From Peru straight to you: New Pensacola restaurant shares some of Peru's best recipes

When Alejandra Quiroz tasted her brother’s delicious cooking while he was working as a chef in a Peruvian restaurant in Miami, she got a taste of all he learned in the 5-plus years he spent training in some of the top restaurants in Peru.

The citrus-soaked ceviche. The rich and velvety hauncaina sauce. The succulent beef tenderloins in the country’s staple dish, lomo saltado. Quiroz's brother, Alexjandro Quiroz, not only perfected the traditions of Peruvian cooking, but came up with original recipes that now are his best-kept secrets.

Pensacola’s newest Peruvian restaurant, Ceviche 805 at 415 S. Navy Blvd., is bringing these classic Peruvian flavors to the Panhandle. In the restaurant owned by Alejandra and her husband, Freddy Lopez, Alejandro will take the lead as the executive chef with chef Sergio Sejas assisting as sous.

The freshness of the ingredients is the thread that ties the expansive menu together. Fresh seafood is a main offering on the menu, and the seafood plates come served with sliced red onion soaked with the acidic citrus juices to give it a refreshing kick.

Alejandra's goal was to bring something new to Pensacola, and the restaurant has accomplished that by creating a variety of one-of-a-kind dishes. The from-scratch menu items, like the chef’s signature sauces, use real Peruvian ingredients, like the flavorful Peruvian peppers.

For fresh seafood lovers, items like the Ceviche Trio allow you to taste three chef-selected ceviches served extravagantly in a flight of martini glasses.

“Peru is known for its ceviche,” Freddy's brother Louis Lopez said of the signature dish, which ties into the restaurant’s name.

There are also comforting favorites for those familiar with Peruvian cuisine, like the Arroz con Mariscos, a Peruvian style seafood paella, which is a flavorful rice dish infused with calamari, shrimp and mussels sealed with the chef ‘s secret sauce. Another being the Aguadito de Pollo, a hearty and comforting bowl of soup with chicken, cilantro and rice.

In the dining room, curious eyes drift toward the hand painted mural in the center that transports guests to the mountains of Peru, along with the framed llicllas, which are colorful garments that cover the backs and shoulders of the women of Peru and can be used to carry children.

While the restaurant focuses on Alejandro’s Peruvian culinary training, they will eventually roll out some specials nodding to their home country of Bolivia, such as saltenas on Sundays, a flavorful, savory Bolivian street food comparable to an empanada.

The Quiroz siblings believe Pensacola’s foodies are ready for something different, and Peruvian is a cuisine still a relatively new restaurant concept for Pensacola. The owners are hopeful that Ceviche 805 will intrigue their taste buds.

The dining room offers a variety of tables in addition to bar seating. Alejandra is in the process of obtaining a license to sell alcohol. In the meantime, they have a variety of flavorful non-alcoholic beverages, such as fruit-flavor Jarritos sodas and the golden cans of Peruvian Inca Kola.

While the restaurant is still in its early stages, it will be offering call-ahead to-go orders and eventually will have ways to order online.

More real-time updates and information can be found on the Ceviche 805 Facebook page.

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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Ceviche 805 opens bringing Peruvian food to Pensacola Navy Boulevard