Cebiches and Lomo Saltado Rule at This New Cal-Peruvian Restaurant in NoPa

Chef Carlos Altamirano expands his Peruvian restaurant empire in the Bay Area with the opening of Altamirano on Saturday, September 14. The NoPa location marks his eighth restaurant — and fourth in San Francisco proper, alongside Mochica, Piqueos, and Sanguchon — and it’s all about keeping that neighborhood feel, Altamirano says. “I want the restaurant to feel like a community restaurant, like a home,” he says. “I want [people to] come down and enjoy, like you and your friend are having a good time.”

Altamirano describes the new restaurant’s menu as a “playful approach to Cal-Peruvian cuisine.” He says most impressions of Peruvian food are mom-and-pop restaurants, but he prefers to use local ingredients and employ nontraditional cooking techniques, using his background in French and Italian restaurants to make his own style of food. That includes using different meats, rice, seasonal produce, and more. “We are hoping to push the boundaries of what people think about contemporary Peruvian cuisine,” he says.

Nicola Parisi

Nicola Parisi

Nicola Parisi

A selection of five cebiches leads the menu, incorporating fish such as halibut, salmon, and ahi tuna. The Tulum cebiche mixes cubes of Atlantic salmon with crispy tapioca and torched avocado while folding in jalapeño, onions, annatto oil, and cilantro. There are also two options of tiradito, a dish made of thinly sliced raw fish marinated in acid, as well as a couple of salads and starters to kick the meal off. Heftier entrees anchor the menu, such as the Pimentel lamb shank, which comes with a choclo (or Peruvian corn) puree and an adobo demi-glace; lomo saltado made with beef tenderloin in an oyster-soy sauce; and pescado Nikkei, a whole, deep-fried fish that comes with veggie chaufa or fried rice. The brunch menu, meanwhile, features purple corn waffles with chicha morada, or purple corn, syrup, and dulce de leche sauce, while mostrito is the restaurant’s fried chicken with eggs over easy, fried rice, and crispy noodles.

For cocktails, there will be three pisco sours to start the drinks menu. The Altamirano is the classic option with pisco, egg white, and lime; the maracuja pisco adds passionfruit; and chicha morada utilizes purple corn and pineapple. The rest of the cocktails skew classic but there are some twists such as Hello It’s Me made with guava cider, aloe liqueur, black tea, lemon, and a Lambrusco float. Wine options will include bottles from California, Spain, Chile, and Peru, and there will be three nonalcoholic options, as well. A small bar on the restaurant’s patio will keep the drinks flowing, while a fire pit will give off cozy vibes in the back. “I’m very excited and very happy with the restaurant we came out with,” Altamirano says. “It has a lot of love to it, a lot of dedication. It took years in the making. Hopefully, people appreciate it when they come dine with us.”

Nicola Parisi

Nicola Parisi

Nicola Parisi

Nicola Parisi

Altamirano (1775 Fulton Street) debuts on Saturday, September 14, and is open 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.