La Cocina Peruana, Randwick (NSW) by Foghorn Leghorn

You’ve probably heard the old jokes about how heaven and hell apply the talents of different nationalities. For example, in heaven, the English are the policemen, the Germans are the engineers, and the Italians are the cooks. Whereas in hell, the English are the cooks, the Germans are policemen, and the Italians are engineers.  I don’t know how all those jokes work in South America, but I think I know where the Peruvians fit in: marvellous cooks, terrible organisers.

BBQ ox heart

We happened to eat at La Cocina Peruana on a quiet Tuesday night. There were four customers (including us) and three staff. Normally this would be a pretty good staff-customer ratio, but there turned out to be some gaps in the organisation department. It didn’t really matter, because the food was so good.

We ordered four dishes, two warm and two cold. After that, not much happened for half an hour, apart from an occasional rattle or clang from the kitchen. That didn’t faze us, because the online reviews had warned us to be patient. Also, we had eaten at this restaurant years ago, when it was further up the road, and we knew roughly what to expect.

The first dish to turn up was a warm one: anticuchos, or BBQ ox heart (see first pic). It was absolutely delicious, with marinated meat and rich dark sauce.

Next up was ceviche, often considered the national dish of Peru. Typically (as here) it is white fish served raw after being marinated in lime juice. At La Cocina Peruana it was served with corn on the cob and raw onions, and was absolutely delicious – clearly the fish was very fresh.

After that came arroz con pollo, chicken Maryland served with risotto and yams, which the waitress confirmed to be a typical Peruvian dish. It was good, with some interesting tastes, but not a stand-out.

The last dish was causa limeña, crushed yellow potatoes filled with tuna and mayonnaise. Apart from recent additions such as lemon juice and mayonnaise, this is said to be a classic Peruvian dish dating from pre-Columbian times.

All up, the meal took an hour and a half. The organisation was a bit eccentric, with hot and cold dishes in no particular order. When we looked around, we noticed that the causa limeña found its way to a nearby table half an hour before it arrived at ours. Why didn’t they send it to both tables at the same time?

Out the back is a pleasant courtyard, but we were told that it only opens on weekends, so we didn’t have the option of sitting there.

The generous meal cost us $77 (we brought our own wine). That means it’s not cheap, but it’s not noticeably expensive either.

We’ve previously reviewed the Indonesian restaurant across the road. We ate there on this visit, and it’s as good as ever. A new Lebanese restaurant has just opened next to La Cocina, so we’re curious to see whether this little corner of Randwick keeps developing as a bit of a culinary hot-spot.

Verdict

We loved it.

Mid value.

Overall

We loved the food, the service could improve. If you come, don’t expect anything to happen quickly. I’ve noticed this paradox before – in empty restaurants, the food often takes much longer to come than in crowded restaurants.

Find it at

La Cocina Peruana
142 Avoca Street
Randwick NSW 2031
Phone: (02) 9326 4344