Peruvian food is perhaps the most diverse and intriguing cuisine I’ve encountered, merging indigenous produce and dishes—potatoes, aji peppers, ceviche—with ingredients and techniques—French fries, ginger, rotisserie—from around the globe.
At Icaru, opened on Elm Street in February 2023, a glance at the menu reveals Asian, European and African influences: chaufa, or Peru’s version of Chinese fried rice; lomo saltado, a dish of beef strips, tomatoes, onions and fries sauteed in soy sauce; tallarin verde, a spaghetti dish with a pesto-style sauce borrowed from Italian immigrants; and tacu tacu, a dish of rice and beans fried into a savory patty, a recipe reportedly originating from African slaves brought to Peru during colonial times.
The restaurant is fast-casual and small, with six or so tables, but offers table service all the same. Miniature red and white Peruvian flags hang from strings threaded across the ceiling. A blackboard-style mural along a wall displays a map of Peru, pointing out the hometown, Ica, of Icaru chefs (and brothers) Jose and Pedro Diaz, along with lists of the delicacies guests can expect to find here: ceviche, papa rellena, bistec a lo pobre.
Icaru’s main menu is extensive for its diminutive space: appetizers ($5 to $18) like anticuchos (grilled beef heart kabobs) and papa huancaina (potato smothered in a cheese, pepper and evaporated milk sauce), a wide variety of chicken, beef and seafood entrees ($15 to $30), sandwiches and salchipapas (Peruvian specialties featuring hot dogs, French fries and other additions like eggs and salad, $13 to $21) and considerately, a number of vegan and vegetarian options ($17 to $20) including a vegan ceviche with assorted vegetables.
But the best value is probably the more limited lunch menu, offered Monday through Friday from 11 to 3 with a choice of appetizer, entree and drink for a base price of $13.99. After enjoying a complimentary bowl of cancha, or toasted and salted Peruvian corn kernels served with Icaru’s “hot green sauce,” I dug into a chicken soup starter, a flavorful and fragrant bowl packed with vegetables, dark-meat chicken on the bone and snippets of spaghetti. It was comforting and satisfying, albeit better suited for a cold day than a sunny, warm April afternoon.
I then moved to something I like to order when trying new Peruvian restaurants: pollo a la brasa, perhaps the country’s most popular dish. Whole chickens are marinated in blends of Peruvian spices, herbs and other flavorful components like lime juice, vinegar and soy sauce, then cooked on a rotisserie until the skin is crisped and the meat underneath is perfectly juicy.
Icaru’s lunch offering included a quarter-chicken (leg and thigh) with succulent meat and a pleasingly golden-brown exterior, served with a crisp salad and thick, top-notch fries, which were perfect for taking advantage of the caddy of sauces my server had dropped off. I loved mixing and matching the green cilantro sauce, spicy rocoto pepper sauce and a blend of mayonnaise and ketchup with both my chicken and fries.
Coca Cola and Sprite are included in the lunch special price, but guests can have an Inca Kola (a popular Peruvian soft drink invented by a British immigrant) for an extra $1 or a chicha (corn drink) or maracuya (passionfruit) for $1.50. I went for the rich, purple chicha morada made from boiled dried corn and warmly flavored with cinnamon.
With vibrant flavors, well-executed dishes and friendly service, Icaru is the kind of spot I’d keep returning to—as long as I can grab one of those six tables.
Written and photographed by Leeanne Griffin
