The food tasted good, but it was so overpriced for the portions we aren’t going back. I’m a small girl and after sharing 2 appetizers with my husband I still finished all of my entrée(unheard of for me). And for $ 17 it sure was mostly rice and potatoes and minimal seafood. My husband’s Seco entrée was the same, they smothered the potatoes in the gravy so it looked like meat, but there was actually only like 3oz of beef. We paid the same as we do when we go out to fancier places and order alcohol. Need to find a new spot for Peruvian food sadly.
Michelle K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Macomb, IL
I’ve been here 4 – 5 times within the past year and each time it has been wonderful and consistent! Very nice atmosphere and great staff. I recommend trying out the ceviche pescado and the fishermans stew soup! Absolutely delicious.
Robert R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
The food and service is very good hasn’t failed us yet. We have been coming here for 5 years now at least twice a year. If you are a new comer and love chicken or steak go with the lomo Saltado or pollo Saltado you will enjoy it very much. We always get the lomo Saltado(filet mignon, fries, onions and tomatoes), papa la huancaina(potato with creamy cheesy and spicy sauce on top with egg) and anticuchos(steak on skewer sticks). The bread they serve is always warm if not hot and the green spicy sauce is awesome. We always order inca colas for drinks and sometimes order extra to take home. Great place give it a try and it’s BYOB which we never do but that’s a plus for some.
Meredith d.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
Seco de Carne was great — lots of flavor– fried plantains are to die for, and the beef empanadas are juicy and tasty. The green salsa they give you with the bread is addictive. One friend had perfectly fried fish, another had the Chupe de camarones and pronounced it «delicious.» Only their Chaufa(fried rice) was disappointing, but that’s probably only because I kept comparing it to the great Chaufa de Aeropuerto at Tanta. If I’d never had that, I would probably have been perfectly happy with Ay Ay Picante’s Chaufa.
Buttermilk P.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Chicago, IL
Huancainas(Appetizer — served warm to room temperature) Not bad, but not worth $ 8. This dish is basically two boiled potatoes cut in half and topped with a yellow sauce, half a boiled egg and four pitted olives. Ceviche Mixto(Entrée — served cold) Okay. A medley of shrimp, calamari and some other fish along with sliced red onions, some kernels of white corn and a piece of sweet potato. I must admit that my wife and I are not big fans of rubbery/chewy seafood, and this dish had quite a bit of that. Pollo Saltado(Entrée — hot) Delicious. The chicken had a char-grilled flavor to it, as did the thin gravy. This dish is served with rice, french fries, tomatoes and peppers. The service was very cordial. We were satisfied with our dining experience.
Debbie K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Lake in the Hills, IL
I celebrated my birthday at Ay Ay Picante this past Friday night with 2 other couples(6 of us total). We had a reservation and were seated right away. We’ve been going to this restaurant for 5+ years now. We are happy every single time we go. The food is so flavorful and the service is great. BYOB always helps too! The sauce that comes with the bread is amazing. I could eat a ton of it and do every time I’m there. We ordered 1 order of fried calamari and 4 orders of the Empanada Peruana for an appetizer. This was plenty for our party of 6. I ordered the Pollo Saltado, which is my favorite dish and the dish that makes me keep coming back. I tried my friend’s Lomo Saltado, which I plan on ordering next time because it was amazing. There was so one waiting for our table, so we stayed and had some drinks that we brought with us. It was the perfect night and we can’t wait to come back again!
Olga M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
Love this place! Just everything is perfect. Come here many times already to try new Peruvian dishes
Armando L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
My favorite restaurant around Albany Park! Hands down the best service and best Peruvian food around. This place never disappoints. They serve this amazing bread with a green sauce that is to die for. Portions are ginormous, so come with an appetite. p. s. byob!
Gino W.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
The stretch of Elston Avenue going northwest from Pulaski Road has a cluster of restaurants around Pulaski up to Montrose Avenue and then things thin out. Keep going and you will find Ay Ay Picante. Chupe de camarones. Huancianas. Sudado de mariscos. The shrimp soup came in a huge bowl. It was almost like a deep plate, definitely not a cup of soup. And it was outstanding. I had the huancainas as fried yucca instead of as boiled potatoes. Loved the yucca variety. The sudado de mariscos defeated me. I got the rest of this dish prepared with shrimp calamari, rice, and a potato for to go. I’m very much a fan of the food here. And the service is also top. This now ranks as one of my top 2 Peruvian restaurants in Chicago.
Emily P.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Skokie, IL
I dined at Ay Ay Picante(AAP) for the second time last night for a girls night out… FOOD. They ran out of empanadas. Really? Although the restaurant was busy, how do you run out of empanadas on a Friday night? Luckily, our server recommended the Cebiche Mixto(which was quite delicious). My Arroz con Mariscos(fried rice seafood, eggs, red peppers, & green onions. Cooked with soy sauce, garlic & sesame oil) was good. Pricey at $ 21 for fried rice, but they did give me a generous portion. We were never asked if we wanted to look at the dessert menu. We did appreciate that it is BYOB. SERVICE. Overall, they were friendly. One of my friends asked for«veggies only» instead of mashed potatoes and they forgot about it. When I pointed it out, the server took her entire plate away instead of just bringing more vegetables. As I previously mentioned, the restaurant was packed at 8PM. Service was very slow. It’s great that we had a lot to talk about, because it takes a long time for the food to come out. Also, I noticed that I was only given a knife wrapped in my red cloth napkin(no fork). When I asked my server for a fork, he brushed me off and pointed to the«extra» set of utensils(we were still waiting for one more friend to arrive). I said we would need that for the girl who would be arriving later. He seemed irritated. A different server brought me a new set of utensils. OVERALL AAP has decent food, but it is a bit overpriced for what you get in my opinion. I would rather go to 90 miles. A few of my friends were saying they prefer Machu Pichu(I haven’t tried it yet, but I am curious). Service was average(I would have to see if they pick up the pace on a weekday). I am not eager to come back, but I wouldn’t be adamantly against it either.
Jeanine R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Cicero, IL
Best service and authentic peruvian dishes in the city! BYOB, so from dinner with a friend to a date night this is the spot to be! I always go with steak when I come here, but their«surf» selection is just as tantalizing. The Calamari is made of squid from the seas of heaven. Just when you think it doesn’t get any better you have dessert. Homemade flan that tastes like aubuelita made it herself. My personal favorite is the Napoleon. Pastry with sweet cream filling from the milk of Mother Nature. I come every chance I get, hope to see you here!
Julie S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
It was my first time trying Peruvian food and I actually enjoyed it very much. I liked the green garlic spread for the bread. Ceviche mixto would be great with wines and you can bring your own bottles there. Good service, our server and even busboy were kind. The one negative thing about this place is. It’s really hard to find the parking spot :( P. S. I liked flan better than tres leche cake
SheRat R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
Great food, good service. It’s loud in there, so it’s good for privacy. I was even able to scold my date about being a drunken asshole the night before without anybody noticing. But remember, it’s BYO, so if you need a glass of wine to steel yourself for the above-mentioned type of convos, you’ll need to bring the bottle yerself.
Lex B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
What a little gem! Went for a friend’s birthday dinner, and everything was delicious. People were not lying about the bread and aji sauce. Absolutely heavenly! I highly recommend the cerviche mixto and the surf and turf. And if you have room for dessert, get the flan with chocolate. We had the plain flan as well and both are worth making room for! On a side note, Doug Sohn from Hot Doug’s was eating there.
Kan C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
After seeing an episode of Check Please!, we needed to try this place out. It did not disappoint. We came here on a late weeknight and it wasn’t too busy. We started with an order of the Tamal Peruano and it was delicious. Unlike tamales I’ve had in the past, this tamal was wrapped in a banana leaf instead of a corn husk. An Asian twist to the classic tamale we all know. We were given complimentary bread with a green dipping sauce that was probably the best bread I have ever eaten. The sauce was just as phenomenal. For our entrees, I ordered the Arroz con Mariscos after seeing it featured and my girlfriend went with the Ceviche MIxto. The ceviche was loaded with seafood including a lot of tilapia and had such great flavor. We liked that it included jumbo Peruvian white corn. The Arroz con Mariscos was a lot of food as well and loaded with an assortment of fresh seafood. We were shocked at the amount of food. There was plenty leftover for a second meal the next day! Our server was extremely nice and we liked the fact that he really took care in making sure we enjoyed our meal. He knew that we were going to like the green sauce with the bread, so he brought us extra before we even asked and kept checking on us to make sure that the meal was satisfactory. We were both so happy to finally try this restaurant since it is kind of located far off on an industrial strip on Elston, we didn’t know what to expect. It was just a great experience and probably some of the best bang for your buck in Chicago.
Paul C.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Elmira, NY
No air condition. expensive price for a restaurant on this location . . No parking. Food is OK but to expensive for what you eat Also they do false advertising. they offers Peruvian buffet on their Facebook page .for July 4 and you come here and nothing.
Michael B.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
I love this place. The people working there are absolutely delightful, like a family. They are genuinely happy that you came, delighted thrilled and proud if you like their food and sincerely appreciative for your business. The service was attentive but not intrusive. Our guy Julio, was fabulous. When queried, he gave us an intro to the region of Peru where the cuisine originates. When I see many Peruvian and or South/Central American looking families eating there, I know it’s the real deal. This region in northern Peru traditionally serves Steak and seafood so… there is NO traditional Peruvian chicken served here. You will get outstanding family style Ceviche, marvelously spiced and savory sauces, and decent sized meat and seafood dishes and interesting tasty appetizers. It’s BYOB. I think a Malbec work’s here. They JUST opened a new outdoor patio!
Kat L.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Chicago, IL
I really can’t dish anything negative! This spot is great for a dinner date, or just an intimate dinner with one or two friends. The ambience is definitely more for a date, with low lighting and candlelit tables. Food: soooo delish! Their green sauce that comes with table side bread is just too damn addicting. Skip the butter. Use this on your bread. In fact, I use it on everything. I dip my steak for the lomo saltado in it, too. The lomo saltado is the only entrée I get, really. But I have tried some other appetizers. The stuffed avocado is really good, too, being light but flavorful. It’s got the flavor of a 7-layer salad, and is sooo filled with avocado. We ended up saving some to pair with the lomo saltado. This place usually has a groupon available, so be on the lookout. Otherwise I do think it’s a tad pricier, but still worth it. For an awesome chill, quaint restaurant in the area, it is an absolute must-try
Rosa J.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Chicago, IL
Unilocal loner, Mrs. Rosa J., with her nerdy hubby went on to a search for food in the neighborhood of Albany Park. Her original target was Susie’s on Montrose, but they took a hide on the Christmas Day. Rosa J. and hubby then diverted themselves to Elston walking toward the north direction. Lo and behold, Ay Ay Picante opens. Evidence? There was a lady walking out of the restaurant with her take-out. Ready, set, and let’s get inside. They have a pretty extensive menu, ranging from meat, poultry, vegetarian, and seafood. Hubby and I both love seafood, so he picked out a salmon dish, and I took the young man server’s suggestion: cau cau de mariscos. This is a seafood casserole dish, with octopus, shrimps, garlic sauce, and steamed rice on the side. Although the seafood dishes appeared to be pricy, they were generous with the portions of seafood. Hubby’s dish had an entire filet of salmon, with the mandarin sauce and mashed potatoes. By the way, the green sauce that was offered with the starter bread was amazing! It wasn’t too spicy, but the flavor was just in the right balance of garlic and other blend of spices. We both enjoyed the food, a lot. The portions were quite large, so I took some home. Guess Rosa J.‘s Christmas was just as awesome, when food keeps her company. We found a Unilocal check-in offer(30% off on one entrée) and inquired the young man if this was valid. This wasn’t today, but he manually applied the discount to us. Well, you didn’t need to do that, but thanks a lot, sweetie. The total came to a little more than $ 40, with two(2) seafood entrees and two(2) cans of Inca Kola. I will complete the mission to track down the Inca Kola at my local Hispanic supermarket because that stuff is quite delicious! It’s located on Elston in the Albany Park neighborhood, so there should be a plenty of street parking. The bus isn’t accessible on Elston, but the nearest stop is Montrose(CTA bus 78), coming from the south, or Lawrence(CTA bus 81), coming from the north.
Marcela F.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Angelo, Estados Unidos
Estuve unos dias en Chicago y deseabamos comer comida Peruana, buscamos restaurantes Peruanos en Google y Ay Picante era el mas cercano a donde nos estabamos hospedando, y afortunadamente nos llevamos una gran sorpresa por que la comida estuve deliciosa, Lomo saltado, ceviche mixto, camarones guisados, todo estaba delicioso. lo recomiendo y espero regresar muy pronto, nosotros vivimos en St Louis pero somos originarios de Colombia
Maria Y.
I have been here a total of three times. One with a friend, one with my love, and one with my brother. All three times have been amazing! I am sorry I had not reviewed this place earlier. Tried it on a groupon during the winter months. Brought along a bottle of my favorite wine. Service is good, appetizers are yummy, and the food has been on point each and every time. Everyone I’ve ever eaten with there has loved the food. Wonderful value for the money. The portions are big. The meats are cooked perfectly. Just yum! Go here, if it’s your first time, get on Groupon and search. BYOB! Easy street parking along Elston Ave.