Pisco Sours, prawn toast and tropical plants. What more could one ask for on a sunny Sunday afternoon? All of this and more went down when we visited Pachamama East last weekend…
Kitted out with the sexiest of interiors, the location is bright and airy. Exposed bulbs hang from the ceiling, retro tiles and wicker chairs sit beneath you, and plenty of beautiful greenery surrounds the dining space. It’s a tropical paradise!
The food is equally beautiful. Unlike its sister restaurant in Marylebone, Pachamama East is of Chinese influence as well as Peruvian, representing the Chinese immigrants who fled to Peru in the late 19th century. The mix of the two cultures creates an unsuspectingly fabulous fusion.
To whet the palette, we start with a Spanish staple, padron peppers. They’re followed by a chunky serving of prawn toast topped with cucumber, spring onion and fish flakes.
Sichuan fried chicken with atacama sauce and a bashed cucumber salad sprinkled with sesame progress the Chinese influences. The chicken, succulent and crispy, is a real comfort dish, and dipped in the Atacama sauce given a spicy kick.
We break to sip on Pachamama’s signature Pisco Sour, which is served perfectly frothed in a classic champagne glass. Other cocktails to note are the Banana Negroni and the vanilla vodka infused Weekend Millionaire.
Ready for another round of delicious eats; pork belly chicharrones, lamb anticuchos with yuzukosho, and caremlised aubergine with peanuts and coriander oil arrive at the table.
The pork belly chicharrones – what’s that? Fried skin and sometimes meat – are hard to share. I would’ve eaten a whole portion to myself in a heartbeat. The aubergine is sticky and sweet, a must order for all you planning to visit. Unfortunately, we found the lamb a little dry, it went unacknowledged unlike every other dish we ate.
We conclude with some of the lighter dishes on the menu, better options for those not capable of stretching their stomachs as much as us.
Yellowfin tuna ceviche with pickled potato and XO sauce, sea bass ceviche with soy tigers milk, nori and sesame and finally a Hamachi dish – a fish typically used in sushi – served with baby turnips, radish and aubergine cream were all refreshingly light and fragrant.
Dessert came unexpectedly, thankfully one to share! A round of corn ice cream sat atop an almond and truffle cake, it was an indulgent yet light way to finish our feast.
Pachamama have locations in Marylebone and Shoreditch, both offering something exciting and different. To book a table at either restaurant, visit their website here.
73 GREAT EASTERN STREET
LONDON, EC2A 3HR
