A Taste of Peru on Smith Street

We stopped by Mancora for a quick-and-easy light meal, but we got a lot more than we bargained for — a delicious and hearty feast, extremely friendly service, and drinks that left us thirsty for more. As soon as we started snacking on the complimentary appetizer of fried banana chips and dip, we knew we were in for a treat.

We started with the palta rellena — a perfectly ripe avocado stuffed with vegetables and drizzled with a creamy sauce. For our main course, we tried the pollo saltado, a chicken version of lomo saltado, a stir fry that traditionally includes beef with onions, tomatos, French fries, and rice. Here, it’s offered with either beef or chicken, and it made for a filling main course — but the portion size of the Ceviche Mancora was even bigger. Halibut marinated with hot yellow peppers was piled alongside mussels, clams and shrimp, brightly flavored with lime juice, scallions, and cilantro. There was enough citrus-cooked seafood for two, dotted with deep-fried corn kernels called cancha, which offer a satisfying crunch.

On the drink tip, their perfectly poured pisco sours go down easy, as does the Cristal, a light beer imported from Peru. We were interested in a bottle of Cusqueña Malta, a dark Peruvian beer, but our friendly waiter advised us against it. “It’s really, really sweet — it’s not like Guinness,” he said. “Whenever somebody wants to try it for the first time, I tell them this. Then, they send it back because it’s too sweet.”

And speaking of sweets, we were too full for dessert this time around, but the next time we stop by, we’ll save room for the tres leches bread pudding, or perhaps, if we’re feeling adventurous, the mazamorra morada — boiled peruvian purple corn with cinnamon, raisins, and plum.