Walk through the door of Warike Peruvian Restaurant and immediately you feel the love. Or maybe you already felt the love out on Devonshire Street, beckoning you inside? By the time I'd tasted the Warike hospitality, food and drinks, there wasn't another place in Sydney where I would rather have been.
"Behind each smile of our guests, of each experience, are these people, the artisans, the humans, those who understand what is necessary to make our philosophy come true, these artists who understand what happens in restaurants" Chef Hèctor Chunga starts his instagram post of genuine thanks to the Warike team.
There are big hearts preparing and serving your food and beverages at Warike, and it shows. Yes you can taste the love. And that's a rare treasure.
Peruvian food may be only recently introduced to our Sydney fare, but this Surry Hills restaurant shows us that it deserves a place to stay. So support Warike with your patronage, and your dollars. That's how Sydney can continue to enjoy best restaurant options such as here. Warike, which means secret place, started as a popup yet has been able to grow into this warm friendly delicious welcoming permanent place due to Sydney support. Keep it up please.
Warike explains that Peruvian cuisine is a hybrid of the foods of Spanish colonialists mixed with immigrants from Asia, Africa and Europe. Ceviche is one iconic dish of Peru. You can explore the Peruvian cuisine here showcased in dishes such as Ceviche Amazonica using ingredients such as sacha coriander, palm hearts and bananas. Ingredients of the jungle.
Or amp the ceviche up with Carretillero: fish of the day, calamari, Rocoto tiger’s milk, sweet potato, onion, Peruvian corn. Swoon-worthy delicious.
While travelling to Peru via Sydney, make sure to also try these, our best Warike recommendations. But honestly, follow your heart. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu.
Elsewhere, sadly we've had octopus kick us a tough gig. At Warike and sister Lima Nikkei you'll find the tastiest and tenderest octopus you have ever eaten. True words.
In Pulpo anticuchero, the octopus is long slow cooked at low temperature, then finished in the robata, and accompanied by cauliflower puree, olive sauce and dehydrated olives. Sumptuous and sensual. And delish as...
We are always keen to finish with something sweet, and love the Chef's favourite Chicha y guanabana, and the story that comes with it.
"Soursop (guanabana) mousse accompanied by a chica mirada reduction, a pineapple and ginger sorbet, and a chicha morada cracker... is an interpretation of schools afternoons when I finished playing soccer and went with my friends to buy a well-known drink called chicha morada, infused with pineapple peels, quince, fig leaves and cinnamon. One of the national drinks of Peru, and then come home and enjoy a dessert made of soursop. This dessert reminds me of my home, my family, my school, my land, my city Piura, and my country. The kitchen always brings back memories."
There's one thing that Sydney does know well. We know our cocktails. When in Peru, start with a Pisco Sour. So we did. Who are we to rock the love boat?
And as so often happens when someone loves you, yes Warike - the affection and love is returned.
