Case in point: For a show-stopping experience, order the Sophi sashimi ($23). The staff delivers ruby-red slices of tuna tataki under a dome full of smoke, which billows across the table after being released, but not before imbuing the fish with its delicate essence, balancing out the zippy passion-fruit leche de tigre. That bright, citrus-based marinade, which translates to “tiger’s milk,” is normally used to cure fish but appears all over the menu — though Altamirano shirks tradition, infusing it with everything from rocoto peppers and mango to jalapeño and lemongrass.
Though the menu isn’t specifically Nikkei, a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisines, you can taste and see its influence. A duo of lobster black bao ($18), colored with squid ink, feels like a steal considering the obsidian buns can barely contain the abundance of yuzu- and ginger-infused lobster meat. Topped with togarashi, pickled cucumber, and daikon, plus curly ribbons of scallion, the bao would be at home in a Japanese restaurant. But each bite was so satisfying, that provenance hardly mattered. Meanwhile, Altamirano’s take on pulpo anticuchero, which starred a single tentacle that’d been confited till buttery and soft, and a light pesto quinoa salad sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and crumbles of feta lent a Mediterranean flair.