Andina London

So the first of our London culinary journey and a relatively new restaurants serving up its take on Peruvian cuisine. 

This spot was recommended to me by my friend Sha who recently relocated to London following an exciting job offer. A well overdue catch up was the perfect opportunity for him to show me what the rave is about this place.

We visited on an extremely busy Saturday evening after being put on the 45 minute wait list we had a few drinks and nibbles at Casa Negra (another great spot) and then received a call from Andina that our table (or what we thought would be) was ready. 

We arrived back at about 9 and the restaurant was still all a buzz. While they cleared and reset tables we were led to the waiting area (a small stool area in the walk way to private dining---tight squeeze).

There one of the waitresses insisted we try their infamous Piso Sour.

Very much to my liking (bittersweet with a nice kick).....I am becoming a fan of egg white based cocktails of late....so so creamy although word of advise don't mix these with other drinks.....bad experience....very bad.

After about another 10 minute wait we were brought over to our table which happened to be bar seating (we had requested table seating but they had back to back reservations that night). Although slightly disappointing at the cramped conditions it did give us a cracking view of the kitchen which is always entertaining to see.

Sparkling Clean! 

Smile :-D

This was my second time trying Peruvian cuisine (last had it in at Ceviche 105 in Miami) but Sha as a well seasoned diner here had a few must try suggestions (the Quinoa, Spinach & Avocado Salad being top of his list).

The dishes come tapas style so the waiter suggested we have 3/4 each. Priced at around £7-10 you will probably spend about £25-30 each which isn't to bad considering it is in the city center. 

We opted for:

Tiger Milk Trio from The Ceviche Bar (three different shot style starters Seabass, Prawn and Scallop) each packed a pretty flavoursome punch, my favorite was the Prawn. 

Chicken & Avocado Causa, so pretty and equally moreish.....although the it tasted more like Tuna :-/ not sure what happened there. 

Fried Cassava with Andean nut dip, I am not the biggest fan of Cassava to dense for me.......Sha however ate it all!

Lamb in Panca Chilli: my choice and probably my favourite, succulent pieces of lamb marinated in a not to spicy Chilli sauce.

Before:

And After!

And last but not least the Quinoa, Spinach & Avocado Salad, Sha was right, it was delicious and the Chilli Jam Dressing gave it a delectable sweetness.

All in all I had a fabulous time at Andina the food was great and the company was even better. 

Andina is a great introduction to Peruvian food in London. It is fairly well priced for its popularity and the tapas style allows you to sample a good variety of the cuisine. 

Our visit was pretty spontaneous and to get the best experience I would recommend pre-booking or visiting on weekdays/ lunchtimes. Staff did handle the business well though and the food quality wasn't any lesser than it should have been. **Thumbs Up!**

Location: 1 Redchurch Street, Shoreditch

Category: Travel/ London