Limon
524 Valencia Street between 16th/17th Streets (Mission)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 252-0918

After driving around and around and around on the hunt for parking remotely near the restaurant (allow some time to find a spot), we walked into the restaurant at 7:30pm on a Friday evening, and the place was packed and bustling.

We were quickly ushered to a cold corner table on the mezzanine level right by a waiters’ station. As we sat down, I eyed a delicious-looking dish at the table next to ours. My mom pointed out some food at another table. We were obviously hungry.

Let me preface this by saying that I am not an expert when it comes to Central/South American food. We chose Limon because Sister#1 (based in San Francisco) had been and highly recommended the restaurant. Plus, whenever we’re in the city, we like to bring my mom somewhere new and different.

We decided on a fairly inexpensive bottle of Grenache and some appetizers, but the waiter suggested we order everything (wines, appetizers and entrees) now, otherwise, we’d expect a long wait between courses.

We chose two ceviches, the ceviche Limon, a mixed seafood and fish ceviche served classic Peruvian style with giant Peruvian corn kernels and yam, and a crème ceviche with mixed seafood and a rocoto cream sauce. Both were good, although the shrimp in both looked limp.

Additional appetizers chosen included the fried calamari and the soup of the day (butternut squash). The soup was garnished with a savory cannoli-esque crouton filled with crème fraiche. Although a touch sweeter than I had hoped, the soup hit the spot in the cold drafty corner of the restaurant. We asked multiple times about the fried calamari and received the same answer each time: “I’ll check, I’m sure it’s on its way.”

When our entrees arrived, the fried calamari appetizer accompanied the lomo saltado (sliced sirloin with onions, tomatoes, French fries and rice) and picante de mariscos (mixed seafood in an Adresso cream sauce). I couldn’t resist the truffled macaroni and cheese that was offered as a side. Lomo saltado is a delicious Peruvian dish, but this one skimped on the meat and flavor. The seafood dish was quite good, served with a side of rice; it reminded me of Thai curry, but creamier. The fried calamari was probably the best of all, crispy, perfectly cooked and drizzled with a delicious chipotle aioli.

Unfortunately, at this point we were all stuffed. I took a couple bites of the not-so-truffled mac & cheese (perhaps Peruvian truffles are much more mild than Italian??), but I thought it best to bring it home and enjoy it the next day.

Despite the waiter’s advice and our proximity to the waiters' station, service was slow, and we obviously had a communication issue (i.e., fried calamari), but the food was decent, albeit pricey for what it was. I would stick with the ceviches and seafood dishes if I were to go back, but chances are… I won’t return.