Oh! Calamares

This place has the best true Peruvian food! It is absolutely superior than all the many Peruvian places that I have tried in NYC. I loved everything I ate in this place and it has an amazing service! and will definitely come back many more times.

One of our favorite Peruvian foods in the area. They make the best bistek a lo Pobre. They also make the best chupe de Camaron. It’s a bit small but the service is fast. Always a delicious meal.

I’ve been here a couple of times and each time have been highly satisfied! The staff is great, very attentive and friendly. The food is amazing, I have yet to try something I did not love! The portions are great as well. I really enjoyed the ambiance and karaoke! Would highly recommend 😊

Too clutter not enuff open space. First time with my family. We are Puerto Rican trying out Peruvian Food. Food came out hot. The Fish was good with the calamari and octopus. Yuca was DELICIOUS 😋 Fried Yuca. The French Fries I DO NOT Recommend. The Salmon dish, my son enjoyed. The Onions was sautéed and very good. Music was old school. Good memories. The Server was new so I understood. They need to have a Soda Machine for Free refill especially for the kids. The wait to leave was Not called for at all. The table wasn't being cleaned until we started cleaning off the table ourselves.

The food was great! Adriana, our waitress, was a sweetheart. Nice atmosphere. Would definitely recommend going here!

My friend loves this place and we had the most delicious, delectable meal. The service and drinks were amazing too. . . We had the traditional Peruvian rice dish and the tastiest steak with onion, tomato and potatoes The free corn nuts and spicy dip were also yummy. Can't wait to return

I love this place! Best environment, service, food, and drinks I highly recommend oh calamares!

Amazing authentic peruvian dishes. I am a vegetarian but my friends are not. They enjoyed each and every dish here.

One of our favorite Peruvian foods in the area. They make the best bistek a lo Pobre. They also make the best chupe de Camaron. It's a bit small but the service is fast. Always a delicious meal.

BEST AUTHENTIC PERUVIAN FOOD hands down. I thought I took more photos of our plates but honestly they were so yummy we all dove in and scraped our plates clean. We started with octopus for the table and if anyone knows about octopus, it's either a hit or miss. This octopus was a hit! Flavorful, cooked to perfection and overall delicious! We enjoyed Arroz Chaufa Mixto, Jalea and Tallarin Saltado. Pro Tip: : I ordered a second plate of octopus for myself and cut it up to put in my Tallarin Saltado with chicken, steak and shrimp. Hubby loved the ceviche (I'm prego so couldn't taste) and said it was some of the best he had. All the food tasted fresh, well seasoned and good quality. The portions are very generous and I feel like we got a great value for our evening. A true culinary experience we enjoyed. We went on a Friday night where we got to experience some pro Karaoke singers lol it made it fun and although it was dark with party lights, definitely still family friendly as I had my baby there.

On Saturday, we chose Oh Calamares to cater a party we were hosting. The owner: Jonathan, was very professional and did everything to ensure we were good-to-go. He also provided excellent suggestions to accommodate our group. We had steak tacos, rice, black beans, pernil, and every imaginable fixing. On the night of, they provided special dish-ware and assisted in setting up our serving area. Aside from that, all of the food was delicious! There was not a single complaint. All of our guests thought so too! Everyone was able to take home a to go lunch. My son especially enjoyed the salsa verde. We would definitely recommend Oh Calamares for any occasion. We cannot wait to go to dinner and try the restaurant. Thank you Jonathan. You are a true professional and know your business and you surely are one helluva gentleman.

Very good Peruvian food. Excellent drinks. Friendly service. Family & kid friendly!

Great place. Makes you feel at home. Food is delicious. If you love seafood, I recommend Ceviche Mancora.

Came for lunch with a party of three plus a toddler. The wait was no more then five minutes. As we walked to be seated I was impressed at the space this restaurant has. Many empty tables. Once seated it took well over ten minutes before someone came to ask if anyone took our orders. The couple who came in after us were seated and quickly received water and tostados. I ordered a ceviche mixto with hot sauce on the side. My hot sauce never came. The ceviche was served in a smaller portion then I could of ever imagined for $17. Yet, the fish was outstanding! Not once did our waitress come to ask if everything was okay or if we needed anything. When we needed something such as another knife because they cleaned our plates up so fast we didn't finish cutting the meat we couldn't manage to call someone over. I had a whole potato left on my plate and wasn't asked if I was done, yet asked if they can take it. Aside from coming to take our plates they were quick to bring the bill, that is, after waving a hand and calling out to please bring it. I highly recommend their Chicha! If I ever go back it's just for the Chicha drink.

I've tried Oh Calamares twice now and I feel like I don't get the hype. Don't get me wrong, everything is good just not great. Street parking is available and there's also a parking lot across the street so it's very convenient. The staff is again, just good. They're not as attentive as they could be but our order came out right both times. They're just a little slow paced here. I got the salmon dish the first time and it was ok, the flavor just wasn't there for me. The second time I tried the shrimp saltado and it's just too Asian inspired for me. I wish there was more depth to the flavors. My mom got the seafood stew this time and it was good, it's a very simple sauce. Nothing memorable. Last time she got the fried seafood platter and you can't go wrong with that. We also got the shrimp appetizer, I think it was called causa. It's a cold mashed potato with a slice of avocado and shrimp in the middle. It was just ok, not too flavorful. Haven't tried dessert here. I probably won't be back, I definitely wanted to give it a second try but it's just not my favorite spot.

Came here for lunch with my friend and we were super impressed. We shared the Pollo a la Brasa with FF and a salad. There green sauce and salad dressing are so good. The restaurant was empty and all the undivided attention wowed us. The place was clean and cute and the music was pumping! Augustin was very pleasant and attentive. Came back again for dinner with my friend, her BF, and my husband and the service sucked. They took forever to bring out our order and when they finally brought out our order they didn't bring out our friends. It was so stupid! My friend and her guy ordered the lomo salteado and hubs and I ordered the chicken. He had rice and beans I had the FF. The beans were bland. I also ordered papa La Huancaina and it was ok. Ive had better. My friend ordered the calamares ( their signature) They were ok. The waitress never checked up on us and had to get her attention to pick up the bill. The food in certain aspects are good and in others mediocre but doesn't taste horrible. I love the music they play. But you have to work on that service. FYI the drinks are strong so you get your moneys worth there.

Excited to try all the Peruvian, Ecadorian and other South American restaurants when I moved to Kearny...until I actually tried a few of them. Because I love Peruvian food, I went to good ole' (not really) Yelp to find a highly reviewed one. Went to a highly rated one only to find that it was only opened weekends. Drove to the other end of Kearny Ave to find another but it too was closed. Gave up and went to the next place on the street, Oh! Calamares. I had previously avoided this joint because of the lower ratings and cheesy name, but that was a mistake, it was fantastic!! Met by two beautiful young ladies who could not have been more enthusiastic about their jobs and the food, which right there sets this place apart from most other places in this era of indifferent service. Based on their gushing recommendations I ordered a gut-busting amount of food but was glad I got to taste it all. Would highly recommend this place and happy to finally have a go-to Peruvian restaurant.

The Food is always fresh and very tasty. The service staff is nice and polite. This is my favorite Peruvian restaurant.

Fresh food, good service, and a nice spot to have a date. The restaurant owners play all kind of latin music, so you will learn about their musical cultures just eating there.

The ceviche here is amazing! And the salteado is real good too! Great dinner overall. Small place with great Peruvian dishes.

Pésimo servicio!!!! Esperamos una eternidad y cuando la comida llego, llego fría y muy desepcionada de este lugar me lo recomendaron, pero desafortunadamente no fue lo que esperaba yo ni de chiste regresaría a este lugar y por supuesto que jamás lo recomendaría!!! Arroz Chaufa

I loved the food!! I had leche de tigre and also i had the pulpo a la parrilla! Huuuuuuuu suuuuuuper good! I highly recommend this restaurant

A bit disorganized, we asked for a table and were told there was a 40 minutes wait, we mentioned a couple of tables open on the outside, then we were offer one. Food quality was below my expectations, we wait about 30 minutes for appetizer and then another 25 for the main course. Fish and calamar were overcook, flavor was ok. Aji de gallina had big pieces of chicken and some bones not supposed to be on this dish. Again flavor was ok Maybe Sunday is not the best day

Had dinner here with my bff and even though we love Peruvian food we were not huge fans. The place smelled a bit and that threw us off. My friend had the shrimp saltado and I had the rice and shrimps. Both were okay. The onion sauce they put on top of my meal was good though. The waiter was nice but he did get our orders wrong but the manager came out and apologize and our food came out fast.

I was really looking forward to this place. But unfortunately the service was extremely extremely slow. From taking the orders to bringing out the food. A friend of mine had to wait for awhile for his order (he ordered the simplest item, a chicken dish) after we all were served. The arroz mariscada was bland. The two dishes/appetizers that we recommend is the Chicharron de Pescado a la Costenera and ceviche en leche de Tigre.

We had great service and the food was tasty. The portions were enough to share with one other person. I would definitely go back soon.

They have good food, but unfortunately their service is lacking and really terrible. You will definitely wait over 30 mins to get your food regardless of how many tables are full. It almost makes me not want to come here anymore...!?

Terrible experience from the start. Hostess hardly acknowledges presence when you come in to the restaurant. Felt like you were there to service them instead of the other way around if you ever experienced that feeling. Barely glanced at us when asking for a table. Service is slow in general. 2hrs In restaurant for one appetizer and 3 main entrees Then realized that waiters didn't need to rush since they tacked an 18% gratuity fee. The food was ok. Nothing out of this world. Jalea hardly had a piece of fish. Ceviche had a good flavor but fish felt like it was just taken out of the freezer before prepared. Asked for Seco which normally comes with salsa criolla on top but had to order separately for $4 since it did not come with dish. Disappointing experience overall.

Pretty good Peruvian restaurant. Food was good. Service was ok. Gratuity is included in the bill, which I also disliked. Cause was nothing great. Overall not a bad place.

one of the worst experienced ever , the appetizers weren't bad the people working there need an extra week or two of training for sure , we order our dishes after we decide what to have , literally 30-40 minutes for a jalea and frijoles con seco that weren't even that good , there's lot of miss communication between the staff , i order also a grilled chicken to go which i ordered ahead of time. when i asked the check i found out the grilled chicken was never ordered. i ended up cancelling it since i didnt feel waiting an extra 40minutes. just didn't feel that 23$ for tip was fair for the attention that i got.

Had not been here in a while (pre-pandemic). Today was not a good experience. Restaurant does not equal club or lounge for that matter. The music was super loud, you could barely hear the waitress, which may be the reason that after taking our order she went missing until the time we flagged someone for the check. Service was subzero. They might have lost their cook as the food wasn't there either. I had the seco norteño and the beans were super undercooked, but the meat was ok. The aji de gallina was three thumbs down as they are playing around with ingredients and the chunks of chicken were too big. My girls had salchipapa, which came with some fries burnt. The food wasn't good and the atmosphere sucked as well. This place definitely lost its touch and most likely won't return, sucks too because this was my go to spot when I was in Kearny area.

This place is small for the volume of customers that come in, but there is a reason for that - the food is delicious! Always a packed house on the weekends so make sure to come in at least a half hour before you plan on ordering your food. No reservations taken so since it's walk in only, you're most likely going to wait a bit before being seated. On a Saturday night around 8 pm we had a 45 minute wait, but there is a small area at the entrance where you can order drinks at the bar where they have a wide selection of liquor. They make good margaritas and even make blended drinks. Being an authentic Peruvian restaurant you will find all of the best known Peruvian dishes, such as, chaufa which is a stir fried rice prepared the Peruvian way, causa which is a mashed potato mold stuffed with meat (served cold), traditional ceviche which is always a hit, tallarin verde is Peruvian pesto mixed in with linguine and served with youR choice of protein ( I prefer skirt steak ), and my favorite - lomo or pollo saltado ( steak or chicken stir fry ) - amazing! They are happy to accommodate dinners for large families; when I came for dinner, there was a party of 10 for a birthday celebration. Not located in a private section since it is a small place but a comfortable area for the family there while other patrons such as ourselves had dinner. Reasonable prices as well.

Oh! Calamares is my go to Peruvian restaurant around my area. The food is extremely good and reminds me of my mom's cooking which is the best! Also, having a full bar doesn't hurt. On Friday nights they have karaoke and on Sunday afternoons from 3-7 they have live music (the two performers are to die for)! If you want the full Peruvian experience at this restaurant I would come on Sunday. Order a Pisco Sour drink, Choros a la chalaca (mussels with a salsa like topping) a ceviche mixto & a lomo. I guarantee you'll leave satisfied! I will continue to recommend this restaurant to all of my friends.

If you are looking for some good, authentic Peruvian Food then your search has ended! Oh Calamares is a must visit without a doubt! We came on a random Sunday afternoon and of course there was a wait. Very typical and usually a good indicator that the food is good. So we decided to wait and one of the guys ordered a Pisco Sour while we waited for our table. Once seated, since the place was super packed, we were given a table directly behind the band. Yes, there was a live 2 people band playing which really added to the good vibes of the place! It really put people in a happy place and I even saw a couple get up to dance! Super cute! lol FYI: The band is there every Sunday from 3:00 to 7:00pm. With that being said, it was definitely hard to converse sitting behind the band and my friend's son kept covering his hears because it was so loud so we noticed that the table behind us had cleared and we asked if we could be moved. Our waitress Jimena moved us without a problem! Shortly after we placed our order for drinks and appetizers. Since my boy was Peruvian he basically ordered the entire menu and was super proud to have brought us to this establishment as he comes here quite often and feels it represents Peruvian food correctly. So we started with the Antichucho (yup cow's heart!), Leche de Tigre (Flounder, Calamari, onion and corn all in in sauce that was pretty acidic) and half a dozen of their Choritos a la Chacala (opened mussels topped with red onions, corn, cilantro and lime I believe). All were really good and one of the guys had no idea what Antichucho was but asked for the last piece! We told him way after since he is a picky eater and he had no idea. He loved every piece of that Antichucho! lol For entrees, we got the Arroz con Marisco, Chaufa de Pollo and the Lomo Saltado de Carne. My Arroz con Marisco was delicious and the portion was huge! I tasted the other two entrees as well and they were just as good. The carne in the lomo had was juicy and had great flavor. We also got the chicken with fries for his son and he loved it. And yes we ordered drinks! The Pisco Sour was awesome and I even tasted the Allgarrobina and it was really good as well. One of the guys also had the Super Cholo lol which was pisco with redbull and I ended my night with a typical Cusquena beer. First time tasting it and I will definitely will have again lol And since it was one of the guys birthday, the live band sang him Happy Birthday and brought over a Tres Leches with a sparkler! I'm not big on sweets whatsoever but that Tres Leches was bomb! I probably had more than I should have lol What made the night even more special was that the owner Jonathan went around and spoke to some of the guest. We were lucky enough to engage with him in conversation and to see how passionate he was about not only making authentic food but delivering great service and providing a fun and different atmosphere for his patrons was really admirable. He really has a great thing going with Oh Calamares! This spot literally has it all. From good service, authentic food and fun vibes that makes for a perfect time out for couples, friends and families! Looking forward to returning real soon!

Not a place to order fish. Grill chicken was awesome. Shrimp was definitely not fresh. It was frozen cooked shrimp. Corvina ordered grilled. This was so dry, fishy and had pins (bones). Again the chicken chicken was awesome. Definitely not a fish spot.

They have one of the best Peruvian Shaufa I ever eaten! The service isn't great! But you're looking for a good place listening karaoke while you eating this the one

As you walk in to the restaurant, the bar is right up front, passing the bar opens up to the dining room where the tables are, but it is dark wood, dark floors, dark walls, dark wood blinds on the windows. So the whole place is dark. We opted to sit by the window so that we can open the blinds and see the menu and be able to see what we are eating. Menu looked good. Specials were written on the wall. I saw they Pulpapito a la parrilla (Grilled Octopus) so I ordered that. Also ordered a Shrimp Chaufa and Fish Ceviche. The fish Ceviche was good, but the fish hadn't really been cooked through by the lemon, partially because the fish was cut into cubes instead of sliced. The chaufa or fried rice was okay. It needed more time in the wok and a little more oil and moisture. The best dish in my opinion was the Octopus. It was tender and Grilled well. The grilled asparagus was on point. The only thing was that it was over salted. Otherwise a pretty decent meal.

Hands down the best Peruvian food in town. Everything is fresh, prepared to near perfection, and nicely presented. Ceviche, Jalea (deep fried mixed seafood), arroz chaufa, tallarines, papa a la huancaina, all delish!!! I am not at all a fan of lomo saltado, but I've tried it here when people ordered and it is very good! It's definitely pricier than the rest of the places in town, but you definitely get your money's worth when it comes to freshness and flavor. Also make sure to get yourself a Pisco sour while you wait for your food. ENJOY!!!

Superb Peruvian food, cocktails and service. Don't think, just go! Get the octopus, quinoa crusted fish and pisco sour all day!

Recently relocated to Kearny and came across this place on Yelp on a crave for Peruvian food. The place is super low key, but they cook a hell of a meal in that kitchen. Service was awesome. Great place for intimate dinner. Place is super clean with nice decor. Highly recommend to try the Churrasco. Keep up the great work.

Heard that the owners were related to my previous favorite peruvian place Costanera(rip) so decided to check it out. Overall enjoyed the food, similar quality to my old place. Service was a little slow but they seemed like they only had one waiter at the time I went. Would come back again.

We love this place! First off, the prices aren't cheap but very expensive either. This place has a great atmosphere with some live music in the weekends. The food is terrific and authentic as well. Overall it is a great dining experience every time we come here, which is usually at least once every couple weeks, if not more often... P.S. Their sister restaurant, Somos, in nearby North Arlington is also worth a visit...

The food and portions were great but service quality was very low. I had gone the night before and given my number and name for the wait list and was told it would be a 40 minute wait. I never ended up receiving a call. Decided to go the following day when it was slower and was seated right away. The waitress did not follow up past taking the order. I had to flag her down numerous times to add on to the order (adding an entree and dessert). It felt like I was doing her a favor instead of her being gracious and attentive! Overall the food was great, but the lack of good customer service makes me reluctant to come back.

I'm venturing out of Harrison because of the new developed buildings I just moved into - anyway I want to see what the neighborhood is like to go out to eat. Tried a couple places that were gems. This is not it! MAN! These reviews do not lie. First off, the prices on the menu are $$$ - Manhattan prices - so you should expect a very good meal, which was my expectation. My chicken personally was rubbery and the lomo saltado was quite small for the $30 plate. I rolled my eyes to pay $80 for a quick dinner out. We were rushed out by the waitresses who looked obviously tired to want to go home and check out of work. Additionally - I got to say this - I ordered a cocktail and it arrived frozen, I asked for it on ice - manager said "no can do"t. I'm exhausted, not going to fight over a $10 drink, but the least management can do is try to make their customers happy with the prices. If the service isn't good and the food is OK - why the hell is everything so expensive? Will not be back.

The food was not good. I had a Lomo Saltado which was over seasoned. I was also not happy with the Causa I ordered. The Causa was under seasoned. They were also very stingy with their hot sauce. I did like their passion fruit pisco that is why I gave them 1star. I asked the waiter for water and it was never brought to the table.

Came here with a group of friends for dinner. The appetizer selections are great and large for sharing but dinner although sounded nice on the menu fell short food was under cooked and overly salty. This is a perfect date night place to order drinks and appetizers.

This place has great food, creviche is excellent, fresh and refreshing. The roasted chicken is juicy and tasty. We had to wait for about 40mins on a Saturday afternoon because there were a few birthday parties. It was actually not busy around 6-7 at all. Given the food quality here, it's totally worth the wait! They have live music on Sunday afternoon, great atmosphere.

Like most of the low ratings... the food was fantastic!!! But the service.... terrible. We asked for a glass of water to two different servers, and after waiting until our food was almost done, I decided to walk up to the bar and get it myself. The girl seemed irritated at my request. No one ever came to ask if we needed second drinks, or anything else. And they added an 18% service charge to the bill for a party of 5.

I do like this place, the food is great...however, I just order choclo con queso I pay $12 and I got the smallest thing and over price one can get.

I wish I could give it zero stars! If you come here and speak only English, forget about getting a table if they're busy. They will take the Spanish-speaking customers first! Prejudiced! Racist! Please do not give them your business! Feel free to message me for more information! N. E. V. E. R. !!! Kearny born and raised, I cannot stress this enough. They'll even laugh at you as you walk out the door!!!!

I ordered here a few times. The service is good and friendly, but the food is less than average. My friend order a chicken and it was still bloody in the middle so we had to return it. I ordered some rice and fried yuca which was delicious, but I'm not sure if it's worth it for the price. Maybe I'll give them a try again, but if you buy chicken here, please make sure you cut into it before eating it.

Worst customer service ever. Drove up over an hour to have what I thought would be a fun and enjoyable dinner. The service is just horrible. We ordered drinks and our food promptly and it took over an hour to get our drinks and even just water! Didn't matter how many times we asked if our drinks were ready it's as if we didn't exist. Food is always good, however my food was cold. Since it was taking forever to get our drinks I didn't even bother mentioning the food being cold. The fact that our one round of drinks that we ordered didn't come out until we asked for the check just lacks customer service. At that point the drinks should've been on the house. It's sad because I've been here before and we had a great time, and I was excited to bring my friends from out of state for dinner, but they left very disappointed. I can't even say it was a busy night because it really wasn't the place had maybe 5 tables taken.

Oh My! How i love My Peruvian food. I came here hungry for a Peruvian breakfast and it definitely met my expectations! The Tamal was moist salty and delicious, the chicharon was crispy, the eggs were cooked like my mom makes em. Mmmm now I def want to go back, till next week desayuno Peruano. Don't forget to top it off with onions and hot sauce for an extra kick!

This is my favorite Peruvian go to spot , especially for the family. They have live entertainment sometimes which is pretty cool. Drinks are pretty strong - pisco sour is done well here. They don't do pollo, unfortunately but a lot of other great options of course to choose from. I personally like the chaufa mixto , these portions are pretty ridiculously generous imo. I've also had the lomo saltado , tallarín verde con bistec, and choros a la chalaca. All wins ! Get there early because they don't take reservations.

Great food. Great service. Love every dish they make. I have eaten here countless times. The servers are professional and the food is delicious. Everytime! I recommend the ceviche de pescado picante. It's My favorite.

No one does Ceviche like this place. This is a favorite of mine. I have tried most of their plates, and they are excellent. Definitely a favorite of mine. Good food, great service, and plenty of parking. Every now and then, they have live Peruvian music to give you that full Peruvian experience. This is Peruvian Heaven if you ask me!!

Ok , where do I begin, seafood is good but they need to work on timing , I ordered 3 pasta dishes and it took them 25 , I'm former chef and I know pasta dishes takes at the most 12 minuets. another thing they need to have steak knife and no butter knifes and talk about steak it was over cooked. Hope they solve this issues

I've been living in Kearny for so many years and passed by Oh! Calamares each time thinking: "Really got to give 'em a try." Well, I finally fulfilled that thought and I'm so glad that I did. The food tastes really good for the most part and the portions are large enough that you'll definitely leave extremely full and with leftovers. They start you off with these corn nuts instead of bread that comes with a spicy green sauce (gives you a nice kick but isn't "grab your heart and squint everything" spicy). We ordered a mango milkshake that was quite fresh, but I could smell the milk (it didn't go bad, I just have an aversion to beverages when I can actually smell the milk) so that turned me off immediately. For entree, we ordered pescado a lo macho and then some sort of seafood specialty dish. The seafood specialty dish was the real winner between the two entrees. The first time I tried pescado a lo macho was a much creamier sauce and theirs tasted like a non-fat version of what I was hoping for. Postre (Dessert): Order the combinado clasico. It is a layered dessert of purple corn jelly and rice pudding. I was hesitant to try at first, but then I started feeling adventurous and ended up ordering it. Really glad that I did because this was really well-prepared and tasted great. It isn't too sweet and has a nice consistency. The purple corn gelatin mixture tops heated rice pudding - SO Good. A milkshake, 2 entrees and a dessert came to only about $45 so I think the prices are very good here. It would've been at least double in NYC so I actually consider this a great bargain.