Rob H.
Yelp
I haven't had enough ceviche in my life, having only had it once before (home-made) some years ago; recently, I was watching an Anthony Bourdain episode on Peru in which he talked at length about the delicious heaps of lime-red onion-chilli marinated fish, leaving me drowning in a small puddle of saliva (I usually avoid raw red onions at all costs, even removing them from burgers. They usually leave me with a tempestuous stomach, something akin to the plight of Lord Jabu-Jabu. However, if anything will tempt me to abandon reason for madness, it's raw fish. Bring it ON.). Fortunately, Ceviche opened a couple of months later, and I'm glad that it has as this is one thing London needs more of, and I very much hope that it starts a trend.
When we went, Ceviche was, simply put, a total madhouse. The front of the restaurant contains a bar area (the walkway to the main dining room is barely wide enough for single file), whilst the back manages to seat an impressive number of people for such a small room - you'll need to tuck your elbows in. If it were quieter, it'd be a pretty relaxing setting, very much a bistro-style restaurant with plenty of South American photos and posters adorning the walls. However, it was absolutely heaving, and you're close enough to the adjacent tables (2 feet) that people notice when you're having a staring contest with their food.
The menu declares that "our dishes are designed for sharing", aka "our dishes are approximately the same size as a baby quail". Boo. After some tasty fried cassava nibbles (dense-but-tasty, nicely cooked and not greasy), we tried 4 plates of ceviche: Don Ceviche (seabass/chilli lime marinade/red onions); Aliaznza Lima (fish of the day/prawns/squid/octopus/choclo corn); Sakura Maru (salmon/satsuma-mirin-soy-chilli); Barranco I Love You (seabass/lime/cancha corn). I was really impressed by all of them - the fish is fresh (definitely not been sitting around), the octopus wasn't chewy(!), great flavours and the textures are nicely balanced between the softness of the fish and the crunch of the garnishes. Oh, and the roasted corn is SO MORE-ISH. Yum. The sakura maru and its orange marinade are particularly good - it's a bit sweeter which contrasts well with the sourer lime-based ones.
Following this, we had quinoa salad, grilled steak skewers, and confit duck on rice. The quinoa salad was a nice accompaniment to the ceviche, refreshing dressing and ripe avocado bits. The steak skewers had those yummy charred bits on the outside (which kind of reminds me of, sigh, Nando's. In a good way), but I would've preferred mine to be on the rare side as they were a little dry - they didn't ask me how I wanted them. The duck confit on rice was enjoyable, but I had some gripes - the skin was crispy but, like the beef, the inside was a little dry. It was also not heated through evenly, one end being warm, the other cold. The rice underneath is really flavourful (duck fat makes the world a better place), but may be a little on the salty side for some people. Overall, I couldn't help but think that the dish needed something to wet it a bit.
Service was friendly throughout, although needs some polish. Given that it's just opened, I'm willing to give them a pass for the odd mistakes here and there. The bill came to just shy of £58 for two, sans alcohol (1 nibble, 4 ceviche, 1 salad, 1 skewer, 1 main dish). It's pricey, especially considering that I wasn't particularly full when I left. Whilst it is on par with a decent sushi restaurant, it's still a lot.
Overall, I'm conflicted as to what rating I should give. I'd give the ceviche 5* straight off, but I found that the other dishes weren't quite there (although that may change when the place is slightly less rammed) which is a bit disappointing considering the price. On top of that, whilst I do love the interior, it does have that sardine-tin feel to it. However, it is one of the few examples of its kind in London, and it does do very good ceviche. So, if you like raw fish, or just good, refreshing food, go try and spread the word!