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A bowl of ceviche with hunks of raw fish, sweet potato, corn, and just a touch of fried calamari.
Ceviche at Casa Zoraya.
Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

Where to Find Jaw-Dropping Peruvian Food in Portland and Beyond

Sample lomo saltado and feast on ceviche at these restaurants around town

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Ceviche at Casa Zoraya.
| Brooke Jackson-Glidden/Eater Portland

Quinoa, lauded as a protein-packed superfood, might be Peru’s most recognized culinary export, but there’s certainly more to the Andean cuisine than grain substitutes. Thanks to the astounding biodiversity of the country, plus the mishmash of culinary influences — including African, European, Japanese, and Chinese — Peruvian food’s distinct profile stands out in the South American landscape. While Portland might not have a large Peruvian community, the city offers a variety of options for those seeking Peruvian standards like pollo a la brasa, Chinese-influenced fare like arroz Chaufa, and stir-fries incorporating french fries. Some restaurants hone in on a specific facet of Peruvian cooking — Japanese Peruvian Nikkei cuisine, ceviche — while others focus on a region, like the Andes. Some specifically seek out Peruvian varietals of tubers, peppers, and corn from niche Oregon farms. All are showcasing the country’s culinary excellence from afar. For a broader spectrum of Latin American food, check out our map featuring Latin American favorites.

Note: Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

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Casa Zoraya

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One of 2018’s breakout stars, Casa Zoraya brings beautifully plated Peruvian fare to Piedmont. Run by Andina alum, Zoraya Zambrano, and her children, the cozy, tapestry-filled restaurant serves all the classics — ceviches, empanadas, and lomo saltado. That being said, everything on the plate pops like colorful works of art. Add a pisco sour (or two) and it’s easy to pretend you’re in Lima, especially if sitting on the back patio.

Andina, the Pearl’s fine dining Peruvian stalwart, is still going strong. While seafood-filled arroz con mariscos and citrusy ceviche remain popular, the menu is always evolving; past visits have involved dishes like causa de congrejo with Dungeness crab and XO chupe sauce, an inventive Hong Kong-Andean hybrid. The tender anticuchos are remarkably flavorful and well executed, served with salsa criolla; the beef hearts are certainly the highlight, but lamb and chicken are also available.

Downtown’s Lechon, with a mesmerizing jellyfish-filled aquarium behind the bar, serves a wide-ranging South American menu. There are many nods to Peru, though, including tuna tiradito, which differs from chunkier ceviche as the raw fish is thinly sliced. Fun tapas like the Peruvian fried chicken bites tossed in fermented hot honey, sprinkled with corn, and plated atop basil aioli, are a clear case of taste trumping tradition. And the restaurant’s take on lomo saltado, served with coconut rice, is particularly nice.

Jarana, operating out of the back of Grand Avenue’s Lulu, gives new meaning to bar food. There aren’t many spots in town (ok, none) where late-night diners can get a taste of Nikkei cuisine, the Japanese Peruvian cuisine that emerged organically in South America. At Jarana, that translates to steak-filled lomo saltado, sure, but also elegant snacks like oysters dressed with pisco and trout roe and fun hand-held chicken katsu sandwiches, perfect for sharing by candlelight.

Salt & Pepper Peruvian Food Cart

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Belmont’s Salt & Pepper, the Peruvian food truck unaffiliated with the restaurant of the same name, has a surprisingly robust menu. Owner Rafael Luis Garcia turns out seafood-packed ceviches that would be at home on a white tablecloth; caldo de gallina, a homey chicken noodle soup featuring a drumstick and hard boiled egg; and sweets like picarones, sweet potato doughnuts drizzled with cinnamon-spiked syrup. Visitors can pair their food with a pilsner from Earthlab Libations, a tap truck that shares the same gravel lot across from the Vern.

Third Culture Kitchen

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Third Culture Kitchen at the Hinterland food cart pod draws on the American chefs’ childhoods in Peru and Japan, which results in an eclectic menu that contains everything from Nashville hot chicken sandwiches to ramen made with brisket. Peruvian cuisine emerges in the form of pollo saltado (soy curls are also available) and specials like the asado con puré, essentially mashed potatoes and beef smothered with gravy. Third Culture Kitchen’s version is made with pork shoulder and freshened up with a little fennel and pear salad.

El Inka Peruvian Cuisine

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Many mourned the loss of El Inka, a once legendary pollo a la brasa specialist in Gresham that closed in 2019. The good news is that it quietly reopened in a nondescript building with easy-to-miss signage on Division near the Jade District. The burnished rotisserie chicken, served with french fries and salad, is as succulent as ever. But for variety, start with a few anticucho skewers or kid (and stoner) friendly salchipapas, french fries tossed with sliced hot dogs, and don’t forget to add an order of jalea, battered fried seafood, for the table.

Three plates of Peruvian food, including salchipapas.
Salchipapas, pollo a la brasa, and tallarines verdes at El Inka.
Krista Garcia/Eater Portland

Salt & Pepper

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Foster-Powell’s Salt & Pepper is practically hiding in plain sight, up a short staircase inside El Campesino, a Latin American grocer that has a solid selection of Peruvian products. It’s ok to ignore the Mexican part of the menu and concentrate on dishes like sudado con mariscos, a tomato-based seafood stew served with yuca and rice, or cau cau, an Afro-Peruvian tripe stew that’s lesser seen at local restaurants.

Mama’s Peruvian Bowls

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Yes, even Peruvian cuisine can be bowl-ified, as Mama’s Peruvian Bowls, a cart at the CORE pod on 82nd proves. The paper bowls contain a deceptively large amount of food, with options like lomo saltado, stir-fried beef and french fries served over rice. Peruvians also like their spaghetti, offered here as tallarines verdes, in a creamy pesto, and a la huancaina, a rich cheese sauce, yellow from aji amarillo paste. Diners can also choose from empanadas, ceviche, and vegetarian versions of traditional dishes using mushrooms in lieu of steak, the only meat on the menu.

Lomo saltado, tallarines a la huancaina, alfajor, and Inca Kola can.
Lomo saltado, tallarines a la huancaina, and alfajor from Mama’s Peruvian Bowls.
Krista Garcia/Eater Portland

Tita's Kitchen

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Tita’s Kitchen at the Portland Mercado knows people who graze like handheld options. Hence, the sandwiches featuring chicharron, lomo saltado, and yucca patties. All of those fillings are also available as plates served with yellow rice and plantains, but anyone who enjoys over-the-top creations needs to try Tita’s salchipapas, with the addition of shredded chicken and cheddar cheese, plus all three of their sauces: limey criolla, mild aji amarillo, and spicy rocoto. Tita’s Kitchen also has locations in Troutdale and Happy Valley.

Lima Restaurant

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Lima, a casual restaurant in downtown Beaverton, is the real deal for Peruvian food on the westside. While many offerings around town stick close to the classics, Lima’s are fairly extensive, especially when it comes to seafood dishes like picante de camarones, shrimp stewed in spicy peanut sauce. Look out for weekend specials — diners who show up on Sundays can order seco de cabrito, a goat stew, as well as Peruvian breakfast items like sandwiches stuffed with chicharron, cau cau, a tripe-and-potato stew seasoned with mint, and banana-wrapped tamales, filled with chicken or pork.

Casa Zoraya

One of 2018’s breakout stars, Casa Zoraya brings beautifully plated Peruvian fare to Piedmont. Run by Andina alum, Zoraya Zambrano, and her children, the cozy, tapestry-filled restaurant serves all the classics — ceviches, empanadas, and lomo saltado. That being said, everything on the plate pops like colorful works of art. Add a pisco sour (or two) and it’s easy to pretend you’re in Lima, especially if sitting on the back patio.

Andina

Andina, the Pearl’s fine dining Peruvian stalwart, is still going strong. While seafood-filled arroz con mariscos and citrusy ceviche remain popular, the menu is always evolving; past visits have involved dishes like causa de congrejo with Dungeness crab and XO chupe sauce, an inventive Hong Kong-Andean hybrid. The tender anticuchos are remarkably flavorful and well executed, served with salsa criolla; the beef hearts are certainly the highlight, but lamb and chicken are also available.

Lechon

Downtown’s Lechon, with a mesmerizing jellyfish-filled aquarium behind the bar, serves a wide-ranging South American menu. There are many nods to Peru, though, including tuna tiradito, which differs from chunkier ceviche as the raw fish is thinly sliced. Fun tapas like the Peruvian fried chicken bites tossed in fermented hot honey, sprinkled with corn, and plated atop basil aioli, are a clear case of taste trumping tradition. And the restaurant’s take on lomo saltado, served with coconut rice, is particularly nice.

Jarana

Jarana, operating out of the back of Grand Avenue’s Lulu, gives new meaning to bar food. There aren’t many spots in town (ok, none) where late-night diners can get a taste of Nikkei cuisine, the Japanese Peruvian cuisine that emerged organically in South America. At Jarana, that translates to steak-filled lomo saltado, sure, but also elegant snacks like oysters dressed with pisco and trout roe and fun hand-held chicken katsu sandwiches, perfect for sharing by candlelight.

Salt & Pepper Peruvian Food Cart

Belmont’s Salt & Pepper, the Peruvian food truck unaffiliated with the restaurant of the same name, has a surprisingly robust menu. Owner Rafael Luis Garcia turns out seafood-packed ceviches that would be at home on a white tablecloth; caldo de gallina, a homey chicken noodle soup featuring a drumstick and hard boiled egg; and sweets like picarones, sweet potato doughnuts drizzled with cinnamon-spiked syrup. Visitors can pair their food with a pilsner from Earthlab Libations, a tap truck that shares the same gravel lot across from the Vern.

Third Culture Kitchen

Third Culture Kitchen at the Hinterland food cart pod draws on the American chefs’ childhoods in Peru and Japan, which results in an eclectic menu that contains everything from Nashville hot chicken sandwiches to ramen made with brisket. Peruvian cuisine emerges in the form of pollo saltado (soy curls are also available) and specials like the asado con puré, essentially mashed potatoes and beef smothered with gravy. Third Culture Kitchen’s version is made with pork shoulder and freshened up with a little fennel and pear salad.

El Inka Peruvian Cuisine

Many mourned the loss of El Inka, a once legendary pollo a la brasa specialist in Gresham that closed in 2019. The good news is that it quietly reopened in a nondescript building with easy-to-miss signage on Division near the Jade District. The burnished rotisserie chicken, served with french fries and salad, is as succulent as ever. But for variety, start with a few anticucho skewers or kid (and stoner) friendly salchipapas, french fries tossed with sliced hot dogs, and don’t forget to add an order of jalea, battered fried seafood, for the table.

Three plates of Peruvian food, including salchipapas.
Salchipapas, pollo a la brasa, and tallarines verdes at El Inka.
Krista Garcia/Eater Portland

Salt & Pepper

Foster-Powell’s Salt & Pepper is practically hiding in plain sight, up a short staircase inside El Campesino, a Latin American grocer that has a solid selection of Peruvian products. It’s ok to ignore the Mexican part of the menu and concentrate on dishes like sudado con mariscos, a tomato-based seafood stew served with yuca and rice, or cau cau, an Afro-Peruvian tripe stew that’s lesser seen at local restaurants.

Mama’s Peruvian Bowls

Yes, even Peruvian cuisine can be bowl-ified, as Mama’s Peruvian Bowls, a cart at the CORE pod on 82nd proves. The paper bowls contain a deceptively large amount of food, with options like lomo saltado, stir-fried beef and french fries served over rice. Peruvians also like their spaghetti, offered here as tallarines verdes, in a creamy pesto, and a la huancaina, a rich cheese sauce, yellow from aji amarillo paste. Diners can also choose from empanadas, ceviche, and vegetarian versions of traditional dishes using mushrooms in lieu of steak, the only meat on the menu.

Lomo saltado, tallarines a la huancaina, alfajor, and Inca Kola can.
Lomo saltado, tallarines a la huancaina, and alfajor from Mama’s Peruvian Bowls.
Krista Garcia/Eater Portland

Tita's Kitchen

Tita’s Kitchen at the Portland Mercado knows people who graze like handheld options. Hence, the sandwiches featuring chicharron, lomo saltado, and yucca patties. All of those fillings are also available as plates served with yellow rice and plantains, but anyone who enjoys over-the-top creations needs to try Tita’s salchipapas, with the addition of shredded chicken and cheddar cheese, plus all three of their sauces: limey criolla, mild aji amarillo, and spicy rocoto. Tita’s Kitchen also has locations in Troutdale and Happy Valley.

Lima Restaurant

Lima, a casual restaurant in downtown Beaverton, is the real deal for Peruvian food on the westside. While many offerings around town stick close to the classics, Lima’s are fairly extensive, especially when it comes to seafood dishes like picante de camarones, shrimp stewed in spicy peanut sauce. Look out for weekend specials — diners who show up on Sundays can order seco de cabrito, a goat stew, as well as Peruvian breakfast items like sandwiches stuffed with chicharron, cau cau, a tripe-and-potato stew seasoned with mint, and banana-wrapped tamales, filled with chicken or pork.

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