It’s been a while since we visited Matria. It is a very active restaurant with a community offering guests shifts or cocktail activations. Arlette Eulert, the chef, is always cooking something new.
The restaurant has been in the same corner for 10 years since it has become one of the city’s newest gastronomic hotspots. Getting in next to the door, you’ll see the small bar station where great cocktails come alive, Captain Murga uses Pisco and Mistela by Bodega Murga with Vermouth Rosso, and the refreshing Matacuy Sour combines the herby flavor of the spirit with a citrus cordial.
CATCH OF THE DAY
The main dining hall has a mirror that works in two ways; in one hand, it gives the perception of space to the area and also works as a billboard where the day’s offerings are presented, this time the Mussels called us on pisco cream, each mussel was perfectly cooked with a creamy sauce that complemented the ocean flavor of the produce.
ON THE MENU
The menu has marks that tell you if the dish is brand new or classic. On the classics side, the Yuca Crocante are Caribbean-style empanadas made with cassava and stuffed with three kinds of cheese that melt inside, and when you eat them with the picked rocoto and red prickly pear sauce creates a flavorful experience. The Oxtail croquettes (in the main picture) are another staple on the menu, crunchy outside and creamy on the inside that melts in your mouth on the first bite; they are paired with a yellow tartar sauce.
Matria plates are big; portions are usually to share and feel good; our ever favorite is Matria’s Osso, an 800 g piece of Peruvian ossobuco slow-cooked on a fresh tomato ragu with carrots, mushrooms, onions, and port wine served with a side of huamantanga portato pureé this could easily be a three-person plate.
In the same sharing spirit and to warm up the body, winter asks for a soup, and their Parihuela is perfect, a crab sauce with fish, claims and a hint of chicha de jora for flavor, paired with soft cassava and rice, after this plate, you may want to take a long nap. The Brutal Rice is another winter special. It’s arborio rice cooked in a crab broth with wild shrimp, clams, and mussels to have a soupy, homey, and packed with flavor rice.
JUST DESSERTS
A friend told us once that dessert doesn’t go to the stomach but to the heart; hence there’s always space for it, from their fantastic chocolate cake, one of the best in town. And for the winter, a burnt goat cheesecake that is just simple looking and has excellent flavor.
With ten years in the market now, Arlette Eulert has her clear voice; her food significantly uses the produce, a studied technique refined over and over, the classics, even when they’re the same all the time, have different twists, evolve for the better.
IN THE KNOW: Matria is located at 823 General Mendiburú Ave. in Miraflores, open from Tuesday to Friday from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm and from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm Saturday they work nonstop from 12:30 pm to 11:00 pm and Sunday only for lunch from 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Walk-ins are accepted, but reserves are recommended via WhatsApp or their web.
