Llama Lips Restaurant Pure Peruvian Home Cooking

I was completely blown away by this Peruvian restaurant in a shopping center. I thought maybe it was going to be a real traditional meal but what we experienced was so much more ! The presentation of each dish was that of fine dining and the taste was an explosion combination of flavors that melted in your mouth ! Bill was very helpful and knowledgeable when we were making decisions on what to order but I have to say the real star of the show was his wife Lucy who is an incredible chef ! I highly recommend the tostones con ceviche which wasn't made with traditional shell fish but instead Mahi Mahi and the Seco de Res , a prime rib was out of this world this was 20 out of 10 . Don't be fooled by its location this restaurant will exceed your expectations.

I ordered seco de res from this restaurant for the first time on Grubhub expecting a proper beef stew and to support a local family owned restaurant , especially since the description said stewed beef in a cilantro sauce. What I received was nowhere close. Instead of stewed beef, it was a giant whole beef short rib with a huge bone sitting on top of beans in an orange sauce. There was no cilantro flavor, no stew, and nothing resembling seco de res. I'm a big lover of beef stew especially Puerto Rican style (carne guisada) and from NYC so I know what a proper stew should look and taste like. This was not it at all. I had to request a refund because the dish was completely misrepresented. Very disappointing experience. The rice was also dry and hard. Proper Peruvian seco de res is: Seco is chunked beef, not a giant rib. Seco is greenish, not orange. Seco has cilantro sauce, not bean sauce. Seco is braised in the sauce, not placed on top of beans.

I would like to give the five star for the food but one star for the service. We dine here last night was amazing but the service way way behind. It’s tiny cute place only 5 tables there when we got there. Most of the tables already done only one table still table waiting for the food. We have to wait at least 15 mins to get an attention from the server bringing us water bread and taking drinks order then another 15 mins drink start delivering ( which we mostly order beer and 2 cocktails)to the table but one was missing. So, we keep waiting almost another 10 minutes but the drinks hasn’t come. We asked the sever then another 10 mins finally I got my drink. A big while after our appetizer started coming one by one which we ordered 3 but only 2 hits the table again one appetizer was missing. Then the server let us know that they out one of the dish we order after 10mins we placed the order. Our entree came to the table one at the time just like appetizers but a little faster. At the end I order gin and tonic but the give me gin and club instead because they don’t have tonic without letting me know. On the bottom I love the food but the service make me having second thought about going back. BTW this is my first time here.

My husband and I have been to Llama Lips three times so far. The menu is very unique. We love their food!!! It is very fresh and full of flavor. The portions are very filling. The staff is super nice and friendly. The restaurant is clean and quiet. There is a great atmosphere. We will definitely keep eating there. Delicious dishes: Chaufa de salmon, Seco de Lucy, Osso buco a la cerveza, bisteck a lo pobre, Tallarin verde with rib eye steak, Lomo filet mignon. Their chicha morada is so delicious and refreshing. Highly recommended!!!

All the times I’ve been to Llama Lips, the food has been delicious. Being raised in a Peruvian family and having stayed in Peru several times for vacation months, there are times when one craves the “real” Peruvian flavor. Not that other restaurants are not “good”, it’s just that they don’t “hit the spot” for someone that knows what authentic Peruvian flavor tastes like. Yes the cost to eat here is higher than other fusion restaurants, but it is 100% reasonable when you take into account that they are literally working hard to bring to your table what they would offer you in Peru. Details like, the “cancha salada”the minute you sit down, the specific yellow potato that is used in the Caldo de Gallina, the real “yellow sauce” that’s robust and not watered down by mayonnaise, the “yuyo” (Peruvian seaweed) that dresses the ceviche, and many more things that gives you the real authentic Peruvian flavor. Every time I eat there it’s like I have been transported back to Peru. The fact that they now offer a lunch menu is a total gift. I highly recommend giving at least the lunch menu a try. My only reason for not rating the service a perfect 5 stars is that the wait time for your food to get out during the lunch menu hours (from the menu of the day), can be a little longer than expected. For someone going there to eat lunch during their lunch break, you may be rushed to eat due to the time or have to take it to go. Other than that, the servers are clean, friendly, informative and polite. The space is spotless and the ambiance is great to eat in peace.

I love the food I had some rice and pinto beans with some Res and I’m telling you the first bite brought back memories like true Peruvian cooking I damn near cried because it brought back memories of my grandfathers cooking and I just loved the food so much omg this is my favorite Peruvian restaurant in Connecticut!

New favorite spot! The food was exceptional. Great ambiance. The drinks were also excellent. Absolutely delicious and the servings are good size for both food and cocktails. We couldn’t get enough of everything we had. Prices are a little high but I’m a firm believer of quality over quantity. Worth every penny. Enjoy!

I’m adding this update after receiving the restaurant’s reply (screenshot attached), because the response honestly made this experience even worse. I ordered seco de res, which the menu describes as “stewed beef in a cilantro sauce and black beer.” What I received was a single large beef short rib with a huge bone, placed on top of orange canary beans with no cilantro sauce anywhere in the dish. Seco is normally beef chunks stewed in a green cilantro-beer sauce. The dish I was served looked exactly like “costilla con frejoles,” not seco. I mentioned in my original review that I love beef stew, including Puerto Rican styles, simply to explain that I am familiar with what a stew should look like. Instead of addressing the differences between what I ordered and what I was served, the owner dismissed this by saying “we don’t make anything Puerto Rican style.” That was never the issue the issue was that the dish did not resemble the menu description or the well-known appearance of seco. The reply also shifts blame onto me by telling me to “read the description carefully,” even though I did and the dish I received simply did not match it. The cilantro-based stew sauce was not present at all, and a cold green condiment in a plastic cup is not the same thing as the actual cooked sauce that seco is traditionally prepared in. I’m not criticizing Peruvian cuisine I’m criticizing the fact that I did not receive the dish I ordered, and instead of acknowledging the mismatch, the response tried to reframe it as my misunderstanding. It felt like a moment straight out of a Kitchen Nightmares episode where the customer points out an obvious issue and the restaurant owners insists nothing is wrong. I stand by my rating because the dish served to me did not match the menu, the traditional preparation, or even the restaurant’s own description. I hope this feedback is taken seriously instead of being dismissed again.

Just had an amazing lunch at Llama Lips! Love their $15 lunch special but we also ordered off the Dinner Menu (Pro Tip, they will let you!). Ceviche and Grilled Octopus for me and a steak wrap for my friend. Chef came out and told us about the food and ingredients, she is lovely. Great table service, amazing food...will definitely be back.

I hate leaving these kinds of reviews, because I'm big on supporting small businesses. However, this was one of the worst service experiences I've ever had at any restaurant, ever. I arrived at 7:40pm for a 7:30pm group dinner (for a birthday). Let's just say, my dinner came out at 9:53pm, over TWO HOURS after I arrived, and 53 minutes after the restaurant itself was officially closed! After all that waiting, food was also lackluster. The list of missteps was long, and I will be editing this review shortly with all that went wrong. For now, suffice it to say, from the experience of a patron, this visit was embarrassing.

Three of us showed up around 5pm on a Sunday so it was pretty quiet. We started with 3 Pisco Sours, followed by sharing the ceviche pescado, then 3 entrees: pollo soltado, the grilled octopus and fried chicken. We followed this by a shared dessert of some very nice dulce de leche pastries. Additional drinks were one sangria and a white wine, with one espresso with dessert (we ordered two and received one). Overall, the food is good (other than the chicken), drinks were decent, but it just felt very expensive for what it was.. the place is pleasant, what you would expect in a strip mall, and service was just ok. The dessert pastries at almost $25 for 4 and $6.50 for an espresso (double?), and $16 a pop (+tax +tip) as per the menu for the opening cocktails...it's a little rough. (The check with a 20% tip was more than $250 for the above) Again, the food was very decent and there are many things on the menu I would love to try, and I would love to go again, as would everyone in my party, but the prices for me are just a little steep at present. Maybe it is just the cost of living crisis or, maybe I just don't appreciate what things cost right now!

Absolutely delicious lunch was enjoyed at Llama Lips! We ordered fish and rice (pescado saltado), and the most perfectly prepared chicken and rice. We were served a complimentary glass of De chichi morada. The executive chef Lucy came out to ask if everything was to our liking. What a great place for a very filling gourmet meal!

Upon the restaurants recent opening my dining partner and I were curious to try this appealing eatery. We met the owner and his wife (the chef) who were personable and provided delicious food. Our dinner was lomo Saltado with an appetizer of calamari complete with a delicious Peruvian sauce. Both were delicious and the owner was kind enough to share a complimentary tres leche cake with us free of charge. We'll definitely spread the word and will be back again soon.

Amazing food. Amazing service. Truly authentic Peruvian food. I also enjoyed Pisco Sour

Good food and service. All menu items we tried were excellent. We liked the food with particular Peruvian style taste and the variety presented

My mom and I stopped by in for a lunch. We absolutely loved it. Definitely recommend. I went to Peru last summer and the Leche de Tigre tasted exactly like the ones I had during my time at the Mancora Beaches. The service was great everything tasted fresh and just made. For the Seco de Rez the meat was just falling off the bone. It was calm and quiet we went early Sunday afternoon.

Llama Lips is a fantastic new restaurant in downtown Stamford CT. You can tell instantly that Lucy and Bill love preparing great food for their customers. Llama Lips, although very new, was recommended to us by a handful of local folks. We learned that Lucy (chef/owner) was an accomplished chef in Peru and after tasting the food we have no doubt. Portions were huge, (see photos) fresh and delicious. The interaction between the kitchen and the dining tables really added to our experience. We can't wait to get back, menu is extensive and there's a lot more to try. - C&V

If you like Peruvian food, Llama Lips is a MUST. Some of the best Peruvian food we have had outside of Peru, and definitely the best Pisco Sour we have had outside Peru, comparable to the Pisco Sours at the Belmond right outside Machu Picchu. The restaurant is run by a husband/wife combo: managed by the husband Bill, and with his wife as the cook, so it's a mom and pop but doesn't feel divey at all. Bill is very friendly, and the food is authentically Peruvian. There's good variety to the menu items. We had the Pisco Sours, which as I said were the best we've had outside Peru. Perfect balance of fruit taste, alcohol, and creamy smoothness, which is hard to achieve. Lllama Lips knows what they're doing here and has trained the bartenders well; I've tried making Pisco Sours on my own a few times using quality fresh ingredients, and they are challenging drinks to make and I've never quite pulled it off myself, but Lllama Lips has mastered it. We also had the Ceviche, which was very tasty. The Aji de Gallina was also a winner, and glad to see that Lllama Lips does it well as few other Peruvian restaurants in the area even have it. The Lomo Classico was comparable to the best lomo saltado I had in Peru, served at a slightly upscale restaurant in Cusco. Will definitely be back, as Llama Lips is now my favorite Peruvian restaurant.

hands down best peruvian in Stamford and Portchester. Ceviche so yummy. great canary beans and beef short rib dish

A little gem in Stamford. Definitely recommend this restaurant. Even the desserts are worth it - the homemade flan is delicious.

Service is very good and ambiance was very good. Food was okay. They need to know more about cook temperature. I asked for fillet mignon medium-well. And I received it rare.

A friendly, warm ambiance. Great for families and friends. The dishes were generously portioned, plated with skill and full of flavor. It was obvious they use fresh ingredients. Servers were attentive but you could tell they had their hands full. As long as you have some patience, the meal is well worth it.

Amazing authentic Peruvian cuisine! Everything is made from scratch and very high-quality ingredients.

Nice people, cozy atmosphere, delicious fresh food handmade with love. Can't wait to return and try more on the menu.

Oversalted and deeply overpriced food, the shop looks nice but looks can be deceiving! Service was slow and seemed prone to forgetting order details. In a town like Stamford there are much better options for Peruvian like Acuario or Fiesta on main.

I recently tried this new Peruvian restaurant. Great care has been taken to renovate the interior, and the owners have succeeded in making the dining room and bar an elegant space with nice ambiance. We talked to Bill (the owner) and he was very pleasant and told us that his wife is the chef and the recipes are from her family. Our server was also extremely nice. We ordered Pisco Sours for our cocktails which were delicious. Bill brought over a basket with some bread along with some yummy Peruvian sauce. We ordered the fried calamari which had some lettuce and vinaigrette garnishing the plate, this was also served with three delicious sauces that complimented the food. For our main course we ordered Lomo Saltado, which was also beautifully prepared. At the end of the meal, Bill said he had a surprise for us. Then his wife, the chef, came out with a tres leches cake singing Happy Birthday (along with everyone else in the restaurant) Although it was not actually my birthday I appreciated the generosity of the dessert on the house. And it made me feel extremely welcomed. I will be back!