Andina Rolls Out First-Ever Peruvian Brunch

The Pearl District’s established Peruvian restaurant, Andina has been serving bright and refreshing tapas and entrees since 2003, but it’s about to push into new territory: weekend brunch. Starting September 16, Andina will serve Peruvian-style brunch Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Andina is currently accepting brunch reservations by phone.

Have you ever eaten alpaca? How about a version of eggs Benedict with jamón serrano, potato-quinoa bread, and a creamy sauce punctuated with robust rocoto peppers? The honed brunch menu at Andina features only a handful of plates — all packed with South American ingredients less common to Portland.

One of the first dishes curious carnivores should consider is the omelet de cecina shilbida, which brings a rare protein to the table: shredded alpaca charqui (jerky), cooked in a sofrito aji amarillo with green onions and cumin. There are three breakfast sandwiches, too, ranging from the ubiquitous avocado toast, to the sanguche de chicharron, a more traditional sandwich of house-cured pork belly and sweet potato slices on South American-style French bread with aji amarillo aioli, butter leaf lettuce, and salsa criolla.

Andina’s breakfast drinks should be a highlight: Find a breakfast version of its popular pisco sour, and the horchata de café is a promising blend of cinnamon-infused rum layered with almond-hazelnut horchata and served in the style of café de olla — tall over ice — with cold brew coffee.

After 14 years of Andina’s fun and flavorful plates in the Pearl, Peruvian-style brunch seems like a natural fit.

• Andina [Official]
• All Previous Andina Coverage [EPDX]