Ricardo Zarate’s menu at Once introduces the Peruvian Nikkei dining experience.
Openings: Dinner nightly, Brunch Fri.-Sun.
Features
- Valet parking & parking garage
- Dress code: Casual
- Full bar
- Outdoor dining
- Wheelchair accessible
THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Once Restaurant Review:
About the restaurant & décor: Pronounced "on-sey," the restaurant’s name in Spanish means the number 11, and it’s a nod to Peruvian-born chef Ricardo Zarate’s spot in line among 13 siblings. Zarate designed the décor to mimic his home country, with floor-to-ceiling living plant walls, a patio with five communal tables and live plants throughout the space, which is situated on the second level of the Grand Canal Shoppes.
Likes: As the menu items rotate weekly, you can almost always be assured of finding something new to try.
Dislikes: Since the menu only offers 11 items, some may find the choices too limited.
Food & Drinks: Zarate’s menu introduces the Peruvian Nikkei dining experience, blending the flavors of Peru and Japan, with 11 sharable dishes inspired by his childhood. Menu items rotate weekly, and during our visit we enjoyed the quinoa salad due to its unique use of dried beet jerky, blood orange dressing adding a bit of sweetness and burrata contributing to a variety of textures. We also like the oxtail bibimbap, a rich blend of flavors ensconced in a mint stew balanced with tacu tacu rice and plantain and enlivened with a sunny side up egg; and the shrimp and scallop dumplings in a sudado stew with chili sauce bringing enough heat to be savory but not overpowering. In keeping with the numeric theme, 11 cocktails are offered, including V.I. Beet containing rye, Carpano Antica, Pierre Ferrand and bitters garnished with beet jerky and beet dust (dehydrated beets). Beer and wine are also served. Desserts may include guava passionfruit sorbet or stuffed pastry with chocolate, white chocolate and caramel. Brunch, available Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., presents non-traditional dishes such as bistec con huevos (grilled New York steak with eggs, quinoa toast and apple ginger tamarind soy dressing).
|