A quick and healthy lunch option, all seven locations of Quinoa Café are typically packed during the work week. But is it worth the hype?
Now with seven locations, the first Quinoa Café opened in San Isidro in 2013. While each café has its own chef in charge, the menus are the same and have all been designated by the owners.
The cuisine at Quinoa Café was described by manager Berenice Barton as “lifestyle cuisine, smart food which is convenient, natural and artisanal.”
It was crowded and noisy when we arrived, making it obvious that this was a popular lunch venue.
The menu is clearly marked for allergies and dietary preferences.
To drink we had Limonada con Kion, a ginger lemonade, (S/8) and Limonada con sandia, a watermelon lemonade (S/8). Though surely healthy, both drinks were weak in flavor and the sandia soon separated into a scum on the top.
Salads
Para compartir (to share) comes to mind when describing the generous portions of Quinoa café. I have been to two different Quinoa Cafés. Both times the servings were generous though the flavors soon became repetitive. We did not feel we wanted to eat a whole bowl of the one dish.
At first the El Órale (S/23) was quite a tasty warm dish with quinoa, chopped chili, black bean and tomato with a generous helping of avocado and some corn chips. Although the menu said it contained chicken, it was not evident in this dish.
A seed grown in the Andes of Peru, quinoa is gluten free and considered a “super food” because of its high nutrient and antioxidant value.
Variations of this dish are a popular way to serve quinoa in many restaurants for a gluten free option. However I consider this dish more as a side dish and not a dish I would recommend as a single dish for one person. Once the avocado is eaten from the top the texture is like eating a bowl of warmed birdseed.
La Pituca (S/27) was a salad bowl containing mostly spinach, again with a generous helping of avocado, with a chopped hard boiled egg, chicken and soft goat cheese.
The goat cheese on the top was very soft and tasty (my favorite ingredient in this dish). Goat cheese is an excellent choice for a gluten free dish as many people who are gluten intolerant are also lactose intolerant and must avoid soft cow’s milk cheeses.
Again the top layer of the dish was where the main interest of the dish was. Struggling our way through a jungle of coarse spinach leaves to find the tiny morsels of other ingredients such as the overly salty sun dried tomato or the overcooked dry chicken was frustrating. Even my husband, who loves spinach, did not eat it all.
I would not recommend either of these dishes as a single meal on their own. Both dishes would be better combined with other dishes.
To be fair, neither of the choices we were given to try were the dishes we were told were the most popular gluten free choices on the menu. Which makes me wonder why?
Dessert
The three-layer chocolate cake Torte de Chocolate (S/14) on the other hand was delicious. Gluten free cakes can be dry and crumbly. This was not. It was moist and very “chocolatey.” Served with Helado Artesenale con Fudge (S/12)– vanilla ice cream with caramel fudge, this was not a cheap dessert.
Service at Quinoa Café was quick and friendly and it could be an ideal café for a quick lunch.
Quinoa Café offers take away and delivery services (except for ice cream). They will also cater off site parties for over 30 guests.
Contact:
Prices:
Breakfast: S/7-25
Meals: S/9-27
Desserts: S/7-15
Location and hours:
Dean Valdivia 137, San Isidro: Monday-Friday, 7am-8:30pm
Centro Empresarial (Víctor Andrés Belaunde), San Isidro: Monday-Friday, 7am-8:30pm
Pardo y Aliaga 664, San Isidro: Monday-Sunday 8am-10pm
Canaval y Moreyra (Torre Panamá), San Isidro: Monday-Friday, 7am-8pm
Cronos (Derby), Surco: Monday-Friday, 7am-8:30pm
Jockey Plaza, Surco: Monday-Sunday, 11am-11pm;
Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Miraflores: Monday-Saturday, 7am-11pm; Sunday 7am-10pm
