Back in February when we returned to Warsaw from our great Asian trip, I met with my friend who lives in London. Like us, she likes travelling and eating and loves all sorts of tasty places. Therefore every time we meet we partly talk about restaurants we have to visit which have amazed or even fascinated us lately. I sometimes tell her about what’s currently popular in Warsaw while she goes on about London trends. And so back then she casually mentioned that London’s gone mad for Peruvian cuisine, for ceviche in particular. I presumed that it soon will come to Warsaw as well! But when? Well, we had to wait for it for a while… but in the end all went according to the plan! In the beginning of October Ceviche Bar opened in a brand new Cosmopolitan building on ul. Twarda 4.
I guess there was no place more talked about in Warsaw last week! Suddenly everybody went there, everybody ate marinated fish and seafood and everybody went mad all along! We decided to try it too. We’ve never been to Peru (such a shame! have to make up for it!) but we tried ceviche in Mexico, mainly made from shrimps and octopus. It was a perfect snack for a hot day. Have you ever tried it? Anywhere?
Traditional ceviche is made from raw fish or seafood covered in brine made from lime juice, onions and coriander, sometimes also paprika. Marinating makes the fish taste intriguing and exceptionally refreshing. Let’s see how does ceviche taste in Warsaw!
shade fish / yuzu/ Thai basil / togarashi /red onion – PLN 36
We’re expecting a lot since the chef at Ceviche Bar comes from Argentina. His name is Martin Gimenez Castro and he already made us fall in love with his cooking at Salto (he still works there!) and before that he won the first edition of TOP CHEF. But here, there’s no place for fancy flavour combinations and culinary magic. It’s supposed to be simple, yet with come creativity too. As soon as we enter Ceviche Bar on Friday in lunchtime we notice it’s quite crowded! The interior is pleasant and modern but with wooden elements and drawings reminiscent of South America. The thing I love the most is Spanish language mixed into the interior design, especially the slogans that sound just like me! 🙂 Barriga llena, corazón contento – full belly, happy heart! There’s also chef’s apron with “el jefe” written on it. Great!
a vibrant place
The menu is divided into several sections. There’s ceviche, there’s tiraditos (chopped raw fish a bit similar to sashimi), there’s also especiales de la casa. So called ‘house specialties’ including non-fish meals such as empanadas – Argentinean dumplings or locro soup with peas, corn and meat. But we came here for the FISH!
We go for a mix of different flavours in order to try as much as we can. There’s salmon / avocado / leche de tigre / plane tree (PLN 28). What’s that called leche de tigre, – tiger’s milk? It’s a liquid/brew left after marinating the fish for ceviche which is considered one of the essential ingredients of this Peruvian classic. It’s topped with various ingredients such as lemon, lime or orange juice and may come in a form of a drink which works great for a hangover or as an aphrodisiac. In the history of ceviche which can be found on Spanish websites, we read that once upon a time in Lima, women selling ceviche in the streets gave the drink left after marinating to its clients so that nothing gets wasted. Over generations the brew was enhanced and that’s how leche de tigre came to life. Here it’s a side for salmon and avocado but you can get it from the drinks sections too.
As for ceviche section we also get ATUN – tuna / chili / burned coriander / lime (PLN 38) and CORVINA – shade fish / yuzu/ Thai basil / togarashi /red onion (PLN 36) which is more sweet than sour unlike the others.
tuna / chili / burned coriander / lime – PLN 38
shrimps, passion fruit and coconut milk – PLN 36
After chef’s recommendation we decide to accompany our ceviche with 2 types of tiraditos – one being SALMON with ginger, sesame and wakame (PLN 30) and second being VIEIRAS – scallops with black olives, ginger and wakame (PLN 38). Sounds like a lot of food but reportedly the portions aren’t that big. There’s also no ‘fillers’ such as rice, pasta or potatoes which make you feel full quickly. Just fish.
tiradito : salmon with ginger, sesame and wakame – PLN 30
tiradito: scallops with black olives, ginger and wakame – PLN 38
sweet potatoes to nibble on
Quite quickly, we get several small platters with various types of ceviche. We get a bowl of nachos to nibble on – that really reminds me of the lunches we had somewhere on the beach on Yucatan in Mexico, where ceviche fragrant with coriander came with homemade nachos. Apart from nachos we get baked sweet potatoes – my latest love!
Which is my favourite? I guess salmon with avocado, plane tree and leche de tigre – it’s perfect, a little bit sour and refreshing! I also like the tuna with chilli, however Łukasz says it’s too sour. He prefers sweetish shrimps with coconut milk and passion fruit and the shade fish. Scallops tiradito is also great – the slices are incredibly thin and tender and the flavours go well together. Salmon tiradito is quite simple on the other hand and it make us feel like we’re in a sushi bar instantly – Maks would like that too.
Ceviche Bar is a perfect place to eat Spanish style – ‘para picar‘ – try something from common bowls, try different flavours, look for the favourite, nibble on crispy nachos or mix the flavours with soft and sweet potatoes. A good idea for an evening with friends, especially with their drinks reportedly being good as well.
Ceviche Bar is a place you need to go to. Not only because it’s tasty but also to learn discover something new. We know Italian, pad thai pho soup, Chinese food, chicken tikka masala. We also know patats bravas, halaszle and quesadilla. Time to get to know with ceviche! It’s great that now we can do it in Warsaw too.
Just watch out because if you fall in love with ceviche you may end up quite healthy but with an empty wallet 🙂
PS. Ceviche does lunches on weekdays – PL 29 for a starter and the main course. Haven’ tried that yet 😉
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
ul. Twarda 4 (Cosmopolitan building)
tel. 22 304 94 02
opening hours:
Mon-Sat 12.00-23.00
Sun 12.00-18.00
lunch for 2
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