Peruvian and Japanese Fusion Restaurant SuViche Now Open in Fort Lauderdale

Restaurateur Jaime Pesaque has been busy the past few years, building a Peruvian food empire that rivals that of Gastón Acurio, the country's own ambassador of Peruvian cuisine. With signature restaurants in Lima, Uruguay, Hong Kong, and Miami Beach, the young chef recently expanded his SuViche brand — which first launched five years ago in Brickell — to Broward County. 

Known for its casual presentation of Peruvian-Japanese fusion, the fourth South Florida SuViche opened this week on Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Like its sister establishments further south, the Las Olas menu will include Pesaque's most popular dishes, a mix of sushi, ceviche, and traditional Peruvian dishes. 

There's the Jalapeño Roll, white fish and avocado sprinkled with cilantro and topped with a slice of jalapeño pepper and torched spicy mayo, and for a non-traditional take on ceviche, try the Chifa Ceviche. It won "Best Bites of the Beach" at the Miami Wine and Food Festival in 2013, a sweet and sour Peruvian sauce enhanced with teriyaki, pickled ginger, chopped avocado, and sliced onion and topped with fried wonton crisps. For larger appetites, sautéed Peruvian specialties include Lomo Saltado, prime steak sautéed with red and green onions, tomatoes, and the chef's signature lomo sauce. 

The Las Olas location is also home to Fort Lauderdale’s first pisco bar featuring more than a dozen cocktails that highlight homemade Pisco macerados, or infusions, adorned with colorful, flavorful ingredients like gummy bears, lychee, and lemongrass.

A Peruvian brandy, the Pisco is blended with fresh berries, herbs, and spices to create a unique array of flavor profiles for each of the restaurant's signature cocktails, like the Blueberry Thyme made with muddled blueberries, thyme, lemon, and a house made blueberry thyme macerado over ice. Other Peruvian ingredients include chicha morada – a traditional drink made from purple maize – which is mixed with passion fruit juice and corn macerado to create for the restaurant's Chicha Maracuya cocktail.

SuViche's Miami-Dade locations are well-known for their weekly promotions, which include Sushi Tuesdays (BOGO half-priced sushi rolls), a Ladies Night every Thursday, and happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m. with two-for-one drinks. Takeout, online ordering, and delivery will also be available to the surrounding area.

SuViche is located at 401 East Las Olas B;vd., Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-656-3663 or visit suviche.com.

Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.