Perquin
Latin American restaurant · Jersey City ·
Honduran-inspired eatery with tapas, cocktails, and street food
Honduran-inspired eatery with tapas, cocktails, and street food
"A recently opened Honduran-leaning restaurant at 85 Morris Street in Paulus Hook (opened in November) leans into messy, hands-on dining: pork tostadas and shrimp tacos arrive with utensils but will likely go untouched, finger-licking sauces from herby aji verde to creamy salsa blanca invite diners to dive in, and just above the bathroom sink a fuzzy spray-painted script jests: “Aren’t you glad that you ate with your hands?” Owner Bryan Girón, 29, an alum of Barbuto, Bread & Salt, Tao Hospitality, and Shukette (where he was most recently chef de cuisine), notes that “[In New York] you have to wait months, sometimes, to eat somewhere,” and that he wanted it to be “approachable, accessible, and not so stuffy.” Honduran food is the primary draw, with influences from Ecuador, Mexico, and greater Central America; the handwritten blackboard menu changes frequently and features snacks, traditional street food playfully called chucos or “messy,” masa-centric entrees, a rotating dessert, a daily special, and an optional pre-fixed menu. The kitchen has introduced a chef’s table in view of the kitchen (the only table that requires reservations) so Girón can approximate the price of a check while experimenting. Crowd favorites include pollo chuco (fried chicken smothered in tomato salsa and salsa blanca atop lightly fried green bananas; gluten-free), salchipapa (fries with chorizo, nduja, and American wagyu hot dogs with a generous drizzle of aji verde), and a surprising hit: the baleada—“Neither taco nor quesadilla,” their version comes with refried beans, plantains, sumac, and onions stuffed into a pillowy flour tortilla; “We have two guys who are incredible at making the baleada. No one can stretch the dough like that,” he says. Girón applies techniques from Italian and Middle Eastern cooking, making many components in-house—spice blends, aiolis, french fries, pickles, vinaigrettes, crema, cheese, homemade syrups for the bar—and even turns chicken skins from chullos into chicharrón specials: “I’m applying everything that I’ve learned to what I know about Latin food and creating my own style,” he says. His family roots (moving to Bayonne at eight and summers in Tegucigalpa learning market skills from his grandmother) inform dishes like potaje, a yellow lentil soup flavored with pork and red sofrito that’s on the menu. Girón handled much of the buildout himself—gutting red booths from a French bistro and commissioning vibrant murals hand-brushed by his childhood friend Mr. Emagin—and navigated a costly liquor-license process (about $400,000); J.P. Torres oversees a lime-inflected drink list that includes pisco sours, margaritas, unconventional options, and $5 homemade coquito shots. Neighbors praise the spot: “This place is so different from anything else in the area and feels refreshing and new,” says Rory Carrillo, while food blogger Madhurima Chakraborty observed, “The service was very intimate and [took] extra care to elaborate and suggest dishes.” Bayonne resident Denzyl Amankwah adds, “It’s a very bold move to change a menu daily, but I think that kind of ambitious culinary experience is going to pay off tremendously in Jersey City.” Also note the 15-minute commute to the World Trade Center for NYC residents." - Jess Eng
"This Latin-leaning menu offers humble fare done well from Bryan Girón, who has cut his teeth at places like Barbuto, Bread and Salt, Eataly, and Shukette. Order from the chalkboard menu something like a pork and lentil stew, dolled up fries in the form of salchipapas, and an order like pollo chuco, fried chicken atop fried green bananas layered with handfuls of vegetables like red cabbage and herbs. The bar scene is lively on weekends as is the Wednesday night wine night. — MM" - Melissa McCart
"A recently opened Honduran-leaning spot in Jersey City from brothers Bryan Girón and Christopher Jones, the restaurant felt packed and very local the night before Thanksgiving, with big tables lingering into after-dinner shots. The food is terrific in a maximalist way, with lots of sauces and garnishes; the chalkboard lists items like a great lentil and pork soup (intensely savory!) and an unusual fluke ceviche with peanut, avocado, and cancha. Don’t miss the chucos as a main — pollo is the go-to, stacked with fried chicken — but the reviewer had the skirt steak ($26), marinated in pear among other ingredients, stacked atop razor-thin fried bananas and garnished with cabbage, crema, and herbs from mint to scallions and dill, recalls of the brothers’ time at Shukette. — Melissa McCart, editor, Eater NY" - Eater Staff
"A new Latin American restaurant and bar in the Paulus Hook neighborhood of Jersey City with Honduran roots, opened recently by Bryan Girón (who cooked at Barbuto, Shukette) and Christopher Jones (Eataly, Barbuto, Carbone, Shukette). The walk-in-only spot serves dishes like potage de chicharron (split pea soup) with pork ragu and baleadas (a variation on pupusas) — what they’re calling their "Honduran street food." - Emma Orlow
"A Honduran pop-up run by Bryan Girón (a former employee of the bakery) offering homey dishes that introduced the speaker to Honduran cuisine: baleadas, coconut rice and beans, fried chicken with plantains and a cabbage accompaniment, a mixed seafood soup with coconut, and pinole with hibiscus to drink. The food impressed the speaker for its authenticity and everyday appeal — especially the baleadas and the pinole — filling a local gap for Honduran flavors." - Chris Crowley, Sarah Kilcoyne
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