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Mochikas Peruvian Cafe
Category: Restaurants Peruvian Peruvian [Edit]
1696 West 5th AvenueVancouver, BC V6J 1N5
Neighbourhood: Fairview Slopes
(604) 739-7378
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 12 pm - 5 pm
Fri-Sat 12 pm - 7 pm
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
12 reviews for Mochikas Peruvian Cafe
12 reviews in English
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Review from Michael P.
Burnaby, BC
5/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
I love you, Mochikas Peruvian Cafe.
Rarely do I ever leave a restaurant thinking of the food I had just eaten. Thanks to Mochikas, I can safely assert that I am addicted to Peruvian food.
Upon my first visit, I ordered the one dish I've been wanting to order for months: Aji de Gallina (hand shredded chicken & potatoes in a creamy Peruvian yellow pepper & parmesan cheese sauce served with rice). I can't quite put to terms how delicious this dish was. It was flavourful, robust, succlent and the lightly buttered rice accentuates the cheese-fused chicken.
If you're a fan of seafood chowder, try the Chupe de Mariscos (a spicy, hearty seafood chowder with fish, clams, shrimp, calamari, mussels, cream, Aji Panca, smoke paprika, Peruvian oregano, rice & feta cheese). This is not your average creamed soup conglomeration. This, my friends, is a Peruvian spin to chowder (or what I like to call, "the best party your mouth has ever been to and every single taste bud is invited".
To wash all this food down, I recommend the freshly made Peruvian fruit drink, "Chicha Morada". It has a subtle hint of cinnamon that makes the drink an excellent pairing with your meal.
Mochikas Peruvian Cafe is located inside an auto body shop/car spa, but don't be deceived because this food packs a flavourful punch. Enjoy!Listed in: Places You MUST Visit!
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Review from Anita H.
North Vancouver, BC
If I ever combined my love of cars with my love of food, my shop would look something like this place. Hey, mechanics are hungry people too! :)
When I first visited this shop, I thought it was tiny and cozy and the chef and waitress are friendly. There are really interesting and beautiful Peruvian pieces that decorate the place.
Now onto the food! I tried the mixed seafood ceviche, lamb with cilantro bean rice, seafood chowder and the quinoa chocolate cake. Oh yes and the chicha morada, known as the purple corn cinammonny drink.
The ceviche was delish! I tend to like my ceviches on the tart side and this was perfect. The seafood was fresh and the veggies and the roasted corn nuts added a nice touch. The lamb was good as it didn't taste gamey.
OH for the seafood chowder! It is a must try! OMG perfectly creamy, smokey, a hint of spice.
For dessert, I was curious and tried the chocolate quinoa cake. It was rich and moist and crumbly.
This shop is really easy to miss in a blink of an eye and if you do look for the Auto Spa you, will see this lovely gem there -
Review from Diana L.
Although this little place is in an odd location, the food is outstanding. The drinks, appies, and entrees are all delicious. I think it's safe to say that anything on the menu is good and is safe to try. The yucca fries are beyond words; they are so delicious. They come with the deep fried pork belly, which was also good. I had a dish with pulled chicken and parmesan cheese; the names are a bit tricky for me. It comes with a side of rice, and the trick to the rice, as my friend Michael P. pointed out, was that they add butter to it, which makes it that much more savoury. I also had the seafood chowder, which was very generously filled with a variety of shrimp, scallops, and mussels. Even though it is a bright red, it is not very spicy. The soup is good, but it is not think like a traditional chowder. It has a lot of rice, too. The drink I had was mad of corn, and the name evades me (I'm terrible at this). It tastes like a horchata, with a strong cinnamon flavour, but it is not creamy.
Go try it, but don't look for a normal restaurant venue, look for an auto body shop. -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
1/12/2012 1 photo
* Peruvian hole in the car wash *
I love hole in the walls.
This goes beyond hole in the wall. It is in a car wash. Enter the door that gives various car wash prices and then there is a second little door entering this hidden Peruvian cafe. Go figure!
I was just in the mood for a quick snack, and ordered the chicken tamale. It came opened for me (nice touch) and plated with some sliced onions covered in green sauce. The tamale had classic Lima touches like the hard boiled egg and an olive. No peanuts or chilies though. I wouldn't have minded having those as well to enhance the flavour, but adding the green sauce and onions definitely helped balance things out. The chicken was quite tender. Photo: http://www.yelp.ca/biz...
I definitely want to return and delve into their full Peruvian menu.Listed in: Vancouver Latin and Caribbean…
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Review from Carla M.
12/31/2011
We thought Mochikas was open for dinner and got there around 7:00 (being Americans not able to use our smartphones without exorbitant charges to use GPS or check Yelp). Pedro, the owner, was there with some friends and they let us stay and eat even though they had been closed for an hour. I really like the food and culture of Peru so I was very happy that he was so friendly and welcoming. Above and beyond! We were only there for a day or two and it was a bit tricky to find so we were especially grateful.
I got Inka Kola (from Peru in a bottle, not from NY and in a can) and ceviche and papas a la huancaina and aji a la gallina. Everything was excellent, especially the ceviche, which was just perfect.
The only gripe I have is this: do the owners really have to have a huge photograph of a completely nude woman in the unisex bathroom? It was tasteful, not porn, but really, why risk offense to his female customers? Or is it part of the auto spa atmosphere (just kidding: there really isn't any in the restaurant)? -
Review from Farnaz I.
Vancouver, BC
4/3/2012
My husband and I enjoyed a really nice lunch at this tiny little cafe this past weekend. My husband is from Ecuador, and since there are no Ecuadorian restaurants in the city, we decided to try out this Peruvian place, hoping for some similar ingredients and dishes.
First impression: tiny place, easy to miss from the outside, and kinda funny that it sits adjacent to/inside an auto-body shop.
But once you step inside, it's cozy and the chef (who is also the owner) is friendly and makes all the food himself. My husband was impressed by some of their imported ingredients.
Since my husband doesn't like most seafood, the chef customized the ceviche to include only shrimp and calamari...and it was DELICIOUS!!
The fried yuca with chicharron was also wonderful...but tiny portion and a bit pricey for what you get.
We also tried the stirfry lomo, which was tasty, with an interesting twist by including french fries in the stirfry.
Overall we thought all the dishes we ordered were delicious and ingredients obviously fresh. Our only small complaint is the prices. We would go back for the deeeeelicious ceviche, but maybe just as a snack because we felt the entire meal that we got (3 small dishes plus 2 sodas for over $40 to share) was too expensive.
Oh...and it closes early, so best time to go is for lunch. And bring cash - no credit cards accepted! -
Review from Janice F.
11/23/2011
Wow, it doesn't get much holer-in-the-wall than this place! Yes, open that door to the auto spa and you will see it as soon as you're inside.
One-woman show at lunch today, and it only took her 10 minutes to whip up two delicious entrees. I had the special of the day which was a lamb with cilantro sauce. Two small'ish lambchops, very tender and tasty - served over a bed of canneloni beans and white rice. Not too shabby for $9
The star of the meal was the seafood stew - Chupe de Mariscos - for $10, we got the smaller size but it was still a great portion size. Delicious, creamy, slightly spicy soup with lots of seafood variety - mussels, fish, calamari, shrimp, prawns. With rice as part of the stew, it made for a hearty meal.
I've heard their pork belly sandwich is good, but I didn't spot it on the menu this time around. I will be back - glad to know they are open on weekends too! -
Review from Clayton E.
Victoria, BC
I fell in love with Peruvian food after a 3 month deployment to South America back in 2009. The problem with loving Peruvian food is that it hasn't caught on (yet!) in North America.
Ceviche, in my opinion, is going to be the new Sushi, rising from obscurity to mainstream food culture.
Anyway, craving a taste of my previous experiences, I sought out some kind of Peruvian food in the Vancouver area and lo and behold only one name popped up. Mochikas Peruvian Cafe.
I live in Victoria and only head over to Vancouver about once a month or so and for about 5 months I never managed to get in the door until today.
My fiancee and I saved up our appetites and went in. Just like the rest of the reviewers, it isn't every day you hear about a restaurant that shares room with a car detail shop, but when we arrived it was a nice little cafe and once inside you quickly forget what's next door.
It is a family run business, and the staff were friendly enough.
One thing, the place is not air conditioned so just pretend you are actually in Lima or something as it feels about the same.
We ordered a bunch of dishes, I have posted photos of each.
The first was the Huancaina, a boiled potato covered in the Aji sauce. It is a nice but very rich sauce that has a very very mild pepper flavour. Very tasty and very rich.
The second item we ordered was the Ceviche de Pescado. I'm a huuge ceviche fan and make my own quite often. This ceviche was delicious, The marinade they use has a very peppery and spicy flavour on top of the freshness of the lime. The fish was more on the raw side than I have had before as it was probably made that morning. It was perfect though, like a flavorful sashimi. I think it was tuna. I highly recommend this dish as a shared appetizer with another person, but don't hesitate to be selfish either.
For the entrees My fiancee had the Arroz con Mariscos, it is basically fried rice with seafood mixed in with sauce and spices. It is one of the type of Peruvian dishes heavily Chinese influenced like many foods in the country. It was very good though and tasted thuroughly asian, but with a small South American edge. The seafood was cooked well but some parts of it, especially the shellfish was a little too firm and overcooked.
I had the Chupe de Mariscos. It is kind of a stew/soup mix with a lot of broth and big chunks and varieties of seafood mixed in with a pile of rice inside. It was delicious, the broth was a creamy/peppery mix and tasted amazing. I ate the whole thing and still wanted more.
I was originally planning to order the Aji de Gallina but they didn't have any but I'm glad I ended up getting this instead.
The restaurant does have a small menu, but that means they are able to focus on certain items. BUT, the chef changes the menu seasonally so you have enough time to try everything then come back for something new again later in the year. -
Review from Anita L.
Vancouver, BC
2/20/2011 8 photos
Tonight, after much planning and little turnout, Carmen, Amelia, and I went to Mochika's Peruvian Cafe. It's the only Peruvian restaurant in Vancouver, and it's in an auto spa. No, that is not a typo, it really is in an auto spa. Not right in the middle, but it's really easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for. We first heard about it when Amelia told us about it a month ago when we all went to Harambe, and the mere fact that it was attached to a car wash was enough draw for us to decide our next dinner would be there. Since then, I've been reading about what Peruvian food is like, looking up reviews, and repeatedly going to Mochika's website to look at their menu. Suffice it to say, I was pretty pumped to go.
It's pretty dangerous to go to a new restaurant with high expectations, but Mochika's definitely did not disappoint. We pretty much had the place to ourselves tonight, but the place was comfortably casual and the chef (who was also our waiter) was very attentive. Carmen told us that his brother (who works for BMW and gets the cars detailed at the auto spa) called ahead and told the chef that they should take care of us. That might of been a good reason to be attentive, but Carmen also said he looked nervous that I was taking photos of the food, and he probably heard me say that I would blog about it. Whatever works!
Carmen asked the chef what he recommended and listed almost exactly what we chose, but also added the daily special, which was a fresh mussel topped with a red onion and corn salad. The salad was pretty delicious, but the mussels were the green lipped ones you generally buy frozen and already on the half shell, so it didn't taste as good as an actual "fresh" mussel, but it was still pretty tasty.
The next thing that came was our yuca frita con chicharron. The yuca tasted a lot like a drier taro, and was served with a yellow pepper sauce, and Amelia shared her Peruvian mayonnaise that came with her yuca (she is vegetarian and order the solo yuca frita and tamal). The chicharron was my favourite thing of the night. I love pork belly. I love crackling. It's so simple and perfect, and the onion salad that came with it complimented it perfectly with it's slightly sweet and spicy acidity. It looks a lot like chinese roast pork, but it isn't heavily salted, so you really get to savor the natural taste of the pork and the really luxurious texture of the fatty pork melting away in your mouth.
The next thing that came was the ceviche. We opted for the mixed seafood one that had sole, mussel, squid, and prawns. I've only ever had ceviche twice. Once in Nice, and once in Buenos Aires. Both were fairly mediocre and pretty disappointing. This ceviche didn't have a lot to live up to, so maybe I'm a little bias, but it was pretty delicious. The sole was still pretty raw, which is a bit unusual for a ceviche, but I love raw fish, so I wasn't complaining. All of the seafood was fresh tasting (save the rogue mussel that was on the side) and the marinade was fresh, tart, and a little bit spicy. I'd like to see ceviche on more menus, there are so many variations.
Our two mains came at once, and I was already getting full, but being the professional eater that I am (thank you, Amelia), I powered through. We had the arroz con pato, which was duck braised for 6 hours in beer and peruvian spices atop a huge bed of delicious, wet cilantro rice. The duck was surprisingly delicately flavoured, considering how long it was braised, and it was just so delightfully tender and moist. The rice was just as good to eat as it was to look at, but i definitely didn't eat as much of it as I wanted to since there was so much food before and after it. Girl's gotta pace herself.
The other entree we had was seco de cordero con frijoles, which was braised lamb and beans with salty, garlicky rice. If I had to pick, I would say I preferred the lamb over the duck because I love lamb, and it's earthy flavour was really pervasive throughout the sauce and beans. I'm not sure what cut of lamb they used, but they braised it with the bones, which I always like more since bones always make slow cooked food taste better. The beans definitely made me think of italian cannelini bean dishes, and were probably my favourite part of the dish.
After all of this, we still managed to share a piece of the crema volteada, which is described as Peruvian creme brulee, but is actually peruvian flan or creme caramel. Whatever it was, it was delicious. It is way too richnot to be shared, but definitely worth trying at least once. The chef also gave us what appeared to be house made dark chocolates filled with caramel and pecans, which were really delicious as well. It should be noted that Carmen was able to pack away a lot more of the cilantro rice than I was, and she is really thin, so I think she may have another stomach instead of another lung or something. Girl can eat, and that's saying something coming from me. -
Review from Crystal H.
Vancouver, BC
It's tasty, it's friendly, it's totally hidden, inside an auto spa. It looks like a typical little cafe. The tables and chairs are uniform. But there's some subtle differences on the menu. The weekday lunch menu offers traditional paninis alongside of Peruvian empanadas and traditional sandwiches with jamon and a cilantro onion sauce which sounded interesting, but possibly a no-go for after-eating breath.
I settled in on a charcoal chicken wrap for $5. It came solo on a plate, wrapped in red checker paper, no side or garnish. I'm not going to lie, it made me a little sad. I suppose I was hoping for something that differentiated it from your run of the mill wrap from a Bread Garden-esque place. It's Peruvian afterall. Maybe I'm just too keen on seeing some authentic culture...music... images... artwork? But I digress. It did taste good: filled with rice and flavourful chicken.
I also ordered coffee which was pretty good, although I questioned the beans (I'm going to guess Costo-like) when I saw the sunspun white sugar packs.
The menu mentions that they cook up a full Peruvian spread on weekends. Round two, coming right up!
And it's cashola only. -
Review from conrad y.
Vancouver, BC
9/4/2010
Quite tasty/spicy food well made and served with efficiency and warmth.
The fish could have been a tad fresher-I had Tiradito de Salsa Rocoto but it was made with artistry and élan-a delicious dish quite unlike any Ceviche found anywhere in the city.
The potato (mini) platter called Ocopa is another item different from anything you ever had-it sounds unremarkable but the sauce was almost addictive if I wasn't such a polite Canadian I would have licked the dish!
It's a good location but tucked away on a corner-keep searching it's well worth your while.
In typical developing world stylee there's a giant TV dominating one wall and a radio blasting behind the counter-relax and immerse yourself! -
Review from Ellen W.
Vancouver, BC
5/28/2011
I ordered an entree and a dessert there but I like the dessert better. The entree was good but not very impressed, just typical restaurant standard.
I tried to buy some pasta sauce there but I noticed almost all of them were expired except the one with peanut favor which would be expired four months later as well. When I asked the owner if the pasta sauces had been expired she said they would be expired next year. Obviously she was lying because the expiry dates were clearly showed on the labels and they were all expired except the one I just mentioned. But they are all selling for $5 each. I think that is really over-priced for a product which has expired.
