free web site hit counter

Lima, Peru  |  Thursday 04 December 2008 00:34  |  | 

« back to home
Make Livinginperu.com your Homepage

Gastronomy

Food & Pisco Pisco < Features | Pisco Recipes | Share a Pisco Cocktails|
Top 5 Cocktails | Bars in Peru | Top 5 Bars

Food / Feature Articles


El Kapallaq - Restaurant review

by Chef David Jesson

The Restaurant
El Kapallaq is a quaint restaurant that is a mix between an upscale cevichería and a Spanish Tapas bistro. It is charming and relaxing, with a nautical, yet modern ambiance. Although it can only seat 40, it feels spacious with its open kitchen affording an almost homey quality. Since the restaurant is in a historic building, it does not have all the amenities of newer restaurants, but everything was clean and well kept. Chef/owner Luis Cordero Larrabure ensures this cleanliness follows through to the freshness of everything that is served by personally overseeing all of the products that are brought in daily.

The food, without a doubt, is superb. Everything I tried I would order again. The menu includes a ménage of choices from ceviches, chupes (strong soups) and sudados, stewed to European specialties. Do not be afraid to ask if there is a chef’s special. There was a dish served that totally surprised me called Bottarga or Botargo (its Basque name), a sun-dried fish roe that is a delicacy served in tapas bars in Spain, and also traditional in Italy and Arabic countries. Served with slivered, toasted almonds over hot melted Andino cheese; it was phenomenal. Although I could have expected it in Bilbao or Pamplona, I never would have in Lima. This gives you an idea of the genuine flavors you will experience here.

The first ceviche we tried was from Piura on the northern coast of Peru. It was excellent with cilantro, aji limo, black pepper and lime served with canchita (Peruvian pan fried dried corn) and cannellinis, (small white beans). The southern Lima style was equally superb with parsley, aji amarillo, white pepper and lime. Kapallaq holds many titles and awards for their foods, including one for the best ceviche in 2002.

We also tried shrimp in a spicy squash sauce that was fabulous. The baby octopus was cooked perfectly and I liked that it was lightly floured and served with lime and olive oil. The portions are a bit smaller to fit the bistro style, yet they were more than sufficient. Again, you will have no problem with the flavors of north

meeting south or exploring Mediterranean delicacies.

The chupes varied from one of crab from Tumbes, in northern Peru; to another of shrimp from Arequipa, in southern Peru. All of their chupes and sudados are made in authentic earthen pots and for one of the rice dishes there was even a fusion of Arroz Chaufa (Chinese/Peruvian stir-fried rice) with seafood. They have a special preorder menu that includes old-style ceviche which has to be made ahead of time, pork ribs which require a 24 hour preparation, salted Chita (sea perch), and Arroz con Pato (rice with duck) which requires 3 days prior notice.

Filets of fish are available with many different sauces, such as crab sauce, salsa verde Basque style, and even a sauce of sherry and capers. Chef Luis knows his fish and what is best of the season is only what he will offer. Paella, baked fish and steamed fish, all of superb quality and freshness, are also available.


The total staff is around 12 people, and their attention and friendliness provided for good service and pleasant dining. Although the staff was not fluent in English, both chef/owner Luis and his wife Denisse-who personally check on everyone-are there to help with any translations or explanations. One smart tour company has put them on a regular cycle and they are used to catering to tourists’ needs and any special dietary requests.

This restaurant is a great place to get off the beaten path. There is no way I could place it in a category, because it is a category in itself. If you are looking for a great place to have lunch, look no further than El Kapallaq.

The Chef


Having come from a surfing culture myself in California, made me feel right at home with Chef Luis. He is not only a chef, but an avid surfer and gets much of his inspiration for his plates with this bond he has with the ocean. Chef Luis comes from a Spanish-Basque background, yet was born in Peru, so his lineage comes from two regions of mountains that separate a rugged coastline, utilizing the best products from both. In Spain it is the Pergines and the Mediterranean, here it is the Andes and the Pacific.

Following this inbred lineage, Chef Luis utilizes this to create some special dishes with a European flair; while also maintaining the great rustic foods of his motherland, Peru. One Basque dish that gets its history from being made on the tuna boats is Marmitako, a simple stew made with tuna, potatoes, paprika peppers, onions and tomatoes. This dish is one that Chef Luis prepares, but he also makes a fusion version for “Limeños” with white fish and potatoes which was absolutely fabulous. The black rice was another interesting fusion I found. This is similar to Txipirones, which is a dish made by cooking baby squid in their own ink. His rice dish has calamari and also uses the ink as a flavoring.

Chef Luis loves food history and the importance of maintaining traditional plates. He also has done a lot of study of the Moche Culture while he was in Piura working for a petroleum company. He actually teaches about the true Sudado that comes from an earlier epoch (click here for the recipe). He not only explains what the original ingredients are, but also how to make them, including Chicha de Jora, which is added to the fume to complete this traditional dish made in the traditional clay pots. This is true evidence of a food historian, who loves food, and became a chef.

Chef Luis loves fish. His bond with the ocean and the inspiration that he gets from his weekly surfing, allows him to create phenomenal dishes. His is motto is, "Do everything with excellence," and he achieves it; you would never think that he wasn’t trained as professional chef. He commented that some chefs’ idea of fusion, equals confusion. A humble man who also loves simplicity, he understands that everything doesn’t always go right; having one time burned a whole special meal. This gentleness and love is not only expressed in his food, but in all his staff, which he sees as family.

Having a love for recipes of rarity, Chef Luis served a wonderful dish of Muchame de Tuna (not dolphin which is illegal). Originally, this dish comes from Italy where the back muscle of dolphins was air-dried and then thinly sliced. He makes a limited quantity of this plate, which he serves with avocados and tomatoes drizzled in olive oil. It is much like tuna-jerky and when sliced thin, it is fabulous. If it were not for the menu being in Spanish, I would have thought we were in an Italian bistro.


He and his beautiful wife, Denisse, who helps manage both the kitchen and the accounts, helped start the restaurant in 1996. Never receiving formal training, he attributes his love of food to his grandfather and considers him his mentor. His passion for fish and seafood began with his dislike of the smell of meat as a child. The food he remembers best from his mother’s cooking is Bacala (salted dried cod) and always an ample supply of apples and lucuma. He still uses the recipe for chili sauce that his grandmother taught him; he soaks the chilies overnight in water and salt, then grills them and grinds them with garlic and celery.

Mixing the old with the new is a unique quality Chef Luis has. Tradition and rustic realities flow from his kitchen and his dish planning includes his love for research, as you would expect from someone that loves history. Having first graduated from San Martin with a law degree, he is passionate not to change the original flavors. He feels it is best to not mess with traditions that should be guarded well.

Chef Luis' passion for what he does and knowledge of each plate impressed me greatly. It is this type of chef that will not permit our culinary heritages to perish. I know Chef Luis will continue to explore and study his lineages and continually produce original and fabulous food.

The Facts

El Kapallaq Restaurant

Address: Av. Petit Thouars 4844, Miraflores

Directions: From Av. Angamos to Av. Petit Thouars, just past the Plaza Vea, on the left hand side

Phone number: 444-4149

Hours: Monday to Saturday: 12 pm to 5 pm 

Website: Under construction.

Online reservations/information: elkapallaqrestaurant@hotmail.com

Parking: Secure on street with watchman.

Menu in English: No, but owner/chef is fluent.

Reservation recommended: For special occasions and after-hour group dinners.

Cards accepted: Yes, ALL major credit cards.

Business friendly: Yes.

Good for large groups: On prior notice.

Handicap accessible: Partially. Help available.

Catering for special dietary needs: Yes.

Cover charge: S./ 5 per person




Add a comment :
1 comments

Carsten Korch says :
12-08-07,09:44:22

Dear Gayle

You are so right. It is Chef David Jesson, who is writing these fantastic articles about "Food in Peru" and we made an error by not adding his name before publishing this great article about Kapallaq.

Thank you for your help.

Your Sincerely

Carsten Korch
Editor-in-Chief



Name :

E-Mail


Code :