Thursday, August 07, 2008

Sipan Cocina Peruana & Pisco Bar In Buenos Aires


One city in which Peruvian cuisine had a bit of a challenge in gaining a culinary foothold is Buenos Aires.

As Jorge Gobbi explained in his travel blog, Peruvian food in that city was initally seen as a cheap dining option, primarily found in mom-and-pop establishments geared more to the thousands of Peruvian immigrants who live and work in Buenos Aires.

Back in 2006, Gobbi
wrote, "to become a gourmet option, Peruvian food needs to transform itself, both in its preparation and presentation, and refine itself to the elements of haute cuisine."

It appears that in the interim of the past couple of years, the Peruvian food boom has reached Buenos Aires, and there are now various high-end options for Peruvian food in the Argentine capital.


A recent review in the Buenos Aires daily, La Nación, features Sipan Cocina Peruana & Pisco Bar, located in the Retiro district of the city.

Named after the
Moche archaeological site in northern Peru, famous for the tomb of The Lord of Sipán, the La Nación note highlights the culinary trajectory of owner José Castro Mendivil, formerly of the Japanese Peruvian restaurant Osaka, and the Marriot Marquis Hotel in New York City.


The restaurant offers a full Nikkei Peruvian sushi bar, which also features the sashimi-like tiraditos, such as salmon in passion fruit, or octopus with a cilantro mayonnaise. Sipan also serves chifa, which is Peruvian-style Chinese food, as well as offering a wide variety of fine piscos, such as Biondi, Payet, Ocucaje, Queirolo, Centenario Najar and Gran Cruz.

Sipan was also mentioned by
Clarín, another major Buenos Aires daily, which mentions the restaurant's decoration, focused around the color red "which represents the fusion of Peruvian, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine as well as the rich cultural legacy of Peru, including the discovery of the tomb of the Lord of Sipan."


In the Buenos Aires restaurant guide, Guía Óleo, we found the following most-recent customer reviews of Sipan in the comments section:

"It's really been a while since I had truly enjoyed a meal in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, in a restaurant that breaks with the tradition of what we usually eat here (grilled meats, breaded steaks, and pastas) which eventually becomes routine. The pisco sour was magnificent, although expensive, and the flavor of the dishes was very delicious and different, as well having a good presentation."

"A low-key locale but very pleasant. The piscos are not only very good but help you relax to enjoy the good food. The menu is impeccable. There is a varied and well-balanced selection of dishes. It's hard to choose because quality and flavor are present in all the options. Desserts are worth a special mention. My dining companions happily enjoyed their suspiro limeño, while I had the tres leches, which was truly exquisite. The decoration is fine, but nothing out-of-this-world. I don't recommend it for romantic dinners."

"The food (tiradito and fried rolls) were excellent and this meal allowed us to escape from the routine and try a different cuisine from the traditional type found in Buenos Aires. The service and recommendations were very good. The dining area was very comfortable. I recommend it."

The blog, Cocineros Impunes, also has a review in Spanish of Sipan at this link.



Sipan Cocina Peruana & Pisco Bar
Paraguay 624, corner of Florida
Retiro, Buenos Aires
Phone: 4315-0763
Website: Sipan Cocina Peruana & Pisco Bar






Click here for the Peru Food main page.

TAGS: Peru, Peruvian, food, cooking, cuisine, cocina, comida, gastronomía, peruana

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Alejandro excellent your post! Sipán is very recomendable for which want to eat very well prepared peruvian food. Thanks for de link!
Saludos,
Katia

::Alejandro:: said...

Thank you Katia! Siempre estás bienvenida en este espacio virtual, y puedes comentar en castellano o inglés, también tienes un blog genial. Saludos!

Anonymous said...

Tan malo es mi inglés juaaaa
Pero si, el castellano es lo mío ...

::Alejandro:: said...

nooo Katia, eso no insinuaba, lo decía por tu comodidad...jajajaja~!

SaltShaker said...

Sipan serves mediocre peruvian-japanese fusion food to people with more money than taste. It's way over-priced, and in a lousy location for anyone other than tourists who think they're doing something trendy by being in the shopping district.

::Alejandro:: said...

Hey SaltShaker, thanks for stopping by. From what I understood by reading the article at Cocinas Impunes, written by a Peruvian living in Bs As, Sipan has 'relaunched' itself, and it sounds like it might have improved in quality, but maybe you can point me in the direction of some other Peruvian restaurants that you DO think are worth a visit in your city. Saludos!

Anonymous said...

Saltshaker, yo soy de comer mucho afuera y a mi parecer Sipán tiene los mismos precios que tiene cualquier restaurante que ofrece calidad sobre todas las cosas. Y ni que hablar del sushi que tienen.
El dueño fué fundador de Osaka.
A tu parecer cual sería en Bs As el mejor sushi??
Turistas es lo último que uno ve ahi...los turistas vienen a comer un buen bife de chorizo no cebiche ni sushi.
Está tan escondido el restaurante que el que llega es porque lo va buscando, no de casualidad.
Saludos,
Katia

::Alejandro:: said...

Katia, me encantaría saber qué otros locales peruanos recomiendas en Bs As...

Anonymous said...

Te los doy en orden de mi preferencia:
Sipán
Ceviche
Osaka(peruano-japonesa)
Mosoq (novoandina muy buena)
Moche (comenzó muy bien al mando del chef de la Embajada de Perú, luego bajó un poco y hace mucho que no voy)
Zadvarie (peruana fusión)
Libélula (peruana fusión)

Status y Contigo Perú son casi lo mismo, no se respeta mucho el tema de la calidad de los ingredientes, si no hay camote da lo mismo y te ponen papa por ejemplo.

Y después hay millones de huarikes pero que te corres el riesgo y donde mayormente el punto fuerte es la comida de la sierra porque los cebiches son un desastre absoluto. La última vez que fuí a uno de ese estilo comedero llamado Mamami, el seco estuvo buenazo pero el cebiche estaba desde mal cortado el pescado, tibio y espantoso.
Los postres ni te cuento.....
Así es como lo veo yo.
Besos

Anonymous said...

En mi post del día 28 de Julio está una especie de informe sobre la comida peruana en Bs As.

::Alejandro:: said...

Thanks Katia, muy buena tu lista de lugares, tendré que hacer otro post utilizando tus recomendaciones. Me hiciste reír con esa frase, "si no hay camote, te ponen papa"! Jajaja! Saludos!