Arriba Perú

The ceviche is incredible! I have had ceviche all over the world and this may be the best. I was told they used red snapper. I’m already craving it!

This is our first time eating here, they took to long to serve the food. We had to wait for almost 30 minute for our food. Very bad service I will never come back to this place. The lady took to long to take our order we waited for way too long.

Great little hidden gem. Don’t let the ambiance detour you. Describe food in one word: flavor. I will be back!

Pros: very good aji verde sauce
Food was ok
Cons: service wasn’t bad but the waitress had an indifferent attitude.

The food was alright. Not nearly has close to perfection as another restaurant near by. Service was poor. They were too busy eating to actually pay attention to us.

Lomo Saltado. GET IT! I didn’t even know what it was until my friend insisted on dragging me here to try it. And I was mind blown. Though the food is definitely on the pricey side, the uniqueness and rarity are more than worth it. My opinion may be a bit biased since I haven’t tried much Peruvian food, but the food here seems authentic and I believe the restaurant is family-​owned.
For those who aren’t familiar, Lomo Saltado is a stir fry of beef slices, tomatoes, onions, and fries, paired with rice. The dish has an explosive, savory sauce that I love mixing with my rice. I normally don’t like eating rice, but the sauce compels me to take one bite after another. The beef is juicy and tender, and soaked in the delicious sauce. It has some tartness to it, so I recommend mixing each bite with rice. It’s a large enough portion to split into two meals, but it’s also addicting enough to finish in one sitting.
This place is hidden on Telegraph, where Fondue Fred and Norikonoko are nestled. It is located at the very end and up the stairs.

When my husband I crave Peruvian food we come here. The food it good, not bad and they seem to always be busy yet it’s small and it in little hidden spot. Also it very affordable which is a plus. We travel from San Leandro since this seems to be the closest place that serves good Peruvian food.

Great food. Great portion sizes, the ceviche could have been a little spicier but overall very satisfied with the food. A good lunch spot

i like this place.
it has a homey feel.
if you like peruvian, you should like this place.
order some food from the couple that run the place, watch a futbol game, go on peruvian time.

Excellent authentic (says my Peruvian GF) food, great portions and a real family owned experience.
I don’t understand the other reviews, where in the Bay Area do you get cheaper Peruvian that is also this good?
We come here everytime we are in Oakland/​Berkeley area, it’s that good.

If you are looking for a good Peruvian restaurant you must come here, their food is delicious! I have been coming here for a year and I have not one bad thing to say about this place, the service is an A+ and the food is so delicious!

Not my favorite Peruvian place. The lomo saltado is extremely dry and flavorless. The chicha morada lacks flavor too. SoCal Peruvian joints are much better.

Large menu but not all the dishes are available. They should have a simple menu. Slow service, just one waitress. Some of the dishes were ok though.

Located to the right a short flight of stairs, in the covered outdoor plaza, this place is a hidden gem.
The servers are friendly and there’ll very likely a fütbol game playing on the small wall television.
We ordered appetizers as we thought we’d have our main course at another restaurant that was too busy to immediately accommodate. But this place was so good we stayed!
Order your Chicha morada by the pitcher as its excellent and the potato balls were so good! It’s reminds me of the kind from Porto’s Bakery but huuuge! Will definitely be coming back for those.
Bring a jacket if dining in winter. Berkeley gets brisk!

It’s alright. A bit overpriced. But then again, there are probably very few other Peruvian restaurants around here, if not none. It’s a monopoly, so it makes sense.
The server had a long face, no smiles, just tired and hating life. She was happy at the end though when she saw we blew $ 50 just between 2 people (1 empanada, 2 main dishes, 1 glass of water and an Inca Cola). Yeah, there’s no other Peruvian restaurant to compete and drive down prices. So tough. Gonna need another student loan to keep up next semester.
Food was good, just average. I’m willing to just save my money though, and just wait for a trek down South America and Peru; it might be cheaper.

Wow the ceviche mixto was fantastic. This place is tucked in the back of a weird little indoor shopping center on the second floor. Feels very cozy and the food was outstanding. I highly recommend it and will definitely return to get the ceviche.

Arriba Peru is a family owned business. My friend and I went on one of the hottest days of the summer. The restaurant is located in the far end and top floor of a funky courtyard which I have never entered before in Berkeley. The day we went to try out the restaurant for the first time, there was a Mexico vs. Argentina soccer game and the world famous Argentine super star, Messi, was playing. Needless to say, Messi got more attention from the wait staff then we did!!!
My friend and I both ordered ceviche. I ordered the fish ceviche and he ordered the ceviche mixto that comes with a variety of seafood. Although these are listed as appetizers, the portions are quite generous and could easily be eaten as an entrée. When we asked the waitress questions about how spicy the ceviche would be, she explained that it is made to order and that they could adjust the heat. As our ceviche was being made we drank their homemade chicha morada, a purple corn based drink, which definitely quenched our thirst on such a hot day. The waitress brought out a small dish of toasted corn kernals which were perfectly salted and crunchy. When the ceviche made came out to the table, we found LARGE pieces of fish and seafood. The pieces were so large that my friend found himself cutting all of the fish in his mixto in half. The texture of the ceviche was delectable and it just melted in ones mouth. The only downfall for me with this plate of Peruvian food was that the ceviche had entirely TOO much heat, there were too many chilis and I could not enjoy the food as much as I would have had it been less spicey. If I were to return to this restaurant, I now know, to just state up front — easily on the chilis.

I was hoping for a lot more. The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good enough to go back for more. The ceviche appetizer was the best dish (and the portion was quite large), the mussels appetizer was ok, but the zarzuela entrée was rather bland. I don’t use this word much, but meh.

I like it. The fish mixo not something I am used to. But they did try to be authentic and put effort in their dish

Great food and cozy atmosphere. Very good service! The cuisine is 100% authentic! Being from Miami, I was pleasantly surprised to find a taste of home tucked away here in Berkeley.

(+) Lomo soltado was average, but the ceviche pescado was really good. Lime sauce and the yam in it was delicious. The fish were in large chunks, but there was a good portion of them.
(+) They packaged the hot and cold food in separate plastic bags for me to carry out. Smart move to help prevent them both from getting lukewarm by the time I got back home.
(+) They serve Inca Cola (of course!) which is really sweet to me, but any self-​respecting Peruvian establishment has it.
(-) A bit pricey, and I might’ve even been overcharged but I was hungry which overruled any logic or bringing up issues that might delay in getting fooood.
(-) Located on the 2^nd floor and it was very hot in there. No a/​c I believe, just fans to circulate the warm air (it was a hot day). I was sweating when I ordered takeout. Definitely would’ve probably been uncomfortable eating inside the restaurant because of the heat.

The best: anticuchos & lomo saltado & tallarines verdes & picante de camarones
Good: tamales de pollo & pescado sudado & ceviche de pescado
Be patient: takes awhile (not too long) to get the food but that’s because everything is prepped made when you order!

This place is awesome. I ordered the ceviche mixto– it had a wonderful lime sauce and half a yam along with fresh fish and calamari– an amazing flavor combo! Also ordered the steak dish that’s really similar to the lomo but comes with a fried egg on top and a fried plantain, with grilled red onion and bell peppers. The egg yolk was silky and wonderful, and it paired so well with the sweetness of the onions and meatiness of the steak.
The purple corn chicha drink has a surprisingly layered flavor effect. First you think it’s going to be like hibiscus tea, and then the ginger, cinnamon, and lime levels set in, reminiscent of a gingerbread cookie. Just so freakin yummy and complex.
My husband ordered the fried chicken appetizer– beautiful golden brown color and tender meat. This chicken was made with so much love, it reminded me of something my grandma would have served, not the KFC colonel.
He also ordered the fried red snapper in a garlic white wine sauce. I «borrowed» some of that sauce for my plantain. Just deep, complex flavors that leave you craving nothing but a nap. In the words of yo gabba gabba, there’s a party in my tummy!

This is a place that you go when you want a delicious meal that tastes honest to gawd like it is homecooked. We were in a tapas-​kind of mood (which this place does not specialize in) so we ended up just trying a bunch of appetizers — beef heart skewers, ceviche, sautéed prawns, and beef soup. All tasted great and my wife was totally enamored with the beef heart — that alone has her swearing she will definitely be back… and she wants to bring her parents too. Her praise does not get much higher than that.
The entrees ordered by folks at neighboring tables smelled and looked delicious. Next time, next time…
The ambiance… well, this ain’t fine dining, but it ain’t terrible. Reminds me of the random small Peruvian owned restaurants I used to frequent in the Japanese countryside… Your focus in going here should be the delicious Peruvian food.

Really good casual peruvian place. I came here with my wife to celebrate our one year anniversary of the trip to peru we took. We were happy to find a family run place that reminded us of the food we ate while in cusco and lima.
We started with a pitcher of Chicha morada, a popular peruvian drink made from purple corn. We then had a generous serving of tasty fish ceviche, Beverly nicely done. For entrees I had the pollo a la Parilla (spicy pepper chicken) and my wife the chaufa with mixed seafood. Both were prepared just right and generously portioned.
For dessert we had a fairly cake like flan… nicely sweetened.
It’s good comfort food and feels genuinely Peruvian. We’ll definitely be back. Might order the inka cola next time we go, it’s a neon yellow bubblegum flavored soda. Too sweet for regular consumption but every now and then…

Had a quick lunch here
Great food, good customer service
And in a pretty cool location in Berkeley

Comforting Peruvian food and extremely warm service.
The owner and staff at Arriba Perú are super friendly and accommodating. They have been great at hosting large groups.
The mains dishes are a bit on the pricey side, but they are pretty big portions. I have not been blown away by the main dishes, but they have all been satisfying. The saltado de lomo is always a solid choice. The pescado a lo macho was not as crispy or spicy like I was expecting.
I think their appetizers and desserts are much stronger. The ceviche, papas a la huancaína, beef heart antichuchos are all pretty tasty. All their desserts are pretty good including the mazmorra morada, arroz con leche, flan, and especially the alfajores.
Also be sure to try the chicha morada drink, it is absolutely delicious.
They get an extra star for great service! You can’t get Peruvian food elsewhere in Berkeley, so it is probably worth a visit if you haven’t checked it out yet. Be sure to come with a group to try as many dishes as possible!

This was my first time trying Peruvian food and I loved it. We Unilocaled this place and went to try it!
The place was located upstairs in this small plaza. A little hard to find, but they have signs to direct you. The place was quite empty when we got there, but they had such a great rating on Unilocal we went in anyways.
Service:
The service was great. The waitress were friendly and helpful.
Food:
Loma Saltoda (Sp?) — This was a unique dish to me. It had a hint of tartness that I wasn’t used to. But after I kept eating it, it was delicious. The beef was very tender and the potatoes were soft and flavorful. The rice seemed a little overcooked, but I wasn’t sure how it was suppose to be in the first place.
Overall:
I would definitely recommend this place.

such a cute location! It was a little hard to find the building it’s in but after that, the restaurant is just located up the stairs. It’s a pretty small place, so it can get crowded easily.
I came here in a group of 8 and we didn’t have to wait long for a table. Normally, we don’t go out to eat peruvian food so we decided to share most of our dishes and eat it family style so we could try more.
Ceviche Mixto: delightfully refreshing. I love the citrusy lime taste and this dish is exactly that. The seafood was fresh and I felt like they gave a good portion of food.
Mariscos A lo macho and Arroz con pollo: They used the same sauce for both so they ended up tasting pretty much the same. I thought the dish was okay, nothing really special about it BUT the chicken was yummy! I loved the chicken in the Arroz con pollo, it had so much flavor and it wasn’t dry! it was the definitely the highlight of the dish. The Mariscos dish had a good amount of seafood but i felt like the taste was lacking.
Lomo Saltodo: A staple peruvian dish and must get. It was delicious! The beef was tender and had a lot of flavor. The seasoning was great and everything about that dish was wonderful. Plus there are fries in it!
Tallarines Verde con apanado: green noodles with fried steak! It was pretty good, the noodles were okay but the steak was fried perfectly. It was crisp and not too dry.
Overall I thought their food was pretty good. We also a fruit drink and that was very enjoyable, it was sweet and sort of tasted like mango juice. Their service was alright and their prices are decent.

A bit hard to find– it’s located upstairs inside the small «plaza» with a bunch of restaurants and a hair salon. The ambiance itself is nothing impressive and honestly a bit grimy. BUT the food is yummy and you get complimentary toasted corn!
I definitely recommend the CEVICHE MIXTO, which had a generous portion of fresh seafood!
On the other hand, the Arroz con Pollo was just okay. The chicken was seasoned well and tender, but just not the *best* Peruvian-​style chicken I’ve had.
*Don’t get any of the fruit juice drinks. They come from a packaged bottle (I saw the bottles) and then served in a «fancy» glass jar. I thought they would be freshly-​squeezed but. don’t be deceived!