Restaurant: Pikoh
Location: 11940 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. (310) 928-9344
Date: April 27, 2019
Cuisine: Peruvian Fusion
Rating: Seemed zesty given what I had
I’ve very much enjoyed chef Ricardo Zarate’s previous offerings, notably Picca and Paiche — unfortunately now closed and the still open Rosaline. So I was excited to good with the Foodie Club guys to his latest, Rosaline on Melrose.
His own website says of Ricardo:
Born in Lima, Peru, ‘the godfather of Peruvian cuisine’ Ricardo Zarate is synonymous with indigenous South American foods. Immaculately executed and fused with his underlying passion, drive and kitchen ingenuity, Zarate’s cuisine has earned him widespread critical acclaim and praise from media and consumers alike.
It’s located on Pico Blvd — get it?
The interior is nice, typical.
The menu.
Arugula salad. Dehydrated gochujang beets, ricotta beet spread, goat cheese, candied walnuts, balsamic vinaigrette.
Albacore tiradito. Seared tiradito, aji limon, crispy shallots. Zesty, salty, and a bit spicy.
Salmon miso. Gochujang miso, roasted carrots, pickled cucumber. My wife found this a bit too spicy for her.
Pork tonkatsu. Shredded cabbage, caramelized lemon, Japanese mustard. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but a fried pork cutlet wasn’t it. I should have known though, as it’s exactly as described, and the Japanese do call this tonkatsu. I’ve just come to associate it with pork bone ramen broth.
Shakshuka. Tomato bonito stew, prawns, eggs, ciabatta toast. Bright acidic tomato flavors.
We just had a quick little meal for two. Pikoh however is different than Ricardo’s previous places. It isn’t so “Peruvian” but more an American small plates place like the also recently opened Yours Truly except with strong Peruvian inflections. I actually prefer all his older places because to my taste, they are just more interesting. But this might be more mainstream. Who knows?
We were there for dinner and it was normal table service, but they apparently have counter/fast casual day time service. Sometimes I like this, sometimes I find this extremely annoying. Depends if it just saves time or they make me do half the work like bussing and getting my own silverware. I don’t go out to restaurants to bus my own table. I’m sorry. I don’t even like to do it at fast food (I do though — but I don’t eat much fast food).