Urubamba, a new Peruvian spot, opens in Huntington
Classic ceviche can be ordered to suit your spice level at Urubamba in Huntington. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
A long-standing, family-owned Peruvian restaurant in Jackson Heights, Queens, has expanded to open a Huntington location. Urubamba is New York City's oldest Peruvian restaurant, opened in 1970 by Julian and Maria Ruiz. Their granddaughter, Silvana Rojas, brings a chic and modern version to Long Island.
Start with a classic ceviche ($20), which can be spiced to order. It has a nice kick at any level and the delicate pureed sweet potato florets are a great touch, offset by toothy maize, or choclo. If raw fish isn’t your thing, opt for the anitcuchos ($15). These tender veal heart skewers are accompanied by fragrant rosemary potatoes. If you prefer your seafood cooked, the octopus ($24) is another solid selection.
Upon seating, a server offers cancha, or corn nuts, which are typical to Lima’s casual cevicherias, alongside chicha morada, or the deep, purple juice that ferments from Peruvian purple corn. Andean people are said to have used this elixir for its "antiaging and immune-boosting antioxidants." So begins the easy dialogue that Urubamba wants to have with diners.
For entrees, arroz con mariscos ($32) is a Peruvian-style paella with shrimp, mussels, octopus and squid. Short rib chaufa, or stir-fry, made with quinoa ($30) — subbing mushrooms for vegan diners — is also a good choice — but it's the perfectly cooked lomo saltado ($28), a sirloin, onion and tomato stir-fry accented with roasted potatoes, that wins.
Lomo saltado at Urubamba in Huntington. Credit: Marie Elena Martinez
For dessert, don’t skip lucuma pannacotta, which is made with the tropical fruit from Peru that tastes like a flavor bomb between vanilla and peach and accented by purple corn syrup, blackberries and raspberries ($10).
The original Queens location is still run by Rojas' parents, Carlos and Estela Estorga. Rojas and her brother Alex — who owns the offshoot restaurant Jora in Long Island City — spent their youth working alongside their parents, now putting those lessons to use as they continue growing and modernizing their family business.
The Huntington location feels like wandering into one of bohemian Barranco, Lima’s many eateries, or at the very least, something you'd find in Brooklyn. A white color palette accented by gray stones includes festive hallmarks like multicolor pompoms and tribal figurines imported from Peru. Lyrical Peruvian music plays. The venue's liquor license is still pending, but a small bar with muted gold stools anchors a long space of exposed wood ceilings and tables.
The most adventurous part of dining at Urubamba may be in trying unfamiliar spices, said Sigi Paros, a restaurant consultant who has worked with the Estorga family for more than 20 years. "That people don’t know chicha morada, they don’t know aji amarillo, rocoto, aji panca, they don’t know huacatay, all these kinds of things. So part of making excellent food for them is the adventure, and that all springs from knowledge," he said. Ninety percent of the menu is gluten free.
Urubamba Huntington, 286 New York Ave., Huntington, 718-799-1382, urubambali.com; Open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 10 p.m., Sunday 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.
