Fresca Review

Two weeks ago we selected Fresca to complete the list of Peruvian restaurants recommended by chowhounds. (The other two were Limon and Mochica, both of which we've visited). While the restaurant wasn't as good as the other two (which were truly excellent), we were still relatively happy with our meal.

http://www.frescasf.com/

We started off with a halibut ceviche. It was probably comparable to the ceviches we had at the other restaurants; however, as this consisted entirely of halibut and not a mixture of other seafoods we got bored of it. That, combined with acidity all ceviches have, made us leave a little uneaten.

The other appetizer, papa rellena, potatoes stuffed with meat and with a crispy-fried exterior, was quite good. The crispiness of the outside with the softness of the inside and the little kick of spiciness from the meat made a nice combination.

We had a fish entree (sea bass) served on tacu-tacu (a rice and beans mixture) with sauteed vegetables. This was decent. The sea bass was a little overcooked but not bad. The tacu-tacu (with the vegetables) tasted like a respectable risotto. But these two components didn't work together at all; the tacu-tacu flavor dominated the bass when eaten in the same bite.

One entree, the Lomo Saltado (steak strips fried with onion, tomato, and french fries, and served with rice) was truly excellent and all elements worked together harmoniously. The steak was tender and juicy; the cherry tomatoes pieces were cooked perfectly, just enough so that they weren't liquidy or soggy but still held their shape and, while cooked, kept a hint of crispness; the french fries, fried with everything else, had just the right about of liquid flavor infused in them. (We had ordered the identical dish at Limon but there it was served as a steak, not steak strips. But both were excellent.)

Trying a chocolate mousse cake was a mistake. The cake was dry. The slab of fudge an inch thick on top of the cake had little to no flavor. The ice cream tasted like typically bad artificially flavored chocolate. The whipped cream helped moisten the cake somewhat but even this was not enough to allow all of us sharing this one dessert to make it more than halfway through it.

Incidentally, one attendee really liked his Spanish wine.

Service, while not bad, was a little offbeat. For instance, they asked, "Is that all?" instead of "Would you like to see the dessert menu?" Also, once, after asking, "Would you like more water," and us pushing our glasses to the side of the table the waitresses is standing on, the waitress pauses and us, confused, lift up the cups so the waitress can refill them.

Fresca has three locations; we went to the original one (on W Portal Av) in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco.

Original Announcement

After much pondering, I think I'd like to complete the triumverate of Peruvian. That is, the chowhounds are fans (to varying degrees) of three Peruvian restaurants, Limon, Mocchica, and Fresca. We've done the first two. Let's do the third.

http://www.frescasf.com/

Fresca actually has three locations (all in SF). I've picked the (original) West Portal location because it's closer and some people prefer it.

Comments from Other Attendees

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