Martin Morales to open new Soho restaurant
Restaurateur and founder of Ceviche, Martin Morales, is to open a restaurant in London's Soho called Casita Andina.
The new venture will launch on 28 July, Peruvian Independence Day, and will be located on Great Windmill Street.
It is inspired by Peruvian "picanterias", family run, traditional restaurants which serve the local community and travellers.
The menu will incorporate traditional Andean dishes and snacks as well dishes using ingredients such as quinoa, maca and amaranth, and also those from British farms.
The kitchen is headed by executive chef Vitelio Reyes who was previously senior sous chef at Lima Floral and has travelled to Peru on a number of occasions, most recently with Morales.
Designed by Morales and Cantor Masters Interior Designers, Casita Andina aims to have the look and feel of a welcoming home, with 58 seats set across two small floors and a basement kitchen.
On the ground floor will be a ceviche counter, a pisco bar, a takeaway area. On the upper floor will be a 30-seat dining room leading out to an open-air patio seating eight.
Morales said: "With Casita Andina we want to do something different to anything we've done before. The site has a great restaurant heritage, once called 'The Little Cottage'. We want to build on that heritage, turning it into a cute picanteria, and bringing the charm back into Soho.
"Our focus is on incredible flavours; honest dishes full of tradition, and organic, sustainable ingredients. And my love for the Andes will come through its celebration of dishes and drinks, textiles and textures."
Polymath Morales, who is a chef, author, DJ, producer and marketeer, also runs Ceviche restaurant in Soho, Ceviche Old Street, and Andina on Redchurch Street.
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