Ministry of Foodies Review
Cuisine: Peruvian
Average price per person: 40€
Environment: 8/10
Food: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Other: Take-away
Website: www.eltriperito.com
El Triperito is located at Mercado de la Paz. It is chef’s Roberto Martínez Foronda new location. Mostly famous for his restaurant Tripea at Mercado Vallehermoso, the chef opened El Triperito as a casual place with a similar concept.
El Triperito serves Peruvian cuisine, focusing on ceviches and street food influences. I visited on a Friday for lunch.
Location/Environment
El Triperito is located within Mercado Vallehermoso, right next to Casa Dani. It has a simple barra with just about 10 seats and a view of the open kitchen. The restaurant does not make any reservations.
The environment is what to expect from a food market, noisy and different smells and colours. While it might not be for everyone this is as authentic as it gets in terms of the vibe.
El Triperito – Menu
The menu is short, with just 11 dishes including dessert. There are different ceviches, chaufas (Peruvian fried rice), and 2 dessert options. I was alone but I wanted to try a few things. There are some things on the menu that are sold by the unit but it turns out that there is a minimum of 2 units and the extra unit is mostly to accommodate groups of 3.
There are also wine and beer options, as well as one cocktail.
Service
The staff was pleasant and attentive but remained casual which fit the market vibe. All the dishes were prepared quickly and the view to the open kitchen was a nice touch.
El Triperito – Food
I started with the salmon tiradito, leche de tigre, ginger and sesame. This was a really fresh dish with great ingredients. I found the sauce a little sweet for my taste, but I enjoyed the dish and the textures.
Next the croquetas aji de gallina. Aji de gallina is a traditional Peruvian stew and was an inspired dish. It was crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. I would have preferred it a little spicy but this was a very good dish.
I also got the wonton char siu “carbonara style with 5 chinese spices”. The wonton was great and both the pork filling inside and the crispy pork bites on top were really flavorful, The sauces were very creamy but again the whole combination was a bit sweet for my taste instead of just rich and creamy.
Finally, I wanted to get the chaufa with king crab but it was not available so I went for the one with the Iberian pork. The rice was cooked perfectly and was full of flavor. The part of the pork was naturally fatty and some parts were slightly chewy. My only observation here would be the vegetables. The dish had several large chunks of red onion that were still crunchy and without the sweetness that you would get from cooking them for a certain amount of time. While I personally like onions I found that there was a substantial amount and it was overwhelming in terms of the ratio with the other ingredients.
Conclusion
El Triperito is an alternative suggestion for someone who wants to eat at a food market. It is a solid option for a casual Peruvian lunch. The food is fresh, flavorful, and the portions are decent both in quality and quantity for their price. This is not an elegant Peruvian restaurant like Llama Inn or Quispe, but it is a decent casual alternative.
Visit: September 2024
Address: Mercado de La Paz, Calle de Ayala 28, Salamanca, 28001 Madrid