Chicha

Came here for DineOut 2016 with a party of 5 friends. Thought they would be terrible, but guess what, they are AMAZING. Here is 1 thing you have to know about me, is that I try the restuarant out during DineOut so I know what to try again later in the year, and I DO NOT WRITE DINEOUT REVIEWS!
But guess what, THIS PLACE WAS AMAZING!
I did not expect this place to be fantastic. Literally, the food hit me at great spot for the rest of the night. This was a 30 $ menu place, and the food did not disappoint.
The quinoa salad was delicious, the streak was perfectly cooked, and the coffee chocolate dessert was yummy. The service was up to par, since they were on time with our food, and they got all the orders correct. And on top of that, they were attentive with the water jug. I was extremely surprised.
I would go back first and write a proper review again, and check how it is. Please look forward to my updated review within this coming year of 2016.

Server was a snob, and looked to be annoyed of her job, food seemed cold or reheated. Will never go there

Came here for Dine Out Vancouver with a group of 4 people. We each had a choice of starter, 2 entrees and desert for $ 30. Between the four of us we got to try all the entrees on the menu except for 2 items. The quinoa salad and plantains were super yummy the plantains chips were super crispy it honesty felt like I was eating super crispy bacon strips! all the other items we tried were also very good, our favorites were the Yuca Bola (these were the perfect combo of cassava and cheese!!) the Causa Verdures (the plating was absolutely gorgeous I felt bad eating it, but once I started eating I couldn’t stop) and the Crab and Sockeye Salmon Crab Cakes were filled with a good amount and crab. We were all very happy with the amount of food shared between the four of us, and it was awesome being able to try such a variety of items. For desert we had the pot de crème which was really rich with the perfect amount of coffee and chocolate flavor, the Peruvian caramel shortbread was good but the shortbread was sweet and the caramel in the middle was super sweet which ended up being too much to handle I couldn’t finish the whole cookie, this probably would’ve been better if the shortbread was slightly saltier or maybe if they used a salted caramel in the middle. The service was decent, but our table was still dirty when we sat down. Overall the food was good though and the atmosphere is fun and the dine out menu is a great way to try lots of their dishes for a good price.

The most horrendous service! Better restaurants out there for Peruvian food, dirty and the quality of the food was terrible! Its a cafeteria at best with prices of a real five star restaurant. will never go back!

Nosh and Nibble came here for an early 5pm dinner and we shared all the shared plate entrees as the restaurant recommended. Thus I had the following:
Aji Amarillo Seafood Chowder — Appetizer
Chalaco Ceviche
Braised Red Deer Venison Neck and Chorizo
Lomo Saltado
Crab and Wild Sockeye Salmon Cakes
Aji Panca Chili and Orange Glazed Baby Back Ribs
Chicharron Sliders
Yucca Bola
Causa Verduras
Pollo Anticuchos
Tacu Tacu
Chocolate y Café Enamorados — Dessert
The Aji Amarillo Seafood Chowder came with a mix of mussels and mixed seafood in a chili cream chowder. This had some very chewy mussels and was on the borderline of being classified as a stew. Good balance of flavour and served hot.
The Chalaco Ceviche was a swirl of tuna, salmon, ling cod, prawns, scallops, green tigre de leche citrus, orange, and rocoto chili-​dusted fried calamari. There was a ton going on in this plate and each bite was a good mix of seafood (mostly calamari though).
The Braised Red Deer Venison Neck and Chorizo came with slow-​braised venison neck and chorizon, Peruvian corn, and grana padano cheese grits. This was one of the better-​presented dishes. Compared to other options, this wasn’t as exciting, but a safe choice nonetheless.
The Lomo Saltado was probably the highest calorie option entrée. This came with medium rare Bavette steak, Kennebec fries, onions, pepers, tomato stir fry, and rich veal demi. The fries were surprisingly crispy and this might be mistaken for a Peruvian version of a poutine. The steak pieces were pretty sparse compared to the amount of fries.
The Crab and Wild Sockeye Salmon Cakes came with Peruvian tartar and pickled cucumber and young coconut meat escabeche salad. This was a beautiful dish and reminded me of a plump and filling falafel ball minus the skin. The crab taste was very present and the cakes mixed well with the tartar.
The Aji Panca Chili and Orange Glazed Baby Back Ribs were served with double-​smoked bacon, green bean, and red nugget potato salad. The potatoes were a little hard in this dish but the baby back ribs were very tender. Bonus: There are 5 bones to the ribs so if you have 5 diners this is an easy split.
The Chicharron Sliders came with crispy pork belly, glazed yam, aji Amarillo aioli, and rocoto chili-​dusted yam chips. The yam chips weren’t too exciting if you got plantain for the appetizer, but the crispy pork belly was the star of this dish. The bread had a doughy taste with a sour zing which was an interesting change but may not be welcome for everyone.
The Yucca Bola was a plate of cassava root croquettes filled with asiago cheese, jalapenos, scallions, sweet rocoto chili house-​made jelly, and Peruvian Huancaina sauce. These were delicious. I’m biased for croquettes and these didn’t disappoint. The melting cheese made tearing a bite off very satisfying but there could have been more advertised jalapeño taste.
The Causa Verduras was beet root whipped and served with chilled potatoes, lima bean purée, pickled beets, and rocoto chili dusted yam chips. This was a cold entrée and I didn’t enjoy it. Presentation-​wise, this was the coolest out of the 10, but the chilled taste was unfortunately not my type.
The Pollo Anticuchos was a plate of aji Amaillo chili-​marinated chicken breast skewers, brown-​buttered fingerling potatoes, and a trio of aji sauces. The sauces here were the same used in the plantain chips. The chicken wasn’t that tender but they did have a distinctive grilled taste. This was one of the leaner entrees calorie-​wise.
The Tacu Tacu was a spicy butternut squash winter stew, crispy lima bean, rice cakes, parmesan, and a fried quail’s egg. The quail egg was actually more over easy than fried, the butternut squash wasn’t very spicy at all, and this didn’t taste as interesting as what its name suggested, in my opinion.
Lastly, the Chocolate y Café Enamorados. This was a mix of coffee and chocolate pot de crème, spike rocoto chili whipped cream, and canela sugared plantains. I thought the plantains were pretty salty, but sweetness was made up by digging them into the mousse-​like rich chocolate which had a smooth and dark taste to it. This was a great sweet finisher for the night.

Love this place. I’ve been here several times and have loved everything I’ve tried. Their upcoming dine out menu looks fantastic!
Cocktails are also amazing, Sunday happy hour all day is a stellar opportunity to try a couple for yourself. The staff is always friendly. Hands down my favourite Mount Pleasant restaurant. A definite must try!

Loved the food and for once the «tapas» label didn’t mean we left hungry! Portions were decent for tapas and sooooo delicious.

I went here a couple months ago
Cons
It didnt taste like real peruvian food and the location is very off .
So try moving to a better location.
Pros
Amazing service
Good seviche
They have some drinks that no other resturant has like inca cola

Finally had a chance to try this place! The service was great. I wish there was one more server because it was one server/​bartender and one server for the entire place. Yes it’s a small restaurant but when it’s busier, I think they need another person to help out.
Now onto why we come: the food!
— I’m a huge ceviche fanatic and so I was excited there were several to choose from. We got the trio and the chef’s special that day was a scallop coconut ceviche. I wasn’t a fan of the chef’s special as it didn’t have any acidity and it was just raw scallops in a coconut milk/​cream. It was nothing to write home about. I wasn’t a fan of the nikkei but my girlfriend liked it. My favorite was the chalaco as it was the closest to traditional ceviche I’ve had. I’d order just that one next time. Everything in that dish was well marinated and the ingredients worked well together.
— the plaintain chips were overcooked. I had to snap off the burnt edges on every single piece I ate. The sauce for it was absolutely delicious. I’d order this again if it weren’t over-​fried.
— the Pan Con Chicharron was good and I might order it again here and there but it wasn’t enough for me to say it’s a must have.
— SHOW STOPPER!!! The Bolas De Yuca was the best dish of the night. I’ll call it a modernized jalapeño popper. It was amazing *mind blown*.
— the De Pollo Crema Empanadas was delicious. I wasn’t interested in trying it but after a bite, I was sold. So flavorful and jam packed with flavor.
I’d come back again but without a few of the dishes above and expand it to some other dishes I was eyeing on the menu.
Don’t know about the price points other people complained about but our bill came out to $ 75ish which is pretty standard in Vancouver when you order that much food. As for it being overpriced and not enough food, we didn’t find it that way. We were STUFFED. We spend roughly the same amount on good sushi or good Chinese food. If you’re looking for cheap food, then obviously this isn’t it. But the quality and portions make the price pretty average for Vancouver, so I wasn’t surprised or disappointed.

I found this little place as I walked uo Broadway and I thought to give it a try. The menu is really authentic and this staff is nice and hekpful. I choose the typical peruvian drink a pisco sour and it was great and no expensive. For dinner i took a seviche which is the peruvian national dish and they made i fresh and asked for extra time as it takes a bit to prepare it fresh. I was stunned and pleased wiht the food, best quality fresh fish, as it is serves rare.
5 stars must be given as this place deserves it!
Muchas gracias para un noche muy bien!

I would give it a –5 stars if I could.
Horrible service, directly from the Asian owner. Reservation was not ready when we got there on time, we were seated 15 mints late and then an hour an fifteen minutes later before all of the food we had ordered arrived, we were told that they had a 8pm reservation and we were told to leave.
They cancelled our remaining orders and we still had drinks on the table. This notice came from the same Asian owner.
while the food was at par with Peruvian fusion anywhere, the portions were minute like for ants and the owner was very rude.
We had two drinks each, shared 2 appies and shared two mains and were hurried out when paying our $ 200 bill.
This is NOT the Peruvian/​latin experience my friends were looking for (and we’re all from Peru).
Para mis amigos latinos: el restaurante se llama chicha y no tenian chicha morada para beber! LOL! Una porqueria de servicio, y la comida meh! realmente se cocina mejor en casa.
Un cuchitril pretendiendo ser un restaurante pasable, y un Pisco Sour que da pena, pondria a cualquier Peruano a llorar.
Will never come back, neither will my friends.

Ambience: we sat at the bar and really enjoyed the intimacy of the small space. Nothing Peruvian about the décor or plates which I felt was odd. Pisco sours started the evening off.
Would I go back? No.
We ordered
Trio de Ceviche: 3 tiny bowls of ceviche. It’s made to order and requires 20 minutes of marination. The Chalaco Seemed like it marinated the longest and hence had the most flavor in the ingredients. The Nikkei tasted like a salmon roll from my sushi joint– ie great but not very ceviche esque. The 3^rd chefs creation was ok, my miss with the ceviche in general was that the fish and ingredients had little of the marinade flavor absorbed in them.
Causa de Camarón y Cangrejo: mashed potatoes and lots of crab-​. Chock full of ingredients and very filling on its own, with each spoonful providing complementary flavors.
Arroz Con Pato: the confit was fork tender with crispy skin, but a salt overdose. The coriander rice were adequately green but had zero flavor in them. I had to exchange mains with my partner due to the salt.
Lenguado A Lo Macho: the pillowy triangular gnocchi stole the show here. Dipping it into the tart corn sauce was a treat. Fish was– fish. There was aji oil on the plate and it infused everything with earthiness. A balanced plate this one!

Great spot to enjoy a good peruvian food and an iced beer ! Chicha has no luxury, but all food are made with care and served with kindness. I love their eggs benedict and the pork sandwich. For dessert, ask for the pineapple cheesecake with jalapeño and have a wonderful surprise: a mix of flavours that makes you think about all the combinations that are possible to do with food. :D

Pretty great food, nice cocktails, but a tad pricey. I’d highly recommend the ‘De Pollo Crema Empanadas’, gyoza, and the Chilcano cocktail. It’s tapas style, so order a bunch of different things to share!

The food here is very satisfying. Had the people’s choice dumplings (filled w/​scallop, pork & prawn). Fabulous but needed a bit more corn sauce. The Halibut sliders tasted excellent! The octopus skewers were great and also had the empanadas (vegetarian). I had the piano margarita and it was uniquely refreshing.

Awesome to see someone killing it in the neighbourhood!!! We hope this resto keeps on doing what they love. Enjoyed the cocktails and the 7 plates we shared.
Hope to see you soon down at our spot, love Invitro restaurant and staff

Absolutely the best cocktails and food! Do not pass this place up. We had earl grey sours and salads and delish cassava root chips.
This place is underrated. I’m a lil High maintenance when it comes to restaurants, this place was delish !!!

3.5. Very tasty and inventive dishes, served as tapas sizes but not tapas prices. It’s Peruvian food which is all round delicious at every turn.
The group I went with had both types of ceviche (House and Special) which were both excellent, as well as the plantain chips, and the octopus and chorizo skewers (also excellent). The food is 4.5 stars without doubt. The only quibble is the price for portion size; some of salads for example are pretty tiny.
Easily a 4-​star restaurant if the prices came down slightly, or portions increased in size slightly. Saying that the desserts, notably the Picarone (sweet potato Peruvian donuts with spiced honey and raspberry sauce) were ample (and also delicious!).
The cocktails, when on special, are also tiny — and I mean tiny tiny, served in what I can only describe as a mustard jar size masonry jar! Less a special, and just more a much smaller version of the full price drink!
Just beware — you could run up a huge bill here.

Quite enjoyed dining here with a large group. It’s a good atmosphere with fun servers and delicious food.
Ate the ceviche special (sockeye salmon) and had a taste of empanadas (chicken and veggie), elk steak and some Pisco cocktails (props for good ginger beer)
I’ll be back for brunch! Great new gem to the neighbourhood

Chicha is my favorite restaurant in Vancouver! I love Peruvian food and they have delicious dishes! Also the owners are lovely people and very welcoming when we go there!
Some suggestions that I love:
— Eggs Benedict (all of them are delicious and come with seasonal fruits)
— Empanadas (delicious)
— Causa de Cangrejo (must have)
— Lomo Saltado (so tasty)
— Pineapple & Jalapeño cheesecake (very unique and delicious taste)
— chicha morada (no alcohol beverage)
— Pisco Sour
— lotus chips
— duck confit
— Pan Con Chicharron Sandwich
Good location and easy to find parking spot. On brunch/​lunch it is easy to get a table, but at night it is better to make a reservation before.
TIP:
it closes at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays, but it is better to arrive at most at 2:30pm.