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Restaurant review: El Inka Grill in Orlando

Set back in a busy shopping plaza, El Inka Grill Ceviche is an unpretentious dining stop with a menu full of dishes offering bold textures and flavors.

For the uninitiated, Peruvian cuisine is a diverse stew of Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, French and British cookery. For generations, immigrants have adapted the foods of their homelands using local and imported ingredients. Chaufa de pollo ($12.95), for example, is an ample dish of Peruvian-style fried rice with chicken. The dish is a close match for any fried rice dish you would find in a Chinese restaurant.

Ceviche is part of the name and is clearly one of the many strong suits of the menu.

The ceviche de pescado y camarones ($15.95) was a fresh and clean-flavored mixture of shrimp and white fish, tangy citrus juices, fresh garlic, red onions, hominy and red rocoto pepper. The rocoto resembles a sweet red pepper but packs quite a fiery punch.

Papa a la huancaina o cassava ($6) is a classic Peruvian dish of sliced boiled potatoes served on a bed of lettuce and topped with subtly spicy yellow pepper cheese sauce.

Also traditional is the lomo saltado a la pobre ($15.95), a protein-packed mound of beef sautéed with onions and tomatoes served over fries that defy the hefty load and maintain their crispness. A fried egg crowns the top of the heap and fried sweet plantains and fluffy white rice round out the intimidating platter. A white wine and soy sauce reduction is the key to the meat’s exceptional flavor.

Aji de gallina ($12.95), a dish of shredded tender chicken with a yellow cream sauce, gets its color from the sunny ají amarillo chilies.

For many Peruvians, a glass of chilled chicha morada ($3.25) is a must. The soft drink is created by boiling water with purple corn, fruits, cinnamon and cloves. Sugar and lime juice give the final drink its sweet-tart signature. Clove was the pleasing dominant flavor to this newbie.

We ended our meal with three scoops of lucuma ice cream. Lucuma is popular in the Andean regions of Peru where it is cultivated. The fruit has an orange pulp that yields a brilliantly colored treat when frozen. The flavor has distinctive notes of nutmeg and vanilla and the texture was somewhat grainy.

The dining room had a mix of families, couples, office workers and tourists. Vibrant artwork wakes up the walls of the large space.

Servers were efficient, friendly and — most important — patient with newcomers interested in exploring Peruvian cuisine.

El Inka Grill Ceviche adds a fresh South American accent to this part of south Orlando. I look forward to returning for another culinary escape.

[email protected] or 407-420-5498. Follow her on Twitter: @OS_thedish

The Dish

on dining

El Inka Grill Ceviche

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Where: 4106 Town Center Blvd., Orlando (in the Publix Super Market shopping center at Hunters Creek)

When: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

How much: $8.50-$21