If you’re a fan of Peruvian food but don’t have the time or opportunity to fly across continents at present, then Pachamama is the answer to your dilemma.
Having enjoyed my previous visits to their original branch in Marylebone a while back, I had no doubt that their latest opening in Shoreditch was going to live up to my expectations. Still staying true to its Peruvian roots, Pachamama East sets itself apart from its siblings in Marylebone and Chelsea by adding some Asian influences to its menu.
Their cocktail menu is very much pisco-focused which was definitely up my street – we ordered the Pachamama and Amelita from ‘Mama’s Favourites’ which were both beautiful concoctions.
The menu is divided into ‘Soil’, ‘Sea’, and ‘Land’ sections and we were given a good variety of recommendations by our server. We started with a couple of snacks to whet our appetites: the pork belly chicharrones were juicy and tender, yet not too fatty, and we really enjoyed the tapioca marshmallows which were mouthfuls of deliciously deep-fried tapioca that had a nice gooey texture. This was served with some smooth and creamy ocopa sauce. We were both also huge fans of the soy-marinated warm aubergine salad that was really flavoursome, topped with finely ground peanuts. I never really understood people who have ‘texture issues’ with aubergine – I personally love the mushy texture, and the amount of flavour that gets absorbed into them makes them so utterly addictive.
From the meat section, we went for the crispy lamb belly coated in a miso glaze, served on top of a green pepper sauce that added a hint of spice to it. All the seafood dishes sounded really tempting, but in the end we decided on the seabass ceviche and octopus. The seabass ceviche, diced into fine bite-sized cubes, was light and refreshing, soaked in a zingy tiger’s milk marinade and topped with nori – don’t forget to spoon up that tasty citrus-y dressing at the end! One of my favourite dishes was undoubtedly the grilled octopus which is usually my must-order dish at any restaurant. The octopus was nicely grilled and had a pleasant smokey flavour to it, accompanied by a wholesome portion of black quinoa that was probably one of the tastiest quinoas that I’ve had in a while.
Our meal ended on a high where we shared the waffle topped with Peruvian chocolate, toasted quinoa ice cream and sprinkled with a crunchy crumble. I’ve had on many occasions been disappointed by hard, dried-out waffles, but THIS was incredibly light and fluffy and I would have happily eaten a whole one by myself. I wish I had more space for their other desserts that all sounded very tempting, but alas they shall have to wait for next time.
Pachamama East certainly ticked all the right boxes for me and is a great place to treat yourself on the weekend, or any other day of the week really – their lunch and dinner menus look equally as good.
Now all that’s left of the three is Chicama that I still need to visit – let’s get another date in the diary soon?
The Cheekster, signing out x
- I was a guest at Pachamama East – all views and photos are my own.