RESTAURANT REVIEW: Casita Andina

Peru Bravo, Pisco Sour and Crunch Corn (all delicious)

I've mentioned before how much I love Peruvian food. The vibrant colours, fresh flavours and unusual ingredients are very appealing to me. Whilst I've never actually been to Peru, or South American for that matter, it's a cuisine I've tried many times in various London restaurants so whilst I'm not an expert, it's definitely something I appreciate.

A few months ago, Peruvian favourite Ceviche added a sister to their family of Peruvian restaurants, Casita Andina and I managed to acquire myself a reservation during the soft launch. Casita Andina is found in the midst of Soho and promises Peruvian food that pays homage to Grandma's cooking. Now, I don't know how real life Peruvian Grandmas cook but I imagine the food served at Casita Andina is a little more avant garde then what you'd come to expect from home cooking. Which is great because the prices aren't exactly budget.

Croquetas

We started with the pork and liver croquettes with chilli jam which were meaty, rich, and absolutely lovely.

Causa Andina

We ordered quite a few different plates of ceviche because I absolutely love the stuff. This vegetarian combo came with violet potato, asparagus, sweet potato, and lime dressing. It was very nice with the distinctive sourness of the citrus sauce but I did miss the texture of the raw fish found in the other versions we ordered.

Ceviche Casita

Not only does this plate of food look stunning, it tasted incredible as well. Sustainable seabass, amarillo tigers milk, avocado, sweet potato and cancha corn is everything you could want from ceviche. Fresh raw fish, crunchy corn, a sour citrus juice, and lots of vegetables. This was one of my favourite things on the menu.

Cobia tiradito

 This ceviche included black king fish, pineapple tiger’s milk, and nori chilli dust. The fish tasted wonderful and I've never tasted such sweet and juicy tomatoes before. Another wonderful plate of food.

Tamal

The pork in a corn dumpling, coriander, onions, tomatoes was another stand out plate of food. The pork was so tender and practically melted in the mouth as you took a bite. This was such a comforting plate of food I really wish I could eat it all over again.

Maca lamb loin

The lamb sirloin was another show stopping plate of food. Cooked perfectly pink, the meat was succulent and rich in flavour. I loved the assortment of vegetables and potatoes that accompanied this dish the variation in texture from the crunchy corn.

Chupe Seco

The king prawns, chupe cream, potato, amarillo chilli, and quail egg was a last minute addition to the menu as we wanted to take full advantage of 50% off and try as many different things as possible. Unfortunately I found the entire plate a little bland. The prawns were cooked perfectly well but none of the flavours really jumped out at me compared to everything else we have just eaten.

Choco-sauco

We finished our feast with the chocolate ball, elderberry gel, and chocolate crumble which could not have been more delicious. I love chocolate and this was a true chocolate lovers dessert!

We had a truly wonderful meal at Casita Andina thanks to the delicious food and picture perfect appearance of everything. We definitely over ordered but when there's 50% off the bill I don't mind going a little mad. On a normal visit the prices sure can add up due to the small, sharing style plates attitude. Given this, Casita Andina goes on my list of special occasion restaurants as it's not the most friendly on the wallet. I would love to return again and try a few different ceviche plates and enjoy the pork all over again. Maybe I should pop in one lunch time when I'm not as likely to spend so much.

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