Tucked away behind closed businesses within a small strip mall in Sebastopol, you can find Inca’s Peruvian Cuisine, a delectable hidden gem adjacent to a dispensary for those who need to trigger a bit of an appetite.
Participating in this year’s Restaurant Week, Inca’s owners are offering a $40 three-course dinner deal with multiple selections for each course. Each dish takes a flavor traditional to Peruvian cuisine and refines it into a platter fit for a foodie’s Instagram.
Smooth piano tunes filled the softly lit restaurant with earth-tone walls and pictures of Machu Picchu and other Peruvian sites on the walls. Each table is decorated with a fresh rose. Such ambience made it a prime spot for date night.
Before the onslaught of complex flavors came the Chicha Morada — a beverage separate from the dinner deal — which blended an interesting mix of sweet and savory, utilizing cinnamon, that disappeared from the glass at an alarming pace.
Doused in a savory, spicy sauce, the Clasico Verde came to the table first. The dish offered a stack of lime-cured, tender fish mixed with red onions, creating a masochist’s delicacy: a painfully perfect verde-sauce-covered plate.
Following the Clasico Verde is a fragrant dish that immediately targets the sense of smell before hitting taste buds. The Seco De Cordero is a well rounded platter with a mixture of flavors that came together for a hearty meal.
The lamb is tender — gently falling apart at the touch of the fork and melting in the mouth with a rich blend of fat and sweetness.
Served bone-in, the lamb is nourishing and meaty — really making that $40 price point feel reasonable. Complemented by beans and rice, the second course is well worth the visit in itself.
To top off the varying flavor profiles, the third course presents two options: Maduros Con Nieve or Creme Volteada. Either choice is certain to satisfy.
The Maduros Con Nieve has a perfect blend of sweet and savory with its lucuma ice cream that would not overwhelm the diner with sweetness; the plantains add balance by not being overly oily like similar fried ice creams.
With a subtle spice mimicking the aforementioned Chicha Morada, the Crema Volteada is a cream-based custard that is similarly dense and smooth. Just like the latter treat, the flavor is more balanced than a typical dessert; the custard is not too soft but firm enough to provide a silky texture.
The restaurant’s friendly staff members proved quick and attentive — yet not intrusive.
The staff are patient and understanding when it comes to menu questions. There were no looks of confusion or disdain — just a smile.
Behind the guise of classy dining, Inca’s Peruvian Cuisine offers dishes that echo the flavors of familiar cuisines, such as salsa verde and flan, and accentuates them to a degree that makes it worth a well-earned dollar.
