Best Peruvian Ceviches In San Francisco Near Me

4worldlovers: Picture yourself sitting in this buzzing Potrero Hill hotspot, sipping a perfectly mixed Pisco sour and snacking on crispy yucca balls with ham, cheese and Peruvian curry sauce, or sous vide chicken wings served with a chicha rocoto sauce. Welcome to happy hour at Mochica.

This eatery was the first in the ongoing culinary journey of Chef Carlos Altamirano, and thus holds a place of pride deep in the heart of Carlos, his wife Shu and their dedicated team. Mochica spent a decade in the SOMA district of San Francisco, where its innovative cuisine, impressive service and welcoming atmosphere saw the eatery quickly develop a dedicated following. Its success saw Mochica begin to outgrow its initial home, which saw the restaurant relocate in late 2014 to a significantly larger space in the booming Potrero Hill area.

Boasting 99 seats and a full liquor license, this new home—a prime corner location in the heart of the neighborhood on 18th and Connecticut— has allowed Mochica to really develop its contemporary cocktail menu, and to establish relationships with like-minded neighbors, such as the Magnolia and Anchor Steam breweries, as well as the local community at large. The new space also allows for DJs and special events, which take place on weekends and some evenings.

While the popular happy hour menu keeps many Potrero Hills locals very pleased indeed, Mochica also draws a crowd with its lunch, brunch and dinner menus of authentic yet artisanal meals — such as the Peruvian corn and beet salad with blue potatoes, Aderezo and feta cheese in Aji amarillo vinaigrette, and the pork adobo on a Panorama brioche bun with salsa criolla and crispy sweet potato fries.

Mochica is a family-owned restaurant that feels like home, and offers visitors an unforgettable dining experience. We’ll see you at home at Mochica, soon.

4worldlovers: Enter and become instantly enamored with the intimate ambiance at Piqueos, a contemporary Peruvian tapas bar in the heart of San Francisco’s Bernal Heights. With the dining room’s warm atmosphere and the kitchen’s contemporary take on traditional Peruvian tapas, Piqueos has become a neighborhood favorite since opening its doors in 2007.

It is not unusual for Piqueos’ long-serving staff to greet regulars by name, then show them to their usual table. Newcomers, too, are welcomed like old friends, then introduced to the menu, which features an array of delectable dishes that put a unique Californian spin on traditional Peruvian fare. Classic tapas items—including crispy corn cakes, fried plantains, grilled octopus and stuffed peppers—often feature contemporary embellishments such as avocado mousse or duck confit.

Customers return again and again for the superb cebiches, such as the Cebiche Mixto, a blend of red snapper, mussels, clams, shrimp, red onions, cilantro and lime, and flavored with the rocoto leche de tigre peppers. These rocoto peppers, native to Peru, are cultivated in Half Moon Bay, on a farm Chef Carlos Altamirano established specifically to grow these unique peppers, which add their fresh, spicy flavor many of the dishes in all of his Bay Area restaurants.

This focus on freshness and flavor is evident in all of the food served at Piqueos—from the cebiches that showcase the Bay Area’s abundance of fresh seafood to the selection of tapas dishes, and the heartier entrees such as quinoa-encrusted salmon, grilled lamb chops with chimichurri or the delightful squid ink paella.

Whether for a romantic meal, a relaxed celebration or an impromptu group dinner, we warmly invite you to experience the community and cuisine of Piqueos.