Wyraqocha Peruvian Kitchen

Hmm. Preuvian food. Something different than Mex, Thai, Italian, Japanese, etc… so of course you gotta try it, right?
Strangely the place has relateively limited hours compared to most restuarants. Not open during typical Happy Hour times too,
Interior is somewhat dark, cavernous, and stark but not unwelcoming so and unique.
Pleasant, attentive staff.
Food is a nice alternative to the typical array of cusine as noted at the beginning, but unfortunately I can’t describe it as remarkable. Skewers were a bit overcooked and dry and although looked exotically seasoned didn’t taste so. Ceviche portions were quite small and the sweet potato purée which was delicious overshadowed the more delicate flavored seafood so not a great pairing (imagine smothering cod with spiced yams.) Asado was nothing like what I expected (I expected something more like carne asada), ended up being like a ½ inch thick slice of fairly dry pot roast and the plate was otherwise 80% cheap starch (white rice and potato purée) with the exception of a few overcooked carrots. Empanadas were large (you get two) and had a great pastry crust but filling was fairly bland, somewhat dry, and otherwise 90% dominated by the flavor of raisins. I’m not Spanish, Mexican or Peruvian and have an empanada recipe that would put that one to shame.
A very casual dinner for two with 4 drinks total — $ 120 and we left hungry. Have walked by the place many times and never seen it more than half full and now I know why. I think it has much greater potential though if they increased protein portions, cooked things medium instead of medium-​well, and bumped the spices up a notch, so I wouldn’t write it off yet.
This is a place I’d really wish I could love, as more variety of good eating establishments in DTK is a good thing especially with the closing of Park Place, but they’ve got a ways to go to garner more than 3 stars.
As they say «your mileage may vary» especially if you temper your expectations and aren’t very price conscious.

Spectacular food and great service! The food is extremely interesting and well prepared. Portions can be small, though, depending on what you order so it is easy to come out spending a bit more than you expected to. The food is well worth it, though, and it’s such a breath of fresh air to be able to sample a type of food not really available at other restaurants in the area. If you are looking for a quiet, delicious high quality dinner down by the water in Kirkland this place would be top on my list!

Peruvian food is amazing. And this place matches the requisites to be considered great Peruvian food. I tasted empanadas, Tiradito clasico, Lomo saltado are the best choice. And, the alfajores are served in such nice box.

Enjoyed this place.
Came here a few days before Christmas as a surprise to my visiting mother, who is from Peru. They were just about out of everything as apparently they close for two weeks, so didn’t want to order anything in bulk. Makes sense, except why no rice? :/​
Overall, the place was solid and the service was deece, outside of a bit of stress over being out of some of the entrees/​appetizers/​rice, as mentioned before. Decoration was great. A bit small so definitely make reservations if you’re rolling 4+ in your party.
I’d love this place to stick around, and I’d give it a higher rating if they focused on these things:
1) Expensive for the portions and dishes. Authentic Peruvian food is known to be affordable, big portions.
2) Get some real Peruvians working in the kitchens. This makes a huge difference, as real Peruvians would know the right balance of spice in each of the dishes.
3) Consider your servers as part of the experience. They should be able to converse in Spanish. Peruvian food is niche, you should tailor the experience accordingly. Service in our visit was OK, certainly nothing to brag about.

This has been a worst experience ever and unbelievable service.
I came in with my wife and asked for a table for 2, the sever made us sit right near the door. There were lot of tables that were free, but he mentioned that are reserved (more on this later).
I order our appetizer and a wine, had to request him multiple times before he would come. None of this was really a red flag so far. I just assumed that he may be just busy. As we wait, i see few folks coming in and thats when i realize that their door is broken. It opens and does not close properly, it jams and some one has to give a very hard push to close it, else it will stay open and all cold air from outside will make your life miserable.
The appetizers come some 30 mts late, and by this time already we are freezing. I get up and reequest to him for a change of table, he says he cannot provide as all are reserved, 45 minutes have passed since we came and all the table are still free. He even allowed one of them to pick their table of choice and my wife was like how did at just happen.
I told him that my wife is pregenant (very visible) and we cannot freeze by sitting near the broken door. By this time the appetizers arrive. I ask him for a different table, he responds, that cannot be done and if i would like he can pack things up for take home. WOW, really… You provide two choices two customer 1. Freeze to death in here with broken door and lat service 2. Pack up, and pay for the food that you have not touched and food that have not yet been served.
If they cannot treat their customers with even slight respect how can they even run a business. When i said i cannot sit through this and that i want to leave, i was forced a heavy bill. I had not even touched any of my appetizer and was forced to pay for the appetizer and food that was yet to be served. Had to fight and felt so helpless in how they are ripping us.
This was not a resturant experience it was more of bullying. Compare this to earls in bellevue, where since one of the food that they served was very late, they just took that off my bill even without i saying anything about that. That to me is ownership and putting thier customer experience at best.
I hope they get their act toegether i would not wish this upon others, see for the red flags and make your judgement quickly if it all you are eating in here.

If you’ve never tried Peruvian food before, I strongly recommend you try this place. The food is delicious. Some of my favorites are the cebiche clasico, empanadas, causa limeña, palta rellena, alfajores and mango pisco sour. I recently tried the cebiche. At first, I thought it was a small portion for its price but then realized it was perfect. It was a little bit spicy for me but I still ate everything. I always take the alfajores to go because by the time I’m done with my food I’m full. I’ve always been there 1.5−2hrs before they close and there has been no wait to be seated. Service has improved a lot since the first time I went in. I hope in the near future they add more stuff to their menu!

3 stars on my first review, but after 2 more visits I am upgrading Wyracocha to 4 stars mostly because their service and speed improved tremendously.
Their food is still delicious, but they do not get 5 stars because every time I go, they’ve ran out of one of their main dishes or appetizers. Get it together guys! comm’on!!!
You are doing a good job of making customers crave your food, they come back sometimes for that one dish they love… so disappointing to not be able to have it!
Peruvian food enthusiasts are really rooting for you! Don’t disappoint us! We want you to be successful so we can have you around for many years!

I was looking for something different in Kirkland, so I randomly typed «Peruvian» on Unilocal.I came across this and realized it was one of the restaurants that recently opened up.
My favorites:
Beef or chicken empanadas — good batter with a slight sugary glaze. The filling was juicy and at the end of it, my fiancée and I were craving to take some home.
Tri-​color causitas. — Tuna was my favorite. If it’s yours, I would start with chicken, shrimp, and tuna. The chicken was a little dry for me, but the shrimp and tuna were delectable.
The quinoa shrimp is something I’d like to order alone next time. I wanted a whole bowl to myself, but given how full we were, I veto-​ed the idea. It gives me something to look forward to the next time I go agai. I found a recipe and can’t wait to try it. Thank you Wyraqocha for introducing this to me!
If you’re looking for a summer drink without alcohol, I recommend the Chicha
Morada? It has a tangy, lemon-​y and cinnamon-​y taste to it. I really enjoyed it due to it’s unique and refreshing taste.
Aside from that, my fiancée and I ordered a total of one four dishes. I’d have to say the the ones I named and the third is enough. There’s so much carbs and starch that you get full pretty easily without having to order too much.
Location wise, it’s perfect. It’s a few minute walk to the Kirkland waterfront and parking is pretty easy around there as long as you arrive before 6 PM or after 7 PM. I enjoy Peruvian food and am happy there is one in my neighborhood. I hope they grow their menu, because I’m willing to go every so often to try something new.

I went right before the usual lunch rush, and the restaurant was empty. I appreciated the peace and quiet while eating, but I noticed that the tables were thoughtfully arranged as to allow a decent radius between diners even at max capacity, which is a luxury that isn’t always present in these smaller eateries. The place is decorated in a contemporary but fun (the cool graphics on the walls) style and it definitely gives the whole place a trendy vibe.
I ordered the the empanadas and the palta rellena, which are beef/​chicken turnovers and a chicken salad with avocado respectively, and both were good. The menu is pretty pricey, but most of the ingredients that go into the dishes are really filling so you can get some bang for your buck. In this instance, the heavy pastry/​meat and the chicken/​avocado left me and my friend really full, with the bill at a reasonable $ 19. Another thing I noticed is that the dishes are really healthy; I left the restaurant full but energized instead of sluggish or sleepy.
Maybe it’s because I went at a slow time, but the customer service was fine. The waiter (owner, possibly) helped me navigate the menu, and made good recommendations.
Overall, what I expected to be a gimmicky and overpriced experience was actually very pleasant. If you’re looking to hipster out and be able to have a trendy go-​to «hey I know this great little place on Main…» then this is it.

I’d never been to a Peruvian restaurant but now I want to visit Peru. Delicious, imaginative food served beautifully. I’ve gone twice, for dinner and for happy hour.
The happy hour is a fantastic deal. I had really fresh, juicy calamari ceviche in cute plantain cups and incredibly flavorful chicken skewers with a red pepper dipping sauce. Both dishes were $ 5 – 6 each.
Dinner is great for sharing. We had the mussel shots (actually served in shot glasses, with plantain «crackers»), a beef and peppers dish, their Japanese style ceviche, and a cold mashed potato-​based dish that sounded weird but was delicious. The beef and peppers were alright but not the star. We also had the avocado stuff with chicken salad, which was just an avocado stuffed with chicken salad. Good, but I can make that at home. We totally over-​ordered, we’ll pare down next time. The ceviches and the skewers are what i will come back for — again and again.

Yum! I’ve never had Peruvian food before but this stuff was fantastic. We dropped in on a Saturday and it wasn’t too busy and we could get seated right away.
We split four items: a tiradita cerbiche, chicken skewers, the causa limena, and the alfajores. The cerbiche had an amazing sauce and was super tasty, and the fish had a good texture. I wish it came with a knife or something though; unless I was supposed to just stuff the fish in my mouth, the pieces were a bit big for chewing bits off. The chicken skewers were tasty and had a good char to them, and it came with some really huge Peruvian corn (which doesn’t taste like regular corn but was really interesting anyway).
I really liked the limena, it was seriously not like anything I had eaten before! The chicken filling tasted like the stuff you would get in a chicken salad sandwich, but it was put in a cube of mashed potato and tomato, with avocado and at least three different colored sauces. It was visually amazing and a surprisingly good flavor combination. We ended up taking the alfajores home, and they were delicious and dangerously addictive.
Service was really good and attentive; our server checked on us regularly and was friendly and helpful, which was good because we had no idea what to order!
Overall it was an enjoyable dining experience and we will probably be back to check out more fun things on the menu! Parking is a bit annoying in the area but the lot near the marina isn’t too far away.

The freshest and most authentic tastes. Wyraqocha is a fun adventure in trying some new things with a good spin on the authentic classics.
Every dish has a unique presentation and surprising flavors.
Here is a good outline for your order:
Pisco sours. Immediately.
Start with the beef and chicken empanadas and be sure to squirt the lime juice on them!
The calamari served up will delight!
The stuffed advocado is so fresh and so delicious you will be surpirsed how fast you fill up.
Pick any Cebiche… their all good.
Both the entrees and the sandwiches are large and easy to share.
End with the alfajores box of cookies to share! Caramel waifer like cookies with dusted powdered sugar.

I’m a huge fan of Peruvian food, so I was super excited to see this restaurant open in Kirkland. Another awesome addition to downtown Kirkland, providing unique, diverse, cultural fare with lots of flavor.
I met a friend here for lunch right when they opened, and we were the only two people in the establishment. Our waiter greeted us right away and made awesome recommendations. He explained that he was fairly new, but that everything on the menu was good. And he was not wrong at all!
My friend and I are both adventurous eaters, so we tried a bevy of items to share. We ordered:
1) Creamy Quinoa Soup: rich, creamy and flavorful; soft bits of quinoa enveloped in a creamy cheese sauce with delicate pieces of kale and cherry tomatoes. Two thumbs up!
2) Huancaina: Fried cassava with a mildly spicy cheese and yellow pepper sauce. This one is tasty, however I probably won’t order again because I have a slight allergy to spicy food, and even though this is mildly spicy, the flavor is still good, but it was a little uncomfortable for me, so I just ate around the spicy sauce, but my friend thoroughly enjoyed it.
3) Palta Rellena: Excellent! I can’t even begin to describe how fun this was to eat. Packed with flavor, the rellena is a cold cooked potato filled with chicken salad and veggies, between avocado halves and drizzled with a purple sweet sauce. The plating was beautiful, it was fresh, and perfectly portioned.
4) Empanadas: Yummy! Two medium-​sized empanadas, one filled with a sweet, shredded pork, and the other a minced beef and raisins; the outside was a beautiful, flaky golden crust and dusted with powdered sugar. The only thing I felt was missing was a dipping sauce, particularly for the pork one, which was more on the dry side.
I cannot wait to return here for dinner, plus try some of their cocktails. I hope this place sticks around because it is incredibly delicious and just what the Eastside needs.

I was really eager to try Wyraqocha as a welcome addition to downtown Kirkland. I love Peruvian food which I had mostly experienced in New York or in Peru itself.
Overall, I think there is potential for Wyraqocha to be successful, but at the moment it still feels like a soft opening.
Many had commented on the poor service and I can echo that. While people were friendly, service felt disjointed despite there being only a few people in the restaurant at the time. We ordered drinks which didn’t come until the second course, and they initially forgot completely my Pisco Sour even though there was literally no one sitting in the bar. Some items on the menu were no longer available as well.
We had the empanadas, Huancaina, and the Aji de Gallina. The empanadas were my favorite. Huancaina had an interesting texture, not my favorite. I liked the Aji de Gallina, but would have liked the waitress to have advised us that there were tons of the same potatoes in both the Huancaina and Aji de Gallina’s dishes — meaning we probably shouldn’t have ordered both of them since too similar. I also expected the rice portion to be a bit larger for two people. Overall food was interesting but lacked all the flavor I was expecting.
One highlight was the Pisco Sour — which was the best I’ve had in years.
in sum, I would probably give it another try to sample some other items but worry Wyraqocha won’t make it if they don’t take service and flavor up a knotch.

I’ve never had Peruvian food so I have nothing to compare it too but this was a great introduction. The restaurant is beautifully decorated and clean. I chose to sit at the bar as I was by myself and the bartender greeted me right away. He smiled and welcomed me to the restaurant. He let me know right away that it was happy hour and then went to the kitchen after handing me a dinner menu to make sure ahead of time that everything on the dinner menu was available. I appreciated that he took the extra moment to ensure that I wouldn’t be disappointed. I told him that I’d never had Peruvian food and he went through the menu and explained in depth the menu items I was interested in.
I ordered the empanadas and the halibut ceviche and they were both delicious. I was impressed by both items but specifically the ceviche because I’d never had that style of ceviche before and the balance of heat and creaminess was perfect. I could tell the fish was really fresh and I would probably would have licked my plate clean if I weren’t in a public place; it was that good.
Lastly, I’ve read a bunch of the reviews and I’m seeing poor ratings around service and I want to advocate for the employees that served me today. The bartender was extremely service oriented and genuine. He was also training a new employee while I was there and was impressively patient and kind to her while ensuring she did things properly. I also inadvertently made eye contact with one of the kitchen staff members and she actually smiled and waved. I manage a business in the area and I am proud to see my employees treating people the way I was treated today. I will be back.

I grew up in a Peruvian household and my standards where pretty high.
The portions where way to small for the price.
Food was ok, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t authentic and missing the Peruvian yellow pepper flavor that Peru is famous for.
Ceviche was flavorful but had amlost no fish in it just onions and corn. And the leche de tigre was tiny.
I don’t think I would come back for a second meal.
I would recommend if you have never had Peruvian food before as an experience.

My husband and I have been watching the progress for this place since long. Just before we embarked on our two-​week holiday, we saw this was open (soft launch?) and did not miss the chance to sample the fare. My initial impressions were
— The décor is pleasant, the colorful elements like the table runner and drapery complement the greyish murals
— The server was knowledgeable and assisted us with the pronunciations and the dishes
— The menu’s descriptions may not accurately describe what you will get on the plate
The chicken skewer was very tasty– grilled to perfection. The corn served was very interesting — something unique. The stuffed avocado was a nice– looking dish– and I’d definitely order that again. Aji di Gallina though an entrée, did not leave a great impression, taste wise. It was bland and the shredded chicken was not seasoned at all.
First impressions of Wyracocha– maybe you have to order right. Presentation was very impressive but your dish may not always be great.

I had tried some Peruvian food at the San Fernando restaurant where they cooked a special pre fixe meal for our large group. Given my great experience with Peruvian food, I had high expectations of this restaurant.
Overall, I thought the food was decent but on the expensive side and they still haven’t figured out kinks in their service.
Our table ordered quite a few dishes off the menu — Tricolor Causitas, Ceviche Mixto, Pollo skewers, Quinoa Chaufa, Lomo Saltado (beef), Arroz con Marisco (seafood rice), and a couple of appetizers.
My personal favorite was the ceviche which tasted fresh and light followed by the stir fry beef with onions and potatoes. The seafood rice was also fresh and flavorful. The quinoa dish was forgettable and the Causitas were beautifully presented but boring and flavorless for me. The chicken skewers were well marinated and juicy but a wee bit salty.
The service was a disappointment, the orders seem to come in randomly, as we were there as part of our larger group and some people’s dishes came out at once and others did not come till the very end. This is bound to happen in a large group, but usually the servers keep you notified and apologize for the delay. At some restaurants, they may even bring you a free appetizer due to the delay. None of that happened here.
The very worst part was that they forgot to bring the order for one person at our eight person table. When we asked the server, we were told that it should be coming. However, it did not come even as everyone else had finished their meal. The server came back at that point and asked the person to reorder as they couldn’t find the order. The group was all done so the person said that they didn’t want their food anymore. And since they were vegetarian they couldn’t share with anyone else. The server just went away and did not even apologize properly. I pulled the server aside and requested that she not charge for the glass of wine the person had been served, and she agreed. However, it was a bad mix up and we left feeling they need to sort out their service and be more professional.
Overall, a nice restaurant for a date but since they’re new they don’t seem to be quite there yet. I’d like some more menu options in entrees and much better service.

We have been watching the progress of Wyraqocha in our neighborhood and were very excited to see it finally open. We went the first night and other than it being a little slow on service everything was great! Remember, they just opened so expect that it’s going to take time, don’t go to a new restaurant and expect it to be flawless right away!
The food is delicious, fresh and beautifully presented. The halibut Civeche was excellent but my favorite was the classic Causas, whipped yellow potatoes with crab, avacado, tomatoes– so flavorful I could have licked the plate!
The décor is lovely, warm, inviting, and many of the items from Peru. Check out the large table toward the kitchen, I’m told they will reserve that for a party of 6+, it looks like a fun ‘chefs’ table. They could turn the music up a bit for a more lively atmosphere.
Our server was very nice and knew the menu very well. Be patient the first few weeks if you go and rate the food not the service — they just opened!
It’s great to have a fun, unique restaurant downtown Kirkland, we will be back many times I’m sure!

It’s difficult to compare Wyraqocha to other Peruvian restaurants in Seattle because, well, there aren’t any. Okay, so a search on Unilocal will show a half dozen or so Peruvian sandwich stands scattered between Sea-​Tac and Everett but none of them look to be serving food as light, beautiful and delicious as Wyraqocha. Aside from the highly appropriated ceviche I’m not even sure I’ve had Peruvian food so I went to Wyraqocha’s opening night with few expectations. If you’ve been eating Peruvian in Seattle leave your expectations behind too.
Wyraqocha was a long time opening so I ordered a bit of everything to make up for lost opportunities: Halibut ceviche, quinoa salad, crab causa, aji de gallina, and pisco sours to wash it down. Not a bad dish (or glass) among the offerings, all were presented with the care of a plate at the Herb Farm: colorful, pretty.
The halibut ceviche, one of several, is served with extra curing juices and fried corn as is traditional. Unlike so many ceviches the acid wasn’t over powering. The quinoa salad was extraordinarily light and fluffly. The causa — a layered, whipped potato dish — has a generous amount of crab and avocado; in spite of the sound of it, there is no need to fear heaviness in these, they are light and full of subtle flavors. Don’t go to Wyraqocha without ordering one of these. The aji de gallina is a sauced, shredded chicken dish over potatoes — full of flavor.
The small bar serves beer and wine but is light on spirits, they seem to be carrying mostly Pisco, Mezcal and a surprisingly large amount of St. Germaine. The Pisco Sours are outstanding with a perfect sweet-​tart balance. It isn’t clear if the spirits selection will expand as the restaurant staff settles in but I can hope so: the bar space is comfortable and inviting and will be a nice, mellow spot for happy hours.
Restaurant décor is hip, refined and colorful — good enough for a date night. There is a great looking ‘chef’s table’ near the kitchen which seats eight (or more), call ahead to reserve that for a large party. I’ll hold comments on the service due to opening night issues.
Welcome to the neighborhood Wyraqocha!