Pastuso

A couple of weeks ago I had a dinner catch up with the girls from Uni. Initially we were going to KBBQ but then J suggested Peruvian food from Pastuso. I've never had Peruvian before so I was quite easily convinced for the change of venue. Located in a typical Melbourne fashion on a graffiti back alley, Pastuso does have it's charm. From the cosy booths and friendly table setting, it was the perfect catch up spot. Being a girls catch up, getting a cocktail to start was practically mandatory, we got the Pisco Sour to awaken our taste buds. It was a good balance of citrus and creaminess from the egg white.

To start we got some ceviche. First ceviche was the snapper with sweet potato, cancha and leche de tigre. This was a fresh snapper with a zesty twist and puffs of corn. 

Second ceviche was the swordfish with cucumber. The citrus juice curing was fabulous with the cucumber.

From the street food selection we got the Anticuchos which was beef heart and swordfish skewers. The beef heart was surprisingly good.

Then there was the Cassava chips. I would never say no to chips with cheese. This was no different. I loved the sweet starchy flavours of the roots with the cheese

From the Grill we got the rib eye and roast chicken to share. The rib eye was the perfect soft meat as you would expect and served with a side of green salsa dressing.

The marinate on the chicken was so good, words cannot do it justice. The meat was tender and the basting was just the right level of smokiness and bursting with flavour.

To balance out the out we got the amazon salad which was radicchio, shallots, tomatoes in a passionfruit dressing. I found the sweet and tanginess of the passionfruit to be a great way to cut through the heaviness of the earlier dishes.

Overall 16.5/20 I really enjoyed Pastuso and love that it adds another variety and cuisine choice to the already expansive eatery choice in Melbourne. Everything I tried was executed well and I would love to go back and try out the rest of the menu.