Ceviche, Old Street

Opening on March 30^th, a new ceviche restaurant is coming to Old Street, nestled just off City Road. Created by Martin Morales as a sister restaurant to his Peruvian diner Andina (and the already popular Soho 'Ceviche') the clue's in the name for Ceviche, which will specialise in the fresh, spicy citrus-cured raw fish dishes or Morales' homeland, as well as the cross-pollinated flavours that make up Peru's modern culinary heritage – Peruvian-Chinese and Peruvian-Japanese influences will inform the menu, while classic antichuco-style barbequed meats will take on the flavour of modern Afro-Peruvian grilling.
Dishes will include huevo criollo – eggs with quinoa, morcilla sangrecita and rocoto sauce – and ceviche del dia – Cornwall-caught cured fish with celery, plaintain, sweet potato and tiger's milk. For the bolder diner too, there's torreja de sesos – fritters of lamb's brain with rocoto chilli salsa.
No Peruvian eatery would be complete without pisco sours, and Morales is promising plenty of those. With a widely-stocked bar serving up a creative menu of pisco cocktails, a host of new ideas will be introduced alongside the classics. In addition, British and South American craft beers will be offered.
Housed in the former Alexander Trust Dining Rooms, the home of a Victorian charitable institution that served cheap meals to the working poor, the restaurant will be split into a 70-seater dining room and a spacious bar. As a nod to the buildings' past, Morales has even dug up some 19^th Century Peruvian recipes to introduce to 21^st Century London.
The growing popularity of Peruvian cuisine in London – along with the Soho Ceviche's already glowing reputation – means that Morales' latest is sure to book up quicker than you can say 'Lima'.