Awicha
At Awicha, Chef Jason Roman presents guests with an intimate, autobiographical menu that celebrates artisanal ingredients while drawing on influences from France, Japan, Italy, and beyond. The name which means “grandmother” in Quechua reflects the lack of pretense with which Roman’s one-of-a-kind cuisine is served.
Location
Awicha is conveniently located in Barranco, a few blocks from Puente de los Suspiros. It shares a street with Isolina and Siete.
Restaurant Layout
Awicha, set in a colonial home, has a simple layout. There are two restaurants across from each other. Awicha is on the left. It consists of a smaller room that leads to another room. The walls are decorated by works of local artists.
Menu
I am not usually a fan of creative menu formats, but I appreciated the handcrafted menus at Awicha. With its craft feel, the menus were fun to browse.
Many diners comment on its small menu. However, to me, the menu felt quite large for the space.
What I Ordered
First, I ordered their ceviche mixto which has “cocoa mucilage.”
Ingredient Note: when you break open a cocoa pod, the mucilage is the slimy, white pulp that encases each of the cacao seeds. The mucilage is typically thrown away during the production of chocolate. Here at Awicha, it found a home in the ceviche of the day. The ceviche featured the fish of the day, Charella, and octopus.
I went to Awicha with the idea of ordering duck. There were several duck options so I asked the waiter for his advice. He steered me towards the Magret de Pato (Duck Magret), seared duck breast, which I was already eying.
To drink, I also ordered a non-alcoholic Culpiña, a blend of pineapple, lime, and coriander.
Prices
The ceviche was 49 soles (13 dollars) and the duck dishes range from 65-75 soles (17-20 dollars) which is on the high end for non-tasting menu dishes in Lima. The prices for the beverages seemed particularly high. However, the prices were very reasonable for the quality of the dishes.
My Take
Awicha is very refined yet approachable and easy to enjoy. The ceviche was unlike any other ceviche I’ve had. The leche de tigre was drizzled over the seafood at the moment. The lime was fresh yet the ceviche did not taste primarily of lime. The fish and the octopus were beautifully textured.
The cocoa mucilage injected an interesting riddle into the ceviche. On each bite, it tasted a little different. On first blush, it tasted a bit like tamarind to me. On another bite, it was sweeter. I’ve had many ceviches, and I never had anything like it before.
If you’re just interested in “trying ceviche in Peru,” I would point you to a list of other places. But it’s definitely worth ordering if you want to try cacao as a unique, oft-neglected Peruvian ingredient.
The duck magret was beautifully cooked. The duck had a deep essential flavor and the potato puree was delicious. The salad tasted of wild leaves which I really enjoyed.
You can just enjoy Awicha’s offerings at face value, but a closer look at the menu and influences reveals many subtleties. It’s a great example of cocina de autor, which roughly translates as “signature cuisine.”
The food is not classically Peruvian yet it uses the highest quality Peruvian ingredients. For example, the duck is sourced from the farm of Chef Jason Roman’s uncle in Huacho. The potatoes in the puree have the unique taste of Peruvian potatoes.
I first heard about Awicha as a “French-Peruvian” fusion restaurant, but it’s much more than that. The duck preparations certainly have a French strong influence. At first order, the Duck Magret feels like French food made with Peruvian Ingredients. Others have called the menu a Mediterranean-Peruvian fusion. There’s a whole section of the menu devoted to pasta.
It seems that each person’s impression is based on what path you follow through the menu. It’s not too important to categorize what Awicha is since the menu is constantly evolving with the season and the chef’s personal evolution. I just know that the more I read the menu about Awicha’s story, the more interested I become in Chef Roman’s story and how these diverse influences came to shape him and his cuisine. There are many restaurants in Peru that boldly fuse flavors and ideas from diverse cuisines. However, Awicha’s matter of bringing things together is a bit quieter and understated, providing a nice respite.
Next Time
Next time, I would like to try the duck in a completely different way with the duck ceviche. It would also be nice to try a drink or two from the carefully curated cocktail and spirits menu.
Essential Info
Jirón Domeyer 296, Barranco
Mon-Thurs: 12-4 pm, 7-11 pm
Fri and Sat: 12-10:30 pm
Sunday: 12-9 pm
https://www.awicharestaurante.com
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