From the land of the Incas
Walking down the Wipplingerstrasse I pass the standard and boring shopping windows and apartment entrances and then there it is: The beautiful facade that makes out the storefront of the Peruvian restaurant Chu Chu.
The design of the interior is followed by nuanced dark colors on the furniture and a big ass painting on one side of the wall displaying angels or water nymphs – I can’t tell what they are but it fits in beautifully with the rest of the style (later on I find out that it was painted by a friend of mine – Bella Volen) . The stylish hipster single bulbs are hanging from the ceiling and give the place the right touch to fit in with the interior trends of today. From behind the u-shaped bar a charming barkeeper serves my first but not last cocktail of the night. Looking good so far.
I would describe the cuisine of Chu Chu as Peruvian with Spanish, Venezuelan and Asian influences. The ceviche (a classic and incredibly famous Peruvian dish) is light and fresh, followed by another beloved dish the arepitas (a round cornbread) that is served with feta and guacamole. This one I would have preferred with a fried chorizo as the arepitas alone are not that flavorful.
The main dish is the pulpo – an octopus that is marinated in an anticucho (a Columbian sauce made out of vinegar, cumin and other herbs) and chimichurri sauce (sauce is made out of parsley, vinegar, garlic and lots more) with a side of roasted potatoes.
This is by far the most impressive dish because of the absolute tenderness of the octopus. It is absolutely worth coming here just to eat that.
The second main dish (no worries I didn’t eat so much alone) was chicharrones – a crunchy pork belly with matcha sauce, asian coleslaw and peach avocado salad. Delectable!
Remember when I say crunchy I mean really crunchy!
Feeling very full and happy it would have been the perfect time for a nap but instead of offending other customers we ordered a couple of chuchu mules and just went with the flow.
Important after thought: I will definitely be back for Taco Tuesday. The name beckons.
Chu Chu – chuchu.at
Wipplingerstrasse 21
1010 Vienna
Mo-Thu 17:00 – 24:00
Fr-Sa 17:00 – 02:00
