Brasas Peru Bistro Bar opens in Huntington
Parmesan tiradito and Nikkei-style salmon tiradito at Brasas Peru Bistro Bar in Huntington. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
Slow and steady wins the race. What started as a takeout spot in Franklin Square in 2015 has expanded with another full service restaurant, Brasas Peru Bistro, which recently opened in Huntington village.
After a glow-up of the former Osteria da Nino — adding dark leather banquettes, light wooden ceiling and a cascading floral chandelier over the bar — this Brasas outpost feels cozier than its older sibling to the west. The food, however, remains true to the Peruvian culinary canon.
Start with a mix of cold ceviches ($23) and tiraditos — the Nikkei style ($28), which includes salmon in an ají amarillo and passionfruit tiger’s milk, is a standout. Or try the solterito ($18), Peru’s answer to the chopped salad, made with oversize corn, fava beans, queso fresco, rocoto peppers — and in this case — quinoa. Warm appetizers include the classic papa a la huancaína, composed of sliced boiled potatoes, bits of hard-boiled egg and olives smothered in an amarillo-spiced sauce ($15), as well as salchipapas, or Peruvian-style hot dogs and fries ($15).
For mains, traditional dishes include lomo saltado ($27), or sirloin stir-fried with tomatoes and onions over rice and potatoes, and ají de gallina ($25), or shredded chicken in another yellow pepper cream sauce, this one laced with Parmesan cheese. There are chaufas (from $24), really just the Peruvian moniker for fried rice, highlighting beef, chicken, veggies or fish, as well as seafood mainstays like jalea, a mixed fried seafood plate ($28). Rotisserie chicken (quarter-chickens start at $11) and combo plates starting at $25 round out of the offerings.
Hailing from Lima, Peru, chef-owner Pierre Ocharan attended the French Culinary Institute before obtaining business and finance degrees. "The restaurant concept I always wanted to open was Peruvian," Ocharan said. "It has a lot of fusion — we have Asian, Latin, and Japanese influences, seafood, steaks — all of those together give us so much room to create."
Brasas Peru Bistro Bar, 292 Main St., Huntington, 631-683-4133, brasasperu.com; Open Monday to Thursday from noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
