Gastón’s La Mar in San Francisco [Featured]
October 18, 2008
Ceviche in San Francisco USA
Talented food critic taster Juancho (critics criticise while Juancho praises) of Camina El Autor was recently able to visit Peruvian celebrity chef Gastón Acurio’s and wife Astrid Gutche’s newly opened La Mar restaurant in San Francisco – the first in North America. Receiving rave reviews, Juancho adds his opinion.
The original La Mar was opened by Acurio a few years ago in Lima, on Ave. La Mar, in Miraflores (with Pescados Capitales just a few blocks away, the area is becoming a high-end seafood mecca). The restaurant in San Francisco’s Pier 1½ is the first of what are projected to be several La Mar’s throughout the continent (Santiago, México, and San José locales are in the works) as well as Acurio’s first US restaurant. It is not any exaggeration to say that it has been one of the most anticipated openings in the city.
The restaurant itself is comprised of four spaces: a pisco bar near the entrance, followed by the cebiche bar, and the main dinning room; outside, through a set of French doors, there is an al fresco dining area overlooking the water. We chose to eat in the main room.
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Next came a tasty, but small, Tiradito criollo, comprised of thin slices of fish bathed in a creamy sauce of lime juice, ají amarillo, and habanero pepper. Despite the ingredient list, it was not very spicy, the cooks having done a nice job of attenuating the peppers’ heat while retaining their flavor characteristics in the sauce. I’ve got to say that it was the best cebiche I’ve had north of Ecuador.
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And I just read today that Gaston is planning to open a La Mar in Dubai. I haven’t had the chance to visit Lima’s La Mar so far, but I’m definitely going to soon. I’ve eaten at Pescados Capitales though, and it was an excellent gastronomic experience. How about you Stuart?
I haven’t been to La Mar either… I always assumed it would be expensive and with small portions – let me know if I’m wrong. I also haven’t been the Pescados Capitales… Juancho seemed to like it, and now you praise it, so I might make the effort.
I usually eat my ceviche in La Isla Escondida, just off Aviacion where you see the Gloria sign. The ceviche is served in a deep plate with a ton of juice to enjoy after you finished eating, and for S./17 you get a ceviche de lenguado with huge pieces of fish.
Other places I really enjoyed the ceviche were in Surco, just a short distance from Ovalo Higuereta where some tias serve it over a bar next to a lavandaria. Then there’s El Fayke Piurano in Lima and El Bolivariano in Pueblo Libre.
I’m planning a ceviche and architecture tour around Callao – well I have been for more than a year now – I hope to get around to that soon.
La Isla Escondida… I’ve heard of that one before. If the ceviche is served like that, I’m definitely going to visit it before La Mar hehe. I too imagine that La Mar is about small dishes and high prices, but at least it’s got to be a good one, or so I hope.
dago say .this is another mexican resturant in san francisco .mexican are trying to mixed our pisco in diferents ways , if you are peruvian dont go there because , you will be descriminated for this people.they just like to serve americans .and the food really socks, Iam very sorry for gaston cause I know gaston restaurants in Peru ,and is totally difernt story.
[...] foreign markets. Some have already done this – Pardo’s Chicken is one, and Gastón’s La Mar is another – franchises of famous Peruvian restaurants are now found in the US, Mexico, Venezuela, [...]