What can you tell us about Andina?
Andina is the second London restaurant from Martin Morales, the man behind Ceviche and one of the people at the forefront of Peruvian food in London. This restaurant is an all-day affair (we've heard great things about the breakfast and brunch - but we went for dinner) and is based on family Peruvian cooking.
Where is it?
It's right next to Shoreditch High Street Overground on the Corner of Redchurch Street and Shoreditch High Street itself.
Where should I meet friends for a drink first?
There isn't a standalone bar in Andina, but there are a few good options nearby. There's Dishoom which is almost next door andf you're visiting when the weather is a little more on the warmer side, there's always Boundary rooftop around the corner too.
Where's the best place to sit?
We sat in what is always our favourite seat in the house - up at the counter looking into the kitchen. We love watching food being prepared in front of us and Morales said it was his favourite seat in the house too. There's also counter dining downstairs where you can see them preparing the desserts. If being too close to the chefs is a bit too much for you, then there's plenty of space elsewhere. We have a slight preference to upstairs, but think downstairs can cater for larger groups.
It's also worth mentioning the private dining room at the back of the ground floor which can seat up to 20 people - well worth a look if you're planning a big gathering in the area.
And what should we eat?
Right - embarassing admission - we haven't actually been to the original Ceviche in Soho, but after this meal at Andina we're going to rectify that soon. Andina has one of those menus where you find yourself hard pressed to choose and instead want to work your way through it. And it has the added bonus of a separate appendix which explains all those foods that you feel you should know about but don't want to admit to not knowing. Frankly we can think of many European restaurants that could do with this...
You can check out the gallery for the full lowdown on what we ate - but we loved everything that was put in front of us. Start out with some snacks from the "street" menu (alongside a Pisco Sour) while you're choosing everything else - and we'd say the mini chicarrones - the confit pork belly with ricotta jam is a must have. If they sold this in jars, we'd buy it by the truckload. The pig butty (those chicharrones in a bun with amarillo chilli sauce and sweet potato ketchup) also sounds excellent but regrettably is only available for breakfast and lunch.
Your next choice should be something from the ceviche menu. We went for the "Cheeky" - thinly sliced hake matched with meaty cod cheeks with tiger's milk and blood orange. Hands down one of the best things we've tasted in London for an age and the perfect antidote to all the dude food and burgers we've been having recently. And we paired it with another ceviche but this time a beef one - Res - which consisted of wafer thin slices of raw beef with figs, Uchucuta herb sauce, kiwi, mint and pisco dressing (both were £8.50).
Of the mains, we were recomended the Aji de Gallina, a chicken casserole with amarillo chilli, pecan nuts, rice and a crispy quinoa coated chicken leg. It's not something we would have necessarily gone for without the recommendation but it was one of the best things we had on the night.
We also tried the Causas Amantani. Billed as cool potato cakes - we realised on their arrival that the menu description was referring to the dish's temperature rather than trend factor. Either way we should have worked this out as we saw dozens of them being prepared in front of us (it was a clear popular choice of the night). It was a good dish, but maybe the one that could have done with a touch more spiciness for us.
How about desserts?
Having briefly considered going a bit easy we succombed to the waiter's insistence that the picarones (pumpkin doughnuts) were a must-have. He was right and the purple maize syrup this came with really elevated the dish. This would easily feed two, but we also had to try - for your sake you understand - the Lengua de Suegra - Peruvian filo pastry with dulce de leche filling and some really great pecan ice cream to accompany it.
And what about drinks?
Of course, there's no getting away from the fact that you have to start the meal with a Pisco Sour and the one here's a pitch perfect example. We followed up by a Tupac Amaru (grapefruit infused pisco, goldenberry coulis, smoked vodka and ginger ale) but we have to be honest and admit that this just made us wished we'd ordered a second pisco sour instead. Not a bad drink - but the first was a hard act to follow.
Wines on the menu start at £15 a bottle, rising to £24 for an exclusively South American list. But if you're laying off the booze, this is a great place to visit as there's also a large selection of smoothies, juices and soft drinks on offer.
Overall thoughts
Opening just before Christmas, Andina might have got missed by some in the festive opening rush - but it's definitely a restaurant that will thrive in the area. It offers something quite unique for Shoreditch with a great vibe and friendly staff. We're already making plans to return in the future.
Andina is at 1 Redchurch Street, London E2 7DJ. Find out more about Andina.
Prices were correct at time of writing. Hot Dinners ate as guests of Andina.
