Restaurant Review #10 - Chicama

Hi everyone,

Recently I have been going to different Peruvian restaurants in London. On this occasion I dined at Chicama, a Peruvian seafood restaurant on the King's Road, Chelsea. Before going to Chicama I was slightly hesitant. It's another tapas style restaurant in a posh part of London with relatively expensive price points. I hoped it wouldn't be a similar style to Ceviche, the popular Peruvian chain in London, as the flavours are often lacking. Nevertheless it had decent reviews so I went to try it. I arrived on time but my friend was running late, the servers were fine with me waiting by the table. They take your coats and bags and leave them on an open rail which I thought could have been presented more tastefully. The restaurant is small with an open kitchen and gave a vibe of a beach restaurant. Which is what they were trying to achieve. 

To start I had a Peruvian beer: Cusqueña. It doesn't really taste of anything special, it just brought nostalgia. The servers kept trying to sell me food despite telling them I was waiting for a friend which was slightly irritating. This continued as the sales focused servers attempted to sell more items throughout the meal. Even when ordering they suggested we order more plates. The tapas style dishes may only cost £9 but you would need at least 3 to satisfy you. I eagerly started with the ceviches. 

The first ceviche was an asian fusion with a soy sauce tigers milk. Personally, despite appreciating the creativity attempted on this dish, it was underwhelming. In my mind, I was expecting the fresh flavours of ceviche with the spicy kick, unfortunately this tasted more like an Asian fish soup. The flavours weren't bad but it was not what I had hoped. Fortunately, I had ordered another ceviche for the table. 

This ceviche resembled a more traditional version but much more green. The sweet potato chips were a good addition but the ceviche tasted too 'herby'. Both ceviches were my biggest disappointments for this restaurant. Even if the other dishes were outstanding, I would still be upset that the main dish underperformed. The chefs in this restaurant have attempted to try something new and be creative. However, they need to have a traditional option as well. For those that want to taste the original ceviche in all its glory rather than chef specials. After this was the best seafood dish of the night: octopus. 

The octopus was well cooked and flavoursome. I wouldn't say it is at the top level of cuisine but it is a dish that I felt was worth the price. It did remind me more of Peruvian flavours compared to the previous dishes. I feel that making a more traditional recipe, such as pulpo al olivo would have been more successful. The final dish was a trout wrapped in banana leaf with a mango sauce. It was tasty and I felt the combination of the flavours went really well. It's just that it's not very Peruvian. I understand that the chefs attempted to make a unique menu but calling it a Peruvian restaurant is a stretch. The menu is lacking recognisable Peruvian dishes, which is perplexing as there is no shortage of them. 

It's a shame that in my opinion the best dish was not even seafood. It was a cauliflower cake that had well balanced flavours. The black rice was also a very good side to most of the dishes. Overall, this restaurant is not bad, but it is not excellent. It's not somewhere I would take people wanting to try Peruvian food for the first time. I would hardly call it Peruvian apart from the beer they offer. However, I do like the concept; perhaps perfecting the ceviche first will do good for this restaurant.  

Price: Pricey Tapas
Food: Decent Seafood
Service: Sales Focused
Rating: 3/5

Fund Fact: Chicama is a coastal town in Northern Peru