Peru Cafe Express

I came with a party of 6 during the late lunch hours. 2:30P. We ate empanadas (chicken and beef were both great!). I ordered the Lomo Saltado and it was delicious. Served hot, fast, and true authentic flavor. Small space — big flavor. Definitely worthy of a stop. You’ll be back.

This restaurant was pretty good. It was our first time there. As an appetizer we got the chicken and beef empanadas. They were mediocre. Not so flavorful. You can get very good empanadas at Argentina café. For dinner we ordered the Lomo Saltado and Bistec a Lo Pobre. Both dishes were very good. My favorite was Lomo Saltado, like beef stew. I subbed the fries for yucca. It’s cooked in a red wine sauce that gets soaked by the rice and yucca, add in the red bell pepper and onion bites. Scrumptious! Bistec a lo pobre was very flavorful as well. The rice, beans, and plantains mix was really good. The Bistec has something like chimichurry on top boasting with flavor only on the areas it had it, otherwise the meat was a little bland. Both plates the meat was juicy. The food is just as good as Latin Bites but cheaper.
The ambience of the place is very casual and very small. So small it feels crowded even when it’s not packed. Most people coming in and out were ordering to go. I would say it had about 7 tables including the 2 outside. Not a good place for groups. I wouldn’t come here with a group size larger than 4.
I’d def come back and try their ceviche.

Perhaps the best Peruvian restaurant that I have been to in Texas. I grew up eating this at home back in Jersey, I can attest that this is like eating at home. Friendly service and reasonably priced.

Very good. Wish they had more seating.

First time trying this type of food and was thoroughly impressed! Delicious food along with fantastic service! Will return in the future!

I live in Kansas City, MO… if I get anywhere near Houston Peru Café House is a must stop!
Best Ceviche in Houston!

Inexpensive. Very small and cramped little spot. Not recommended to bring more than one person to dine in during lunch or dinner rush unless you are willing to wait to get a table. Good food but does not compare to some of my favorites for Peruvian in other cities.

I don’t understand these misleading 5 star reviews.
Customers service was great but food was exceptionally average.

Hair in my ceviche… and the waitress didn’t remove it from my bill until I complained… disgusting!!!

This place is so yummy! The beef empanadas are out of this world and the ceviche is excellent. We ordered lomo salteado and it was incredible. Nothing but good things about this place, I love supporting small family owned businesses like these. A+

I think I’ve found my newest obsession! Ordered the Yuca A La Huancaina and Aji De Gallina to share with my fiancé! I don’t think he was as big of a fan as I was, but I absolutely loved everything! Portions are perfectly sized too, not too small but not too big so you don’t overeat! This place seems like more of a traditional Peruvian café and gives off a very local and «homey» feel. An added bonus that the man that took our order was the sweetest man (I think he may be the owner!) ever. Love and can’t wait to come back!

I started with an Inca Kola which tastes like Hubba Bubba! First out were the empanadas. One chicken and one beef. Very tasty, though I preferred the beef as it had more flavor complexity. For lunch it was Lomo Saltado and mixed ceviche. The ceviche was well prepared but the juice was very sour and overwhelmed the dish toward the end. The Lomo Saltado was my favorite. I would recommend mixing the soy sauce in with the rice as you get soggy salty rice at the end otherwise. The vegetables in the Lomo Saltado were excellent. The restaurant is very small. Not good for groups at all. You could potentially get 4 people together, but you might have to wait. Service was fast and food came out quickly. Waitstaff was attentive without hovering or being obnoxious.

Loved their causa and chicha morada. The place is small, but the owners try to accomodate you as best as they can. Great service, and really good food.
You can always order in advance and just pick it up!

I have my wonderful ex to thank for this treasure! She wasn’t lying when she said that Peru has some of the best food in the world. I absolutely love this place.
The atmosphere is nice and cozy. Marita and Carlos (the owners) are fantastic. They opened this place because they wanted Houstonians to experience true Peruvian cuisine.
The Lomo Saltado is to die for. It’s my go to dish, every single time. Lomo Saltado is strips of sautéed beef with onions, tomatoes, soy sauce and red wine served over French fries with a side of white rice. Is your mouth watering yet?
They also have killer empanadas (appetizer) and alfajores! (dessert) Make sure to grab an Inca Kola! (lemongrass soda)
If you want to come for lunch make sure to show up early! Due to the exquisite food and outstanding customer service this place has a tendency of being packed during the lunch rush. But don’t worry if the restaurant is full you can always take an order to go or even better place the order before showing up!
Happy dining! I hope you enjoy the magic of Peruvian food as much as I have.

This place is so good!!! Lomo saltado and fresh mixed civiche!!! Everything I’ve tried here is amazing … Literally you gotta try it

The food here is so amazing. I got the mixed ceviche, Lomo saltado, a side of yucca and plantains. Everything I ate was delicious. The ceviche was extra lemony and had the freshest fish, shrimp, and squid. It came with corn 2 ways, one crunchy and the other plump, almost like hominy and some red onions. The Lomo Saltado was the best thing I ate there. It comes with French fries topped with beef chunks quickly sautéed in a soy sauce and red onions, served with a side of rice. The yucca is fried and so are the plantains. It’s a bit pricey but worth every penny. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be coming back.

First impression: Small seating area, clean, easy to find. The owner came to our group and asked if we wanted to dine in with our 7 people. He made a place for us easily.
I recommend beef empanadas to start. Meat is fresh, comes with lime and green salsa. The raisins sound gross but are not overbearing. Just try it!
I had Bisteck a Lo pobre. Delicious steak with white rice and beans, egg over easy on top of rice. Oh, and plantains that are out-​of-​this-​world delicious. My mouth is watering a day later.
For dessert we had alfajores, crepes and coffee. All delicious and authentic. Alfajores are basically caramel shortbread sandwich cookies. Not too sweet. They are small so we ordered two.
As they were closing two people walked up to find door locked, but they were invited in and were allowed to place their order.
Overall– five stars. Not even joking. I’m currently trying to reorganize my schedule, diet, and commute to make this happen again soon.

Wonderful authentic Peruvian food!
I’ve been wanting to try this restaurant every time I come into Houston, and glad I finally did! The lomo saltado was great and so was the aji de gallina. We also had anticuchos which came with some corn and potatoes. Wonderful dish to share and we even had leftovers to bring home!
Make sure you get alfajores, they are some of the best sweets in town! They’re a little pricey for the size, but definitely worth it.
I don’t recommend bringing a big party here as the restaurant is fairly small, however, they do orders to go so it’d be easier to just pick up the food for a larger group.

I usually just order to go
Favorite dishes:
Bistec la pobre — really flavorful and tender pairs well with the neutral rice and beans. I enjoyed the plantains too — they’re more thinly sliced and nice and oily. Yum.
Ceviche
Not my favorites:
Aji de gallina — this is my first time having Peruvian food so didn’t know what to expect. The dish was bland and spicy at the same time. Didn’t like the consistency of the shredded chicken. Just not for me.
Empanada — they have raisins in them. Not a fan of sweet meat, but I liked how fried they were.

This is it.
This is what every white fish that had to give its life for human sustenance dreams of becoming. There are schools of fish in the gulf that say, «When I die, I want to be a part of the great fish ceviche at the Peruvian Café.
Clean, crisp flavors from the bright acidity of lime juice dancing with the cold heat of green peppers beautifully mellowed out against the fleshy, soft, yet chewy texture of sizable chunks of fish — I normally shy from raw onion and strongly prefer lemons to limes, but the concerto of flavors and textures in this dish is so perfectly balanced that I can’t help but evangelize its tastiness.
I never imagined I would be saying this — but I would easily give up all the sushi and sashimi in Houston for this ceviche.
I can’t remember the last time I had been so happy finding a dish — I think it had to have been when I found liempo (grilled pork belly, Filipino style) here in Houston (incidentally that place since has closed so if anyone knows a good Filipino restaurant with liempo, please msg me!).
And that’s just on food.
The young woman at the counter was so sweet and kind. Rarely am I blown away by service, and today, I really was. Also, the way they package to-​go orders is exemplary. Saran-​wrapped airtight containers. I ordered chicken soup (comforting, btw) alongside the ceviche, and they even bagged them separately (for temperature).
So here’s my vote for the best-​in-​class ceviche and service. The restaurant is tiny so call in an order and pick it up to go — enjoy.
P. S. Not in any way a fault of the restaurant — but be careful with parking here. The parking lot design is terrible and accident-​prone.