Runa Peruvian Cuisine

We came here based on the excellent reviews for lunch. My husband and I have pretty high expectations, he being from Peru especially, and I thought this place would be an excellent lunch. However, it took at least 30 minutes after we ordered to get a cold lunch, and there were hardly any people in the restaurant. The food was fine, but do not go to this restaurant if you are hungry or on any schedule.

If I could, no stars. We had a Friday night reservation for 6 at this tiny restaurant. When we got there, they had messed that up, saying they had expected us a day earlier… no phone calls to ask where we were or why we missed it., so they sat us and the waitress highly recommended the catch of the day, mahi mahi., so 4 of us ordered it. Slow forward 30 minutes and she comes back to say they only had two orders of mahi mahi left and they had sent most of it out on their food truck… this after a delivery of food orders probably from a nearby kitchen. So we had to negotiate who would change their orders… we should have walked out as all the main courses were indifferent or worse.
P. s. Some of us liked the empanadas and maduros so one star.
P. p. s. Why did it take 30 minutes to decide they couldn’t fill our order?

We went there for dinner. There was only one server so it was kind of slow. We had a mussel appetizer and a special main dish — halibut, shrimp and rice with a little bit salty sauce. The food was ok but pricy.

UPDATE: So, I was able to finally go back and give Runa a try. I’ll honestly say that what won me over to come back was a personal message from the owner asking me to give them a second chance. As a novice restaurant «reviewer», I love giving any place a second chance.
The service was spot on and we took a chance and ordered the Empanadas again — beautiful. They were absolutely great.
I had the arroz con pollo which was an upscale take on a latin tradition. I enjoyed it — my main concern being my own palate because I prefer everything ridiculously seasoned — so this dish was slightly underseasoned for me, but again, fair warning, I like things to be over the top sometimes and I recognize that’s a personal issue with some dishes for me. Still, it was very enjoyable to me.
My girlfriend had one of the cebiche dishes and thoroughly enjoyed it as well.
The maduros on the side were an absolute star — some of the best I’ve had in a long time.
I would visit again — definitely excited for my beach pass for Asbury so I can have their food truck as well.

Arroz con pollo was perfect and with a side of Carmelized maduros even better. Pretty empty for 7:30pm dinner, great music just the right volume. Lacked a host as waiter served as both, but it’s a very small restaurant and service was attentive. The chef/​owner came out to welcome and check on all three parties. Would like to come if I’m in area again. Yum!

I would have given the food alone 2.5 stars. We had the mixto and roasted chicken entrees. The mixto was basically fried rice with some bits of meat and seafood, definitely not worth $ 24. The roasted chicken was nothing special. It came with a small side salad, tasted like cesar dressing. I asked what made the dish «Peruvian» and the waiter pointed out a small side of sauce made with a Peruvian spice. Both dishes were good, but nothing seemed authentic. Maybe we didn’t order the right dishes, but there were only a few to choose from, so you would think all would be somewhat indigenous to the region’s flavor.
But this is the kicker, that made me give them 1 star. I don’t know how they did this, but 2 days after our Thurs night visit (so on Sat), I received a text message from Unilocal confirming a reservation at Runa I did not make. I hadn’t even used Unilocal to find them, I live in town and walk by Runa all the time. I guess they grabbed my number from caller ID when I called ahead on Thurs. Obviously I ignored it. Then that night, I get 3 phone calls from them, not once did they leave a message. I did not answer but I looked up the number after the 3^rd mysterious unknown call. WTF, leave me alone!

Booked a reservation for 5 @ 6:15p on a Friday evening — ordered our meals however it took forever (took about 1hr 20min) to get our good. We were later told that the reason is there is only one chief. Finally they brought our meals — except mine which took another 15mins. When they asked if I we wanted desert I said that should be include for the long service; our waitress apologized however need to check in the back with the chief. Unreal!!!

Good was very good, not sure if it’s that good to go back! I’ve had better Peruvian food but not saying this was bad! It was ok!

My mom and I were the only ones in the restaurant early on a Thursday, which meant lots of undivided attention. We’d originally made the reservation to take advantage of the Restaurant Week prix fix menu ($ 30 for appetizer, entrée, and dessert) but our waiter gave us options from the normal menu in case we were looking to save money. In the end, we both went with the prix fix and our excellent waiter, Michael, was more than willing to help us decide between dishes. We both enjoyed our appetizers and entrees but my favorite part was the dessert: shortbread cookies filled with homemade dulce de leche. I brought home the two of them that I couldn’t finish!
All in all, a great experience. Great food, great music, and great atmosphere. We’ll definitely be back.

Delicious dishes and friendly staff. BYOB. Nice and cozy. Weekend reservations will make your life much easier.

Everything was great. The Peruvian chicken, mixto, cherviche all was delicious. Highly recommend! Not a huge place but very accommodating

The second time here and the food was even better! Must have Cervichi, Empanadas and the rotisserie chicken! BYOB. Bring your own Sangria. Highly recommended!

The restaurant was able to accommodate my sister and me without a reservation on very short notice, and didn’t rush us to leave although we knew a large party was coming in after us (if you’ve been here, you know the place is small).
As for the food, everything was amazing. No oily, greasy residue from the fried plaintains. Perfectly cooked mahi and chicken, and the sauces/​dips were super fresh. Being it was our first time here, we asked our waitress about the «red drink» everyone was ordering. She told us about the chicha morada and brought us one to try at no charge. We absolutely loved it! Left feeling full, but not sick. The «cleanest» Peruvian food I’ve ever had. Will definitely be going back.

We were well received and they made us feel like family. It’s all about the food and delivering a true Peruvian flavor. I loved the Arroz con Pollo and Chicha Morada for drink. Loved the atmosphere and food was amazing. You can’t go wrong.

My family and I went on vacation in Peru and this food is definitely authentic. Their award winning ceviche is the one to get, it has a bunch of different flavors and textures and tastes incredibly fresh. I have also had their chicken and rice, roast chicken, and the chaufa mixto (which is essentially fried rice with chicken and seafood). You also can’t go wrong with the empanadas, those are a must try. I would definitely recommend the roast chicken, which comes with this amazing green sauce. My mom likes it so much, she asks for extra to bring home every time we go.

My favorite Peruvian restaurant. I was here during Grand Opening, and dine several times after. My favorite is their soup that you can easily share, its the cilantro and aji amarillo pepper based soup with shredded chicken and cooked rice. Pollo a la Brasa is always cooked just right, flavorful, juicy, tender and they have the option to order a half or whole chicken. The chica morado is freshly made… this really is a great place.

Tsk, tsk
I had hoped for this restaurant there would be a chance, but it wont be so.
I went for the inauguration, then again a week after that then a month after that and now 7 months later.
There is no honor or pride in quality.
Food is frozen, ok this is becoming normal, but not defrosted long enough to cook well on the inside. The flavor of old and stale is too strong which they try to mask with side sauces made of either egg or spice. The snack given before we received the meal (home made potato chips) were soggy and cold, who likes cold cooked oil?
Sorry Runa your on my list of Ruined foods.
Chef Ramsey needs to check this place.

I was not wowed by the food. The shrimp soup was not too bad, it was not as flavorful as the server made it sound but it was not horrible either. I am not a fan of places that take a cuisine and over do it in fancying it up.
Don’t serve empanadas and make them sound like more than what they are.
One big plus or minus (depending on your preference) is that this place is a BYOB spot. Unfortunately, the nearest liquor store is a little far, well walking distance far, not driving distance.
I wasn’t wowed by the food, it had no cravability, it was not bad, but it was not memorable either. The reason I gave it 3 stars and not 2 is because the service was great.

They really need to hand out seat belts as they bring you to your table because the food will definitely knock you off your feet. Be sure to BYOB.
Our group of 4 traveled from Phil for a Sat evening show at the Count Basie. We had tried to make a reservation at 2pm that day but only the answering machine picked up. When we arrived at 5:30pm there were only 2 other parties seated. They were booked for the evening (no joke) but they seated us anyway. By the time we left 2 hours later there was not an empty table.
As it was our first visit to a Peruvian restaurant we asked our server for recommendations. We started with 2 Small plates: La Huancaina and Runa Empanada. Each was more flavorful than the other. They were merely hints of the great tastes to follow.
The hot chicken soup with rice was exactly what was needed on a cold night.
Two of our party had the Pollo a la Brasa. The chicken and rustic potatoes were cooked to perfection. The Runa Salad with quinoa and seasonal vegetables with an aji pepper and lime cumin vinaigrette was cold and extremely fresh. It was, however, the Mahi-​Mahi Special that would knock-​our-​socks-​off. Everyone at the table agreed it was the most incredible flavor combinations we had experienced in a long time.
We finished our very memorable meal with Quinoa Flan and Warm Chocolate Cake, washed down with organic Peruvian coffee.
Priceless!
As an aside, the Chef/​Owner came over to our table several times to make sure that everything was to our liking. We could tell how proud she was of her restaurant and the extreme pleasure she takes in preparing great food. Mind you, she visited with many of the other 40 patrons too. This place is a true gem.
As others have commented, the ambiance is more than appropriate. If you are attending a Count Basie show, there is free street parking if you arrive early.

Runa is a very decent endeavor and a great ethnic addition to Red Bank. Delicious food for sure but a rather limited number of selections, and as far a ambiance a home run here we loved the décor. Now for the not so good which is service delivery they just get an OK, perhaps because of the newness, but my gut feeling is they are slightly under staffed to handle a busy Saturday night in RB.
Overall — a very nice dining experience and with a little tweaking of the menu and staff I think Runa will truly be a five star establishment. We are looking forward to our next visit…