- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
El Plebeyo Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Peruvian Peruvian [Edit]
1453 Bathurst StToronto, ON M5R 3J2
Neighbourhoods: Casa Loma, Wychwood
(416) 532-5627
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
7 reviews for El Plebeyo Restaurant
7 reviews in English
-
Review from Viviana M.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 2/17/2011 1 photo
Dining Experience: Dinner
Specialty: Peruvian
Menu items: Plato Plebeyo + Lomo Salteado
I had been looking for a good, traditional and authentic Peruvian restaurant for a long time. With most friends stating there wasn't really any good in the GTA, I had lost all hope. Until one day, on a my way to a client meeting, I was in a cab in the corner of Bathurst and St. Clair West when I noticed a restaurant with a sign that said "El Plebeyo - Peruvian and Latin Cuisine". As a foodie, once you see something good, you make note of it.
With less than a few weeks of finding this restaurant, I invited a friend of mine to go try it out. Both of us being Latin and knowing that there are rare authentic Latin eateries in Toronto, we walked in with much reserve but willing to give it a try. We were beyond words! El Plebeyo is by far the best Peruvian restaurant in the city. The place is typical Latin - small, with less than 10 tables and family friendly. The staff is very friendly and from what I hear the chefs are Peruvian born and raised, and as we experienced, so is the food!
Up front, the waitress told us that the dishes were rather large, so we decided to skip appetizers and we each ordered a dish from the rather long menu. El Plebeyo's menu has everything from seafood (which is the Peruvian specialty) to meats, poultry and guisados (otherwise known as stews), so there is a ton for you to order.
I ordered my favourite (now that I have been there twice) - Plato Plebeyo. A traditional peruvian dish that is rich, succulent, tasty and made just perfectly.
Plato Plebeyo comes with grilled shrimp and salmon on a creamy white sauce. I could not decipher what the sauce was, but I am pretty sure it has white wine in it. The dish also comes with black beans on a cilantro and tomato sauce; and to top it all off, Saffron rice (I guess you now know why I ordered it, in case you don't, the answer is here). The rice is topped off with some really good, crunchy, salty and tasty french fries and asparagus. Lovely!
My friend and I always share what we order, so I got to taste his dish as well. He ordered the Lomo Salteado. I can't remember the entire name from the menu, but it was the one that had the egg on top. Almost everything tastes better with egg, I think!
Lomo Salteado is another typical Peruvian dish. Now, I am not sure if this is how it's traditionally plated in Peru; however I really don't care as what matters is that it tastes phenomenal! Lomo means beef in Spanish, so this is stir fried beef with french fries, onions and tomato on what seems like a cilantro sauce; all topped off with an over easy egg. The Lomo is accompanied by white beans in its own sauce and white rice, both drizzled with some cilantro flakes.
Why do you think Spanish people can drink? because we have the heavy meals to prep the tummy with!
Overall, I love this little Peruvian hideout. I love how El Plebeyo presents its food. They seem like they take the time to ensure everything is plated well. I know that at times, with Latin food being usually heavy on ingredients, this can be hard.
One thing I should warn you of is that they don't have a wide wine selection; so if you want to pair your dish with a nice drink, I would recommend a beer or one of their featured Peruvian juices, they just go better with these kind of meals.
Buen Provecho,
VIviana.Listed in: Best Restaurants in Toronto
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/2/2010 First to Review
If you are looking for true and well made Peruvian food, this is the place to go. The restaurant is… Read more »
-
-
Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
12/15/2010
I can't even pronounce the name of this place because it's not a common English word, however the name is common as it means "The Commoner" in Español. Sí?
It was not a pretty picture to begin this night as one of the ladies got lost and frustrated looking for this place while the other went Menu crazy and dominated. The Gentlemen that we are, we patiently helped the lost and confused while also compromising to order 1 of 3 dishes while ladies get first choice. On top of that, we became the designated clean-up-eaters so our group wouldn't be considered wasteful. Good job Boys!
Tight cozy romantic mom pop shop with Peruvian art decor. The place setting was perfectly place as with any Fine Dining restaurant while it still has that Peruvian rustic charm. It's definitely more of a Date place more than Lunch-rush and that is also suggested on the Menu as they note this as Peruvian Nouvelle.
Pop was the only server and he would sometimes hide away with Mom at the back for awhile, so don't be frustrated if you don't notice any service walking inside. What they do at the back though, I have no clue.
Anticuchos(Marinated Beef Heart $8.95) was grilled and quite meaty with a good marinate to give it better flavour than it probably would have been au natural.
Grouper Ceviche is typical of any Ceviche but it's first time I had it with Grouper or any White Fish in fact. Nice to try but maybe will try again on someone else's budget.
Rellenos(Stuffed Pepper $8.95) was an individual stuffed Red Bellpepper that I find pretty nice with Ground Meat inside.
Seco de Carne(Braised Beef w/Wine & Cilantro $18.95) comes with White Beans, Rice & Potato with Green Peas. That is starchy fulfilling goodness of a dish anyone would love. Braised Beef reminds me of the Chinese Braised Beef both cooked until tender.
Saltado de Pollo(Chicken w/Onion,Tomato, French Fries) reminds me of Chicken Stir-fry and now I look it up, it is of Chinese origin. I'm not a Stir-fry kinda Guy be it Chinese or whatevernese.
Grouper Loco(Breaded Fillet) was quite delicious as the sauce permeates the breading to soak up the sauce while the Grouper was perfectly cooked inside.
Note: Next time we have to Butter up our host so she turns lovely tenderness so she can pay the bill. That's if my buddy doesn't stick the Butter in the Ice Cream first.Listed in: Latin American - Español Menus
-
Review from Leeor J.
12/8/2010
Wow, this place was great!
I showed up here with a friend tonight and the place was dark and completely empty. Not confidence inspiring. We sort of started to have second thoughts. But we were both pretty freakin' hungry, so we took a quick look at the menu, and said what the hell. Boy, I'm glad we decided to stay.
First we had the beef heart appetizer. great. grilled and so flavourful without even a hint of organy taste. came in a nice tomato and oil sauce.
We then split two main courses. The chicken stew with tomatoes, olives and peppers, and the stir-fried steak. The steak was superb. Again, bursting with flavour.
I wasn't in the mood for seafood tonight, so I went for the chicken/beef dishes (though the beef hearts will definitely be a mainstay) but they have tonnes of seafood dishes. I'll try them next time.
I will definitely be back. -
Review from Giuliana B.
SCARBOROUGH, ON
12/15/2010
I have come here several times over the years, but for some reason it had been a while since the last time I visited. This is the most authentic Peruvian restaurant in Toronto, and coming here is a reminder of my childhood, and my grandma's and mom's cooking. My mom still makes authentic Peruvian at home, but its less often, and some dishes are so labour intensive that I very seldom get to eat them at home. If ever.
On a Monday evening, the place was fairly busy, there were maybe four other tables occupied (and this place can fit 8 tables at most) besides ours, but as the night went on the place cleared out, and it was just us and another couple. The restaurant is run by the owner of hte place and his wife (who does the cooking).
The Menu is extensive, and has a large variety of appetizers, and chicken/beef/seafood mains, plus some home style stews. We settled on the following:
Grilled Beef Heart
Grouper Ceviche
Stuffed Pepper
"Seco" ( Beef braised in a cilantro and white wine sauce)
"Saltado de Pollo" (chicken strips sauteed with onions,tomatoes and french fries)
Grouper Loco
Beef heart is Peruvian street food. Its the kind of thing you never make at home, but instead you purchase from street vendors late at night. The beef heart here was delicious. It wasn't served the traditional way (which is small pieces on a skewer), but it was still tender and super flavourful. It doesn't taste organy at all (its not supposed to) and the juices from the heart and marinade at the bottom create the most delicious sauce ever.
The Ceviche tasted very fresh and the fish was firm and adequately seasoned. Peruvian ceviche is served with julienned red onions, and slices of potato and sweet potato which you are meant to soak in the lemon juice that the ceviche comes in. Though the Ceviche was very good, I wish it had been more spicy. But we asked for it medium spicy because the two males at our table can't handle heat :)
The Stuffed Pepper was a disappointment. I'm used to my mom making this at home regularly, and in comparison this stuffed pepper was bland and puny.
The Seco was very good. If you hate cilantro you should stay away from his dish, as it is cilantro heaven. The sauce was flavourful, the beef was super tender and the beans and rice that come with it were great. You are supposed to mix the rice,potato,beans and stew and eat it all together to get the right flavour combination. I love this dish.
The Chicken wasn't very good. Once again, my mom's version of this dish trumps this. The chicken was dry and the dish in general needed more seasoning.
The Grouper Loco was delicious. It was grouper fillet that had been seasoned and pan fried, served with sauteed onions and tomatoes in a white wine sauce. The fish was flaky and soo tasty. I loved it!
We also had dessert which included rice pudding, coconut cheesecake and some "creme brulee" tart. Aside from the rice pudding, none of the desserts were authentic Peruvian. The rice pudding was served in a hollowed out orange half and sprinkled with cinnamon. Yum.
The coconut cheesecake was very tasty, and the tart just wasn't my thing.
All in all, a very pleasant dining experience. I definitely recommend this place if you want to taste some authentic Peruvian food. And don't be afraid to try the beef heart and seafood dishes, its where this guys really shine! -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
12/18/2010 14 photos
I have never have any Peruvian food in my life.. and I am so glad that my fellow yelper ask me to try out her favourite Peruvian restaurant and share some of her childhood memories with me.
My first impression of Peru is tasty! and if you are into carbs, you in heaven!
Grouper Ceviche
- Ceviche is the national dish of Peru, marinated in lime makes this dish light and refreshing and healthy!
- I am into fish, especially white fish.. A little disappointed because it suppose to be consists of Andean chili peppers.. due to some dietary restrictions of some dinner mates we have to order it mild.. and mild means no chili...
Anticuchos (Peruvian Grilled Beef Heart)
- I think this is the best dish of the night, beef heart taste like beef and does not resembles any bleeding heart!
- nice texture and rich in flavour and grilled to have this nice charred taste!
Saltado de Pollo
- Chicken strip stir-fried with veggie and chips served with rice
- stir fried french fries.. meh... chicken is dried...meh
Seco de Carne
- If you are into Cilantro then it is the dish for you.. Beef was quite tender.
- accompanied with rice and beans and potatoes which are the carbs staples for Peruvian cuisine
Arroz con leche (rice-pudding):
- consist of cooked rice, cinnamon/nutmeg, and milk served in a half orange.. hmmm not bad.. but not good either! :) don't we have enough carbs in the main course?
Inca Kola
- taste like cream soda... 35g Sugar :)
- suppose to be Peru's national icon. most drank than coke in Peru!
Service here is friendly, homey and slow......... More like eating in someone's home.. since the wife cooking in the kitchen and husband serving us... So be patient and enjoy and chill!
It was a good first experience of Peruvian cuisine.Listed in: Latin American in Toronto!, A Day in St Clair West!
-
Review from Gloria R.
Toronto, ON
8/16/2011
A magical and delicious ma and pa Peruvian restaurant. We had the paella seafood dish with possibly the most fresh seafood I have ever tasted in Toronto. The ambiance of this sweet little restaurant brought me right back to Peru. Don't expect to eat at El Plebeyo without time on your hands. The foods are prepared fresh upon order and so you don't want to be in a rush. I felt as though time slowed down here, and as one of the owners said to me "you wait for the paella, the paella doesn't wait for you!"
-
Review from Mus P.
8/14/2011
I'm currently planning a trip to Peru and thought it would be good prep to eat Peruvian food ahead of time. El Plebeyo was an absolute treat. Try the ceviche, any ceviche, spicy if you can.
Service is very friendly, if a tad slow. Prices are pretty reasonable considering the servings and the amount of seafood the average dish contains.
