Ceviche Lunch at Yakumanka in CDMX (Mexico City)
Ceviche Lunch at Yakumanka in CDMX (Mexico City)
Ceviche with a Side of Mariachi
After a couple of months away from Lima, Yakumanka, a Peruvian cevichería in the midst of the leafy Roma Norte neighborhood in Mexico City felt like a must-stop for me. Seeing the bright lettering and fishing nets adorning the ceiling at Yakumanka, we knew we had come to the right place for a taste of home.
Plus, where else can you listen to a Mariachi band at a cevichería?
Yakumanka means “pot of water” in Quechua. Gaston Aucrio, the visionary behind Yakumanka and the chef who helped popularize Peruvian food around the world, uses the name to capture the larger idea of water, nature, and life flowing together1. With other locations in Spain and Switzerland, Yakumanka is also a melting pot where Peruvian cuisine intersects with the host cuisine.
The menu was simply organized into “cold” and “hot” dishes. At the top, there was a “natural” seafood section with raw dishes including oysters and a variety of clams. There were several types of ceviche and tiraditos as well as a couple of makis plus tostadas. The hot dishes included anticuchos and classics such as ají de gallina.
We started with a tostada acebichada (it rhymes), a simple fusion of Mexican and Peruvian cuisine. The appetizer featured a simple ceviche and slices of avocado on top of a fried corn tortilla. The contrast between the texture of the ceviche and the crunch of the tortilla made this a fun dish to start with.
Next, we knew we needed to dive deeper into the ceviche. Our eyes immediately gravitated to the “Lima CDMX” ceviche. The ceviche featured the kind of seafood you’d expect in a ceviche mixto-fish, shrimp, and squid. The Chile Serrano gives the dish a decidedly Mexican flavor. Chile peppers are a central part of Peruvian and Mexican cuisine, though Mexican peppers tend to be spicier. If the green in the leche de tigre was all serrano, that would’ve probably been overkill. Luckily, the leche de tigre was tempered by a good dose of cilantro.
We capped the lunch off with Lomo Saltado. Lomo Saltado is my go-to when I try a Peruvian restaurant for the first time. The Lomo Saltado at Yakumanka was full of flavor. Mexico has very good beef and it definitely shines in the Lomo Saltado.
For drinks, we ordered a Mezcalita de Guayaba and a Tropical. Both were well-balanced and refreshing. The Mezcalita de Guayaba balanced the subtle smokiness of the mezcal with the Guayaba. The Tropical was essentially a Pisco punch which has become my go-to cocktail at cevichería. It was a very good version.
Overall, Yakumanka is a good lunch spot if you want to try Peruvian food in Mexico City. The only thing I wish is that there were more dishes on the menu that boldly combine Mexican and Peruvian flavors the way the Lima CDMX ceviche did.
Finally, we didn’t order dessert. Instead, we saved room for tacos2 …
I have lots more to say about tacos and have been asked by a couple of friends to write down my recommendations. It doesn’t fit the scope of this newsletter but look for something somewhere soon!