LA MAR CEBICHERIA PERUANA is a vibrant, waterfront restaurant at Pier 1.5 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. It focuses on fresh seafood with authentic Peruvian flavors, and it’s a MUST if you’re visiting SF.

Not only is the space colorful and welcoming, but so is the service. Our server, Mario, did an amazing job of explaining the traditional ingredients of each dish, sharing his favorites, and leading us through what was to be a delicious meal. To start, though, we chose a few cocktails. The manager insisted that we try the traditional Pisco – and I’m glad he did. It was my favorite drink of the lot. I also went with the Prickly Pear Margarita, and the bf had the classic Mojito.

Then began our feast 🙂  We let Mario order what he thought was best and ended up with a 5 course dinner.

TIRADITO TRIO | halibut in leche de tigre, salmon in jalapeno pepper leche de tigre, white tuna in aji amarillo leche de tigre

CEBICHE TRIO | clasico, mixto, nikei

Our server told us that the Customer favorite was Nikei, for it’s clear Japanese influences and flavors. Our favorite, however, was the Mixto. It had such bright and clean flavors, and the octopus was melt-in-your-mouth tender. Really delicious.

CAUSA | whipped potatoes topped with grilled octopus

These little bites were super delicious, yet super filling. The creamy mashed potatoes on the bottom with the grilled octopus on top made for a good texture combo. The sauces just brought the whole dish together.

LOMO SALTADO | traditional Peruvian style beef tenderloin, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, soy and oyster sauce, potatoes, and rice

Yes, this dish looks amazing. It WAS amazing. It’s a hearty, carb-heavy entree that combines 2 of my favorite things to eat – meat and potatoes. 😛  The sauce on this dish is the star, though. It’s rich, salty, a bit sweet… and coats the meat, veggies and potatoes. Even though we were pretty full before this arrived, we managed to finish most of it. This is a traditional Peruvian dish, so definitely get it to share at your table. You won’t be disappointed.

After this dish, we were SO full. BUT, there’s always tiny room for dessert. In this case, we tried both the tres leches cake and the passion fruit mousse. I dug into the tres leches before I remembered to take a pic (sorry! it’s one of my favorite desserts ever!), but here’s the passion fruit mousse. A perfect combo of tart and sweet. The tres leches was devoured in blissful silence… in about 1minute 🙂

PASSION FRUIT MOUSSE 

Needless to say, our tummies were very happy after this meal. LA MAR definitely knows how to combine traditional Peruvian flavors and ingredients with the fresh seafood that San Francisco provides. Each dish is colorful, delicious, and interesting. The vibe is lively! Not to mention – the music played in the restaurant were ALL my favorite salsa songs. Triple LOVE. ❤

Thank you so much to Mario and the management team at LA MAR! We had a wonderful dinner, and will definitely be back to visit the next time we’re in SF. Next time, I’m coming for lunch on that gorgeous patio 🙂

TIP! If you live in Chicago, and can’t make it to San Francisco any time soon, go visit their sister restaurant in River North – TANTA! And then get some post-dinner cocktails next door at Arbella. I’d call that a great date night.

LA MAR CEBICHERIA PERUANA |  Pier 1.5 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111

TANTA | 118 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654

ARBELLA | 112 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654