THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Mochica

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Mochica Restaurant Review:

On a rather bleak stretch in SoMa is this friendly little charmer of a restaurant, serving innovative northern Peruvian cuisine that is bound to perk up anyone's palate with the wealth of exciting flavors on its menu. The complimentary bowl of lightly battered chickpeas borders on addictive with its kicky spiced mix of onion, parsley, bell pepper, and hulking pieces of crunchy Peruvian corn that turns up in dishes elsewhere. The menu is impressively extensive considering the restaurant's petite size, and it leans heavily on a variety of seafood dishes. The ceviche mixto is a hearty jumble of seafood that includes the rare find of tender bits of octopus in a citrusy spiced juice; and shrimp cakes, with their lightly crispy exterior, are an example of what crab cakes aspire to be. Another delicious appetizer is the anticuchos; the best choice is traditional smoky and tender grilled beef hearts that arrive on skewers. Dappled throughout the menu are a variety of flavorful sauces made with Peruvian ajis, or chiles, from the smoky sweet aji panca to the red rocoto. Some dishes integrate more than one chile, like the parihuela, a bouillabaisse made with two chiles, while the aji amarillo turns up in a rich creamy sauce over shredded chicken and hard-boiled egg in the decadent aji de gallina. Even desserts feature exotic flavors, like a fluffy passion fruit mousse, or the native lucuma ice cream.