Peruvian restaurant in Sydney
Nikkei Bar & Restaurant
📍 Surry Hills
👀 A foodie friend Pete invited me here and id always wanted to try Peruvian so I thought id give it a go!! I got street parking right out the front $, and had the most amazing dinner. The name Nikkei refers to people of Japanese ancestry living abroad as citizens of other countries. It also specifically refers to the cuisine of the Japanese-Peruvians which started more than a century ago when the first Japanese immigrated to Peru in the late 1890s. Nikkei presents beautiful, eye catching dishes that immerse us into the Peruvian culture.
💥 The fit out is so beautiful, I love the huge wooden table down the centre of the restaurant, that looks like a huge chunk out of a tree. It feels so warm and inviting and I love that we sat at the bar!
💁🏼♀️ Because we did sit at the bar, we felt the service was amazing, we got to talk to the chefs and bar staff and they made the night memorable.
🍸 Pisco Sour of course!! $22 del parral pisco, lime, aquafaba, amargo chuncho bitters, it is a must try when you dine here.
They have cocktails and an extensive house soda menu too! Teas, beer, sake and heaps of wine.
🍴We picked things from the piqueos / bar food menu including:
hokkaido scallop ceviche, leche de tigre verde, sweet potato, spanish onion, cancha corn, this wasn’t just eye catching it was delicious!! $23
papas rellenas de hongo, mushroom croquettes, $14 corn, olives, aji amarillo (2pcs) (vg) Papas rellenas translates as stuffed potatoes these potato croquettes are filled with mushroom, corn, green olives and aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chilli), fried in panko crumbs and served alongside Japanese curry sauce for dipping. So different and delicious!
hiramasa kingfish tiradito with an acevichado-style sauce of aji amarillo and lime, topped with shiso salsa, simple but absolutely fresh and delicious.
sweet corn, smoked paprika, shichimi butter, 16 the perfect side to our steak dish, ditch the fries and get these instead.
Angus beef short rib was slow-cooked so it melts in your mouth, with a tangy anticucho spiced sauce and wasabi leaf chimichurri. Such perfection I love me a short rib and this was incredible, just look at those colours!!
&& the star of the show was the dessert: suspiro de Nikkei: miso manjar blanco (aka dulce de leche), port-infused meringue, sesame crumb and pitaya (aka dragonfruit), this was seriously amazing, every element the crunch the fruit the sweet and tartness of the meringue - incredible!!
I think they’ve since taken the dessert off the menu but all the fresh, bar food look incredible, ill have to go back when im not pregnant and can eat raw fish again.
✨ This is such a cool place for a group of friends or date night. Get cultured and get some Peruvian cuisine.