scallops, caramelized just enough to give them a touch of color." - Tanya Edwards
"Celeste in Union Square is the spot for bright, punchy Peruvian ceviche. Chef JuanMa Calderón uses recipes from his mother and grandmother to craft ceviche with blue cod, squid, shrimp, and the vegetarian palm and artichoke ceviche. Elsewhere on the menu, find rich fish stews and a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs Peruvian-style shrimp scampi with rice." - Celina Colby
"Dinner at Celeste feels like a party where someone took retro ’50s dining chairs and flatware and set them up at a diner on the moon. While we adore all iterations of ceviche, the one at Celeste is in a league of its own, with a passion fruit-infused leche de tigre that adds a fruity, sweet dimension to the seafood. Your perfect order includes the mixed seafood ceviche, the avocado causa, a passion fruit pisco sour, and the lucuma mousse dessert. Make reservations in advance, because the small space fills up fast. And be ready to take a pisco shot with your waiter at literally any moment. Get access to exclusive reservations at this spot with Chase Sapphire Reserve. New cardmembers get $300 in annual dining statement credits." - tanya edwards, lala thaddeus, catherine smart