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Inka Grill
Category: Restaurants Peruvian Peruvian [Edit]
23600 Rockfield BlvdSte 2K
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 587-9008
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 9 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
105 reviews for Inka Grill
Review Highlights
"I could eat the green sauce on everything."
(in 41 reviews)
"Beef Saltado is my favorite dish their."
(in 12 reviews)
"I had Raul's Macho Fish with Halibut."
(in 3 reviews)
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105 reviews in English
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Review from Thu P.
Garden Grove, CA
2/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
I used to only eat at the Costa Mesa location, but since the boyfriend lives in south county, we frequent this one now.
Came in on a Wedday night, no wait, seated promptly and the server brought out the complimentary french bread and absolutely AMAZING green sauce. It's the Peruvian sriracha, goes with everything!
Empanadas are a great appetizer, best I've had actually. My go-to entree is the Lamb Stew ($15). It comes with rice and beans. The meat is slow cooked and can be cut with a fork... Not gamey at all, just squeeze the green sauce over your rice, pick out a thinly sliced red onion, couple beans, a piece of lamb and you'll have yourself a heavenly bite. -
Review from Jim T.
Updated - 1/30/2012
I was going to eat at the Vietnamese place but even at 1:00 PM it was packed with a line out the door. So I slid over to Inka Grill to give it one last shot. I ordered the lunch special, Arroz Con Pollo for $8.95. (Funny, they had updated the menu with a pen to read $8.95 like I suggested last review). I ordered it with a side of Sarda (lime-marinated red onions), the menu had side onions with the Arroz con Pollo dinner for $1.95. I also ordered the salad this time instead of their chicken-rice soup. The salad was large, in a metal skillet bowl. Then came the main dish, along with a large metal skillet-bowl of marinated onions. The chicken was again large hunks of dry, chicken breast, dark, colored cilantro rice, AND a salad with marinated onions. (Ordering the salad instead of soup was a mistake.) The sauce wasn't too salty like it had been in the past, but the chicken was very, very dry, so dry I left three large chunks on the plate. Then came the bill. The special was $8.95 as billed, but the side-order of marinated onions was $2.95, not $1.95 like on the dinner menu, and the Inca Cola was $2.95. Sigh. I gave them a 20% tip because of the quick service from the gentlemen, who again, came with a large glass of ice water just as I finished my meal to quench my thirst. The bill was $16.00 and with the tip it came to $19.20!
I've made my choice, from now on I'll go a few blocks farther south to Delicias Peruanas, on Muirlands in Lake Forest. Better food for a more reasonable price for their lunch special ($8.00). It is starving for business, and is hidden behind Burger Town and Avilas El Ranchito. I highly recommend Delicias Peruanas. Good-bye Inka Grill...4 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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1/13/2012
Came back, hoping it would be good. The place was deserted at 11:40 AM. They now hide the "lunch… Read more »
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Review from ybanag a.
Mission Viejo, CA
12/2/2011
Reading some of the reviews here would have normally made us avoid the place but I had a GroupOn coupon.
I had the recommended Seafood Paella and my wife ordered Arroz con Pollo. She wanted Lima beans and the waiter said it is mixed with the rice.
Paella was not as I expected. Normally rice is cooked in broth mixed w/ the other ingredients. Theirs is pre-cooked rice stir fried w/ pre-fried seafood. It was greasy and rice was overcooked.
My wife could not find any Lima beans and explained the size of what she wanted . They did not know what we were talking about. Didn't Lima beans originate from the Andes?
Her chicken was overcooked ,dry and the whole thing was salty.. The waiter didn't even bother to ask why she didn't touch her food. I was hungry so I ate mine, but threw up on the way home probably from the grease.
Service was sub par, was never asked how our food was and on her cellphone at times. Place was not busy that Friday night, we were the 3rd table. -
Review from Tianne T.
Fountain Valley, CA
11/23/2011
This place is not good Peruvian food, and if you give this place 3 stars or more, you will probably admit you have not tried other Peruvian restaurants in or around Orange County.
The lomo saltado is tough and dry. The service is average.
This review is based on my 10+ years living in Lake Forest and the handful of times I've been to this restaurant. If you want better Peruvian food, go to Inka Mama in Foothill Ranch or Aliso Viejo, or go north and go to Dx Peruvian, or Inka Cantina in Fountain Valley. ANY of these will be better than Inka Grill, no matter what kind of taste you have. -
Review from Cathy S.
I have eaten at the Inka Grill on Bristol and liked it so I thought I would bring my hubby to this one.
We ordered the Spaghetti Chicken Saltado for $11.95 and Paella for $14.95.
Ok... seriously... could the waitress have been a little nicer? My husband ordered his paella http://www.yelp.com/bi... and I asked for the pasta saltado http://www.yelp.com/bi.... I received a perplexed look. I corrected myself by stating spaghetti saltado. REALLY? It is not that different and it would have been polite for her to ask "Spaghetti?". Wow.
Ok, so I LOVE the Aji green sauce! Seriously, we used about 90% of the bottle tonight. I truly believe they have the BEST Aji green sauce around! Just the right amount of spiciness for me!
Hubby's paella was ok. We are used to our flamboyant Spanish paella and were a tad disappointed with this one. Flavors were good, fish cooked just right. I believe it was halibut. Yes... I smothered it with the Aji sauce...
My Spaghetti Saltado was good with the right amount of spices and flavor. Chicken was cooked perfectly. After a few big bites, smothered it with Aji sauce as well.
Yummy for my tummy and leftovers as well! Big portions!
Food - 4 Stars
Service - 2.5 Stars - Service was quick, a little bit of warmth and friendliness goes a long way...
Ambiance - 4 StarsListed in: Comfort food, Date night
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Review from Gina C.
Coto De Caza, CA
1/14/2012
Ok, so I've been coming to this place for years and I recently experienced a cockroach siting. Ewwww! I can never go back her after seeing that. It's too bad bc the Saltado de Camerones was really good.
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Review from Amy C.
Tustin, CA
11/22/2011
I like this place! A friend and I came here for a weeknight dinner. Not too busy but that's ok.
The green sauce was spicy but yummy! I had that with bread and my food...we ate about 2/3 of the bottle. LOL!
I has beef saltado and my friend had chaufa con mariscos...but good and not salty!! I had a Peruvian beer too.
Bill came out to about $32 including tax, had a Groupon so the deal was even better! The waitress was nice and attentive. I would definitely come back here again. -
Review from Vince V.
San Diego, CA
11/13/2011
I took a chance on this place while driving up from San Diego for a job interview. This place is way better than all the Peruvian joints in San Diego combined. I ordered the Tallarin Verde (spinach basil pasta) and it stood up well based against my favorite Peruvian restaurants in the South Bay, Hollywood and San Fernando Valley. They sprinkle parmesan cheese on top like Pollo Inka does. If you're like me and not a fan of parmesan, be sure to ask the waitress to hold it on your order. No complimentary appetizers here, but they do give you two rolls and butter. Didn't try the chca, but the maracuya juice tasted great.
What's up with the bad reviews with low ratings? Jealous competitors? Certainly some conflict of interest and/or hidden agendas. (DK) seems to have a hard on against whatever business is at this address.
For the person (MG) who had the negative comment about the aji sauce being watery, try shaking the bottle. Home made sauces tend to settle to the bottom of the bottle. Insulting Peruvian food fans by calling us virgin Peruvian eaters is not the way to add credibility to your review.
It takes an incredibly bad place for me to ever issue a one star rating, so it ticks me off when I see faked negative reviews when I'm trying to find a great place to eat. -
Review from Nora K.
Los Angeles, CA
11/16/2011
I normally go to Mario's Peruvian here in LA and I even went to Peru for some real Peruvian food, and I thought Mario's was still pretty BOMB! One day, I decide to take my hubby to Mario's and he didn't think it was all that great... it was okay... but not the hype that everyone made it to be. I thought I was about to break up with him then and there... BLASPHEMY!
So, he takes me to this place. He orders the Lomo Saltado... I take a bite... pretty good... I ordered the Juanita's Stew... and... DAMN... Juanita makes some BOMB ASS stew! It was a lil on the spicy side, but it was worth it. Pretty good place. I still love my Mario's for their delicious ceviche, but Juanita's stew has a special place in my tummy now.
Service is a lil slow... -
Review from Ken C.
Laguna Hills, CA
10/8/2011
I went with a friend about a month ago. My food was very clearly microwaved and way too salty. Also, my silverware was dirty: my fork had a piece of what looked like dried cilantro stuck to it.
I don't remember much else from the experience, except that my food tasted unusually Chinese, and my friend made the same comment about his food. That might have been how what we ordered was supposed to taste, though, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I'm not going to recommend this place to anyone any time soon, unless they're into salty, microwaved food and dirty silverware. -
Review from Chris K.
7/17/2011
I had read Anita L's review of this place and her story of the horrible server and found it to be pretty funny. A few months after reading it, a friend of mine wanted Peruvian food, so we decided to check this place out since I'm from Irvine and he's from Aliso and this place was smack in the middle. As my luck would have it, we must have gotten the exact server. Anita's review is from 2008 and this was earlier in 2011 so I'm boggled at how she could still be there 3 years later, so I'm guessing she's part of the ownership or something.
"What do you want to drink....." instead of "Can I get you gentlemen started with something to drink?"
"What do you want....." instead of "Are you ready to order?" I mean, it was HOSTILE in there.
Also, it was a pretty warm spring day and I was thirsty and asked more than once for a refill on my water.... to which she gave me this look each time like I was asking for keys to the store and begrudgingly refilled my glass. I might have thought I was at one of those restaurants where the servers are SUPPOSED to be mean to you...
As for the food, I had some version of Peruvian curry that was somewhat tasty, and my lunch buddy had the lomo saltado which he said was ok. But considering he had traveled to Peru on several occasions, I took that to mean it wasn't that great.
Overall, I may have given this place 3 stars for the food, but the terrible service drops it down to 1. I mean really, if Yelp allowed us to give 0 stars, I would. Needless to say, I will never return to this place again.Listed in: Good food, bad service,…
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Review from Michelle M.
Lake Forest, CA
4/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
So. Not. Impressed.
Service was way lacking. Lacking, as in rude.
So. Not. Impressed.
Waitress was rude as hell. I asked her about a couple of the dishes and she just stared at me. All I want is your stinking opinion of the food.
So. Not. Impressed.
I ordered something that was called Mama Co....oh, wait, I totally spaced on the second word of the name of the food because service was just that BAD.
So. Not. Impressed.
Why does it take you 30 minutes to make a dish that only consists of chicken, rice and some random spices? You made me 10 minutes late to work from my lunch break.
So. Not. Impressed.
Food was nothing I'd write home to my mom about. I could make something just as good and simple.
So. Not. Impressed.
They didn't give us a lunch special menu, so I paid $13 with tax and tip for a meal I could have got for $8. Why didn't you tell me or hand me the lunch menu?
So. Not. Impressed.
It took the waitress about 5 minutes to run one single Debt Card! Really?
So. Not. Impressed.
The sole thing I actually liked about this place was the green spicy sauce they gave us to put on our food. It made my nose run it was so spicey....now that's what I'm talking about.
I really don't get the hype of Inka Grill. Needless to say I won't be coming back because, well, I'm so not impressed!!Listed in: Lame places to avoid....., Lunch time madness
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Review from Juan A.
Plano, IL
8/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Not happy!!! Bread was dry. Food seemed to be reheated. Being married to my own Peruvian Queen. We put the food to the test. The lomo saltado was overcooked and not up to par.. I expected better. They are overpriced and
and their service is by far substandard. Inka Mama, hopefully you are better. Disappointed With food and service. -
Review from Belen C.
Durham, NC
8/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is ok. Nothing special and kinda pricey. The employees here aren't too friendly and they have stupid rules relating to credit cards (i.e. can only take two credit cards per bill, minimum of $20 to use credit card, etc). Very inconvenient.
I've been to a few Peruvian places that served tastier and served bigger plates. I had the pollo saltado and the plate was completely overwhelmed by the taste of cilantro (I don't hate it, but I'd like my chicken to taste like, well, chicken). Not sure if I'd go back here again. I might as well try some other Peruvian places around southern Orange County. 2.5 stars. -
Review from Abbe C.
Updated - 5/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Met up with old co-worker whom I used to work with. We used to come here once a week for lunch when we work around here. Looks like the strip mall has a few new tenants. I see the gentleman's club has been replaced with Buffalo Wild Wings, Wahoo is gone now, there's Peppino, etc.
I was glad that Inka is still around and surprised to find that the food is still good. My dinner was Milanesa and it came with a pound-up steak, a side salad and plantain. Very tasty. My friend had his usual favorite Picante de Pollo. We were glad that the food is still good.
Staff was friendly and service was quick too! We were surprised!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/31/2007
When I described Peruvian food, I'll say it's a cross between Mexican and Chinese. I used to work… Read more »
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Review from Daniel K.
Aliso Viejo, CA
10/11/2011
Food tasted decent, but not worth $12.00 +, as most of their dishes are priced $12 and up.
The portion is fairly large, but the quality is not very good. Sea food Picante I had was mostly potatoes and little bit of squid pieces, with few scallops thrown in. Tasted like frozen sea food medley you buy from grocery market, not fresh.
And the bread! Dry and hardened, not fresh at all. The dipping sauce was spicy and good, though.
And as other Yelper commented, the silverware was not very clean (water spots on all the silverware).
The worst part was the service. Order iced tea, but I had to repeat my request 3 times before they brought the drink. They had Groupon deal this week and I went there to have lunch with a co-worker using the Groupon I purchased. And apparenlty I was not the only one to bring Groupon as I heard people around me mentioning about it. Maybe because of the Grouopon deal, every table was full and food took 45 minutes to come out. Our next table guys mentioned that he waited hour and fifteen minutes for his good.
When the time came to pay, I showed my Groupon on my iPhone, but I was told by the rude server lady that they only accept only printed Groupons. But that is not what the Groupn states: "Pull up Groupon with our mobil app (or print it out)." Didn't want to argue, so I paid in full with my credit card.
Requested my refund with Groupon as I have no intention of ever going back to this place. -
Review from Shana L.
Aliso Viejo, CA
12/29/2011
BEWARE!!!!!!! This restaurant was charging fraudulent charges on my credit card. I went there a couple times and apparently someone wrote down my credit card information and was making charges i never did. When i called the owner, Anna, she avoided my calls instead of calling me back to resolve the issue. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and try to resolve things with her first, but no calls back. I will never go to either one of her locations ever again after the courtesy she didn't give me. This company is a fraud.
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Review from Jay L.
Los Angeles, CA
10/19/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I have been here twice now, and I still love this place. It has been the only place I've tried Peruvian cuisine, and I feel it will hard to be beat. I havent yet gotten adventurous with the other dishes, but my usual order of the beef saltado substitute fries with broccoli is amazing. The flavors of the veggies, meat, rice, and dash of soy sauce is really comparable to something I would make at home, so maybe one reason why I love the saltado is because it's somewhat comfort food for me.
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Review from Joe W.
Laguna Hills, CA
1/22/2012
I'm trying to like the place but... I ordered the lamb stew. I was concerned because it looked like the only lamb dish on the menu so I didn't want something that wasn't fresh. I asked the server if I would be smart to order the lamb stew, she said yes it was really good. Unfortunately it came warm but not hot and the lamb was totally overcooked. My fear about the lack of turnover of the stew was realized. Even so it was passable, but not good enough. The peruvian beans were good, but there was a minuscule amount of them and they were covered with an equal amount of vinegary salad all on the same plate as the stew. My friend got rib eye slices with french fries and the french fries were mixed into the sauce and so were not dry and crispy as expected, seemed like a cheap trick to recycle fries lol. The server was really nice, if not very helpful. The food was ok, I wouldn't go back without a coupon, I left still hungry. The flavors were really good though, and I didn't get sick and that's saying something because I have a weak stomach.
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Review from Dana A.
Riverside, CA
8/1/2011
I've never had Peruvian food before, so I have no idea if what we had was authentic. But it was very, very good. I had a dish with noodles, chicken, and veggies and I loved it.
The servers were rude, but when I was there it was crazy busy. It didn't bother me as much as it did some people on Yelp! Go there for the food, and not for the service or ambiance and I think you'll like it. -
Review from Katie J.
Orange, CA
12/23/2011
STAY away. This place is over priced and the food is horrible. To top it off the service is non existent. The soup is watery and the other food seems reheated. We waited over 10 minutes for the waitress to come take our check so we could pay and leave finally we just put down cash and walked out she got no tip! Shame on you Inka Grill!
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Review from Antonia K.
El Toro, CA
7/8/2011
I went here for lunch recently and was shocked to see $14 lunch prices! Since the last time I was here they now charge for extra green sauce. You also have to spend a minimum of $20 if you use a credit card and no more than 2 credit cards are allowed per table, WOW!!
Good food but too expensive and slow service. -
Review from Lida K.
Anaheim, CA
2/15/2011
"OH MY GOD! IS THIS SAUCE MADE OF CRACK?!" famous words of a first time Peruvian food eater that I brought here. What can I say? How can you turn down the chunkiest, spiciest, subtly delicious green sauce slathered over meat. Come on.
I've been to a lot of Peruvian places from Sacramento to South Bay to Orange County. It's been a challenge to find a decent Peruvian joint since I've moved down here but hands down this place has to be one of the best I've found. The green sauce is definitely spicy and the food was well seasoned...best part... it wasn't greasy =] Mmm good times.
Service was attentive and good, laid back crowd, weird decor, but comfortable.
Lomo Saltados, paella, and chicken... all good choices that you will fill your tummy. -
Review from Pauline L.
Berkeley, CA
3/21/2011
Just came home from eating here with my aunt for dinner. Monday night, 6:30ish pm, only two other groups inside. We were pulled in by the Zagat-rated sign and the fact that I'd heard of "Inka Grill" on Yelp.
Came through the door and we had to walk in a bit before the waiter came to sit us, although it was not really formal.
Complimentary starter of some nice, soft french bread with butter and their awesome "Gringo Killer Sauce". Kinda like a basil green salsa spread. I woulda wanted to buy some to take home for sandwiches, and lo and behold, they sell bottles for $5.
I got "Raul's Macho Fish" - pan fried fish, diced shrimp, calamari, green onions, two big slices of potato, in a tomato-garlic reduction, served with rice and salad. The salad made me really turn this review down. It was, like, only a couple ripped pieces of green lettuce, smaller than the size of the rice mound. I was just like, "Really? Skimping on lettuce?" Otherwise, the crisp fish, flavorful just enough spicy sauce, and not-too-chewy calamari was yummy.
My aunt got the "Parihuela" - Fisherman's stew - with halibut and seafood. It was a good, warm, spicy stew with lots of veggies and lots of seafood. She asked for salad instead of rice. Fresh lettuce with diced cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes and those green kidney-shaped beans. Tried a little spoon, kinda tasted like my dish with a slight difference. My aunt said it was good, but just three stars when I asked her again.
Everything, overall, was just average, though, hence the 3 stars. I'd maybe wanna give it a 3.5 stars cuz it was yummy, but service and presentation coulda been better. I'm surprised the waiter didn't ask if we wanted dessert. Also, kinda expensive. everything is practically $10-$20.
One day, I would like to try paella, because it seems to be a dish that is what everyone's talking about. -
Review from Justin B.
11/8/2010
Pros: Saltado, paella
Cons: Can't think of anything
So I've been to this Inka Grill location on several occasions as well as the one in Costa Mesa. In general, the food is the same (i.e. delicious). I typically getting either the beef saltado (beef, fries, and white rice) or the paella (seasoned rice with seafood). Both are pretty damn good. It really depends on whether you're feeling like meat and potatoes or seafood.
I haven't really tried anything else, but I'm sure they're pretty good too.
The cost of the plates range from $8 to $14. They aren't super cheap, but they aren't super expensive either.
Great price for great food.Listed in: Great Food in the OC
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Review from Dru C.
9/20/2010
I had the beef saltado and while it was decent overall, I was actually pretty disappointed with their green sauce. It was very watery, bland, and didn't have much flavor to it. Our table was given a bottle that was just about empty, so it was gone within seconds (table of 4 hungry dudes for lunch). With such a small restaurant, it seemed difficult to flag our waitress down for anything.
The beef from the saltado wasn't too shabby, with a good ratio with the fries and onions. All too often, saltado dishes seem to have too much of one thing. But this dish seemed to be balanced. Everyone else at the table also had saltado, either beef or chicken. A few others substituted the fries for veggies (broccoli, I think?) which seemingly, just turned the dish into a simple veggie stir-fry dish with rice.
With prices around $10 for lunch, it's not something I'd eat all too often. But I ate about half and took the rest home for leftovers. It was a hearty portion, so at least I didn't feel jipped with some small plate that I could devour in minutes. Service and atmosphere is pretty casual, with a very home-like feel to it. Although I haven't had Peruvian food all too often in my lifetime, I'm just not a huge fan of the cuisine. After all, the last time I had it was from a food truck (Lomo Arigato)! -
Review from Nora M.
Huntington Beach, CA
8/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
What can I say, I love the green sauce they serve with the bread while you wait. If you haven't tried it, you need to try the aguadito soup. The beef saltado with the green beans and the aji de gallina are dishes to try as well.
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Review from Mislee G.
Long Beach, CA
10/23/2010
Wow. A lot of these good reviews are from virgin peruvian eaters. This was by far... the worst peruvian i've ever had... n ive had it a lot at a lot of different places. Im usually never around in this area, but was on the way home coming from san clemente.. so yelped from my iphone and decided to come here cuz I absolutely love peruvian food.. n it had good reviews.
This is another example of why I'm starting to think yelp is unreiable. First off, their aji sauce is watered down as hell... and its definately not spicy. Alll of these people saying that it's spicy... prolly have a low tolerance for spicy. So if you have a low tolerance, u might like it. But Aji sauce for the record... is supposed to be spicy.
I ordered some kind of shrimp pasta dish... wow... can you say super white washed peruvian food? It was really nasty.. bf ordered the picante de carne as usual... pretty gross too.Listed in: YUCK!
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Review from Vineet T.
Anaheim, CA
9/25/2010
As soon as you sit down you get a basket of fresh bread and butter to eat with this green sauce/paste in a bottle. Hmm, so one may ask what is in this sauce? Garlic? Sure, Basil? Maybe, Coconut? Who knows? Crack? Yes, yes, that's it, there's crack in the sauce, cause once you start you cannot stop!
I even like the iced tea here, never have I found a place where I have wanted to say, hey this is some good iced tea.
I ordered the Chicken Saltados with egg. This dish was definitely concocted by a bunch of Peruvian stoners! Chicken, french fries, purple onions in a delicious sauce served with white rice with an over easy egg on top.
Just thinking about it is making me hungry!
They do have a lunch special menu that you have to ask for, because they simply do not hand it out to you. I tried one of the chicken lunch special dishes, it was good, but I prefer the saltados.
All in all, never would I have guessed that Peruvian food would be so interesting and delicious. -
Review from Karen C.
3/28/2010 7 photos
Not much experience with Peruvian food, but my friend described this place as a fusion of Spanish, South American and even Asian influence. Located in a Strip Mall the parking lot was so crazy packed on the Saturday night we went and had to park closer to Panera Bread. Once inside the decor was "folksey" with the walls painted to give the illusion of stone bricks showing through stucco.
Decently priced and filling, all of us couldn't finish our plates and needed a small box to carry the extras home. The following dishes was ordered by our party of five. Purchases $62.70 plus food tax $6.11 totaling to $68.80. Please note the price of your dish will vary with your selection of meat/seafood.
Yucca Huancain- $5.95. The only appetizer ordered, it is yucca root sliced and, looking very similar to french fries smothered in a pale yellow cheese sauce. There were mixed feelings about the cheese sauce, but I liked it. Yucca served this way enables you to taste more of the fresh potato like flavor, enhanced with cheese.
Aji De Gallina- $10.95. Served with a side of white rice, it was slices of chicken with curry with some Parmesan cheese on top. It tasted better than the Picante with Beef. The curry was mild and not spicy at all, you could definitely tell coconut milk was used.
Chimbo Beef- $10.95. This dish was the best in my opinion out of all those ordered that night. It wasn't swimming with sauce and was very appetizing to eat. It had life compared to the other dishes.
Chowder (Clam)- $10.95. Giant portions of soup here! The chowders are not the types you would expect from other restaurants, though it had plenty of smooth creamy flavor it wasn't as chunky as other chowders. My friend Beth was was surprised to find the egg in her soup poached, instead of mixed in like an egg drop soup, another surprise to her was finding the clams she ordered for her chowder still had their shells... =D
Picante Beef- $10.95. This dish was a disappointment. When ordering this dish from the menu I expected it to have more life, there was even a picture of a chili pepper next to it! But even the "Gringo Killer" green sauce was spicier than this dish! I got tired of eating it half-way though. They should give you spoons and put everything in bowl to eat because of all the sauce!
Raul's Macho Fish- $12.95. I didn't get to try this dish, but it looked good! Covered with calamari and a couple slices of potatoes and stuff... this dish is a favorite to the local who suggested this place to us.
The green sauce is like crack! When asked what was it in it was just lettuce, chillies, salt and pepper... the right level of spiciness to me. Amazing how creamy, cool it is unlike tobacco sauce which is spicy, vinegary. Love it!
I made note of sign on the wall that said a maximum of two credit cards for a split check, and then of a chalkboard sign in the hallway to the restroom so I know they promote daily specials. Strange event when checking out... the waitress mentioned that the establishment had no cash register?!? But that they had to bring their own cash in, after asking our group for change for a dollar. -
Review from Anita L.
5/23/2008 1 photo
This is a tale of two sisters.... Inka Grill Costa Mesa and Inka Grill Lake Forest. The only difference is that Costa Mesa is the cheery, bubbly sister, while Lake Forest is the whiny, bitchy, rather unpleasant sister.
We decided to eat Peruvian tonight. I had no idea that the CM location is sister restaurant to this one. We have eaten at the CM location before and really loved it.
We settled into a booth and menus were brought out to us. A basket with 4 slices of bread was brought to the table too with half a bottle of the green sauce. Lil guy immediately dug into it.
One of the servers came over and asked us what we wanted to drink and here's how the conversation went:
Server: What you want to drink?
Me: Water for now thanks.
Server looks towards hubby: What you want to drink?
Hubby: Uh water is fine.
She then points to lil guy and says: him?
Lil guy answers: Water
She then turns around and says to the other server: tres aguas and walks off.
Her extremely sour face put me off immediately. Was it us? I don't know. She then returns to take our order. We ordered the chowder with chicken (lil guy doesn't eat seafood) and at first I ordered the Paella, but then she told me it was seafood paella. I asked her if there were any other meats in there beside seafood and her response? FISH she says. I paused a moment and stared at her. Then I asked if there was chicken. She stared back without responding.
HELLO!! Did we come to the Peruvian restaurant for dummies?
I finally just ordered the beef saltado instead.
The bread was gone quickly. It was the same type one would find at a Mexican panaderia. Hubby noticed a sign which said that extra basket of bread costs $1. WTF?????????? Are they serious?????? I guess so! Bread at a panaderia costs about 50 cents max and it would've been twice the size of the one we got. The one we got can be readily bought for 25 cents each. What a rip off. Plus it wasn't really fresh either. I mean if you're giving me Cream Pan bread, I'll be happy to pay a buck for, but this dried out stuff?
Our food arrived and *heavy sigh* the portions were a lot smaller than I remembered from the CM location. I would've ordered more had I known that it would be smaller about 1/3 in size.
Our chowder came in one big bowl and although she brought out extra bowls for us to share she didn't bring extra spoons. I asked for extra spoons and she gave me that blank stare once again. Is it so hard to be just a tad pleasant? You don't have to smile but a word of acknowledgment maybe? Hell I am not asking for much here.
I felt so uncomfortable the whole time this person was helping us. I just felt we were an inconvenience to her somehow.
The chowder was okay. It had potatoes and large chunks of chicken in it and some rice. The green sauce helped tremendously. It would also have been nice if the soup was scorchingly hot when it arrived because it cooled down quickly. Hubby enjoyed it though.
The saltado was flavorful and lil guy liked the French fries in it. Seriously though, a lot of French fries and not enough beef in my opinion. It was cooked with red onions and a few slices of tomato and served with white rice.
As we ate, another family came in and while they were ordering, I guess the same server must've pissed them off because I could hear the frustration in the wife's voice trying to ask about the dishes and then ending with the husband butting in and saying "THAT'S why she's asking you these questions and you're not listening to her".
OOPS! Certainly NOT a good day for you robotic server!
There are so many Peruvian restaurants in the area from Costa Mesa, Irvine, Lake Forest to Aliso Viejo. I'll have to say that this is the most disappointing one of all. Food was okay but I've had better, however what totally pissed me off was the SHIT service.
The same stone faced server brought our check out to us as soon as hubby put his spoon down and walked away again. I put my credit card down and she came back to take it away. When she returned with our check, that was the first time I heard her say anything which remotely resembled that of a server and it was 'thank you'.
I'm ordinarily a generous tipper but tonight I gave them exactly 15%. NO MORE!
Food was 2 and a half stars. Lomo saltado was good but I didn't like the chowder too much. Every other deduction was for the baaaaaaad service. -
Review from Eileen C.
Hacienda Heights, CA
5/25/2009
My first Peruvian experience and I was full off the green sauce before my actual meal was even served. I was practically squirting the stuff in my mouth and swallowing huge gulps of it like a spicy lettuce milkshake. Swoon.
Seriously, though. We killed our bottle with just the bread basket. The server looked aghast as we requested more when the food arrived.
I ordered the Lomo Saltado, which is just unbelievable. How the heck did I manage to navigate through life for 27 years without the privilege of having Peruvian Food?!
Rice (come on, I'm Chinese) with steak (everyone knows my favorite animal is dead cow) with veggies (good source of fiber that's an integral staple in my diet) and French Fries (I think I've died from a heart attack and gone to cholesterol heaven) smothered in gravy. Add a few (ok, maybe more than a FEW) spurts of lettuce milkshake, and my eating utensils were moving faster than the chef's teppanyaki knives at Benihana.
Simply, simply amazing. -
Review from Karen G.
Irvine, CA
4/7/2011 17 Check-ins Here
I love the food, the service though restaurant is a bit small and the business next to it is a Hookah bar where they BLAST techno music. Though the food came out slower than I had hoped but it could be because we were starving. The Gringo Killer Sauce its AMAZING, better than the one in Costa Mesa! They had spanish soap opera on TV, which was hilarious for hubby and I to watched. I think the restaurant could use an update but love the food so it'll do.
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Review from Laura S.
Orange County, CA
7/2/2009
Have you ever been waiting for your check after a great meal and the waitress comes over and says, "sorry, we can't bring you a check right now, our machines aren't working." ?!
My immediate response was, "we have to go to work, add it up."
Waitress "I can't do that, our systems are down."
Me: "Add it up and we'll pay cash."
Waitress "I can't do that." And walks away.
Time goes by. At least 10 minutes. Thankfully I had a good friend with me and we found the situation humorous. So after the 10 minutes the server comes up with a manual CC slip and asks me,
"Do you know how to figure out the tax on this?"
Me: "Sure, add 8.75%"
Waitress just stands there looking confused.
Me: "Give me that" (takes bill out of her hand and uses phone to calculate tax) "there you go."
Friend: "Can you put $16 on my card and the rest in cash?"
Waitress: "no, I cannot do that."
I felt like I was in a peruvian twilight zone. Or possibly just hell. It was also really hot in there and the situation wasn't helping. Finally she brings us back the CC receipt and me the wrong change. WRONG CHANGE. So I call her over and explain she should have kept $10 extra dollars... and yeah... I didn't leave a tip.
ON TO THE FOOD: The food was awesome. I'd come back despite the whole shitty service thing. I had some sort of peruvian sashimi and a salad, friend had calamari. All was very good. The green sauce was awesome and I asked for extra red sauce (super hot) which was great to dip the calamari in.
Seriously though, this place needs new servers pronto. I'm debating giving it 3 stars because of the service, but man, the food was good. -
Review from Steven N.
I was in the mood to try a new sushi place a couple of Mondays ago, but like always, I forget to read the fine print on things. Sushi Wazen was where I wanted to have lunch at. After driving by and reading their hours of operations (Closed Mondays), I decided to make a quick change of plans. I'm no stranger to dining establishments on this street and was able to decide quickly that I would just go to one of my favorites. Inka Grill is one of my favorites because I love spicy, bread, rice and pasta. Inka Grill has all of these things.
I came in and exchanged greetings with the busman in Spanish. Bread was immediately place on my table and ready for me to pour the famous Aji Green Sauce on top of it. I really love this sauce. It has the perfect amount of spiciness for me. Within a minute, all four pieces of bread were gone and in Spanish, I asked for some more bread.
My waitress was now at my table and some more dialogue in Spanish took place. My Spanish is okay and I can get by if I control the conversation. But when the other fluent Spanish speaker goes all fast (normal speed for them) and away from the topic, I will only be able to pick up words here and there. I picked up something about her hearing something about me. I believe it was from my last visit here in August when I spoke to the other waitress about Charo's in Long Beach. I was a little lost in the convo and brought it back to my meal and ordered my standard Picantes de Pollo.
This spicy dish with chicken, rice and potatoes was awesome as usual. It is a fairly large dish that truly hit the spot. I was pretty hungry today at lunch because my two 8 oz yogurts for breakfast wasn't cutting it today. Had some more chit chat with the busman in Spanish, paid my bill, said my goodbyes and was on my way.
I even thought about buying a bottle of Aji ($5) to go. But then I talked myself out of it because I had eaten plenty of carbs already. Good thing Monday nights are one of my workout nights. 6 pieces of bread and a serving of rice is a lot of carbs to burn off.
This lunch left me wanting to improve my Spanish. I should have backpacked through Spain when I had the opportunity in 90s. Oh well, I guess I can just hang out more at the taquerias.Listed in: White is Right when it comes…, Dinning At The Y, Comida that is not Mexican
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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Review from LiL Z.
Aliso Viejo, CA
8/14/2010
I've tried Inka Mama and decided to check out Inka Grill to see the difference. I really enjoy Peruvian food due to its special spices and sauce. I'm guessing that the Inka Mama is owned by the sisters and the Inka Grill is owned by the brothers. From the outside Inka Grill looks like a shag but the food definitely won my heart as compared to Inka Mama! =D
FOOD: VERY GOOD
Appetizer: Empanada - stuffed with meat and very flavorful.
Entrée: Fisherman's Stew - very tasty similar to Cioppino but without tomatoes.
Drinks - Pisco Sour ( I LOVE this drink! It's a MUST TRY!!! It's like a Kamikaze but with Peruvian grape liquor)
Desserts - Entrees were huge portions, no room for dessert! Sorry, next time!
SERVICE: POOR (lack of waiters/waitresses)
PRICE: GOOD
RETURN: YES!!!Listed in: OC Favorite Restaurants
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Review from Sukhraj B.
Lake Forest, CA
10/16/2009 2 photos
I'm pretty convinced that I have new food phobia. I am adventurous though. Give me any uncharted trail, a mountain to scale, a rock to climb, and I'm so there but new food? Yeah, that's where this girl shies away and scours the menu for anything that looks vaguely familiar.
So when my good friend, a local wine distributor, mentioned Inka Grill for lunch and tempted me with a new option to Yelp I almost balked in fear but I'm trying to be adventurous - food adventurous therefore I agreed to meet her here.
We met for an early lunch and I looked around trying to find something on everyone elses plates that I might like and at first glance of the menu (which isn't very helpful with describing what the entrees are and the pictures are limited), I settled for some Alfredo Spaghetti Pasta while my friend decided on the Aji De Gallina.
We got some bread as an appetizer followed by two orders of a green soup. We didn't remember ordering soup and thought it was part of our meal so we proceeded to blow on it and take a sip but a waitress quickly came out to stop us and serve it to the table next to us. I'm pretty sure she broke some OSHA laws there. We had already blown on it and technically that's a health hazard. She should have either left it with us or taken it back and served the table next to us new bowls of soup. That made me a little conscious about the food I was about to be served.
You would think that coming to a Peruvian restaurant, I'd actually order something Peruvian but my adventurous side failed me and I got left with a plate of alfredo over spaghetti. When I think of spaghetti, I usually think of marinara sauce and meatballs. Where are the flat wide noodles? And is this really Peruvian food? I didn't think so.
My friend's dish was an amazing curry with shredded chicken. It looked way better than my alfredo spaghetti that was probably reheated because the noodles were a little burnt and crispy and the sauce was thin and the broccoli was mushy. It also left me with some mean gastro problems later. Yeah, no spaghetti for me..ever.
The iced tea that I got with my drink was pretty strong. I'm guessing it was either brewed over night and left to sit out or it was a day old. Our glasses were packed to the brim with the ice I hate that resembles pebbles. Either way, it wasn't any good. My water tasted better and I'm glad I got that as well.
Overall, I'm pretty sure this place is known for its food and not its service or non-peruvian food. When our check came, we sat and chatted for a while and the waitress had to come by twice to make sure we had paid. I guess you're only allowed to eat here and once you're done they want you out. I'll have to come back again and see what all the peruvian fuss is about. -
Review from Thu N.
11/19/2008
As a disclaimer... I'm not a Peruvian food expert---but, Inka Grill serves as a playground for my taste buds. I feel like my taste buds are on E when I eat here.
Anyway, like everyone else, I order the Pollo Saltado. Granted, it's probably like going into a chinese restaurant and ordering orange chicken...but sh*t the dish is good. I feel like whatever sauce they used, it's almost like MSG & Crack had a one night stand together, and now their offsprings are wandering around in this dish. It's so tasteful and addicting! And then on top of that, the french fries bathe in this sauce next to the equally addicting carb-overload rice. When I eat this dish, sometimes I think "Satan...is that you over there? Are you the one that brought this evil and addicting dish to me?".
Anyway...I have tried this location, along with the one in Costa Mesa and the one in Irvine (similar but I think different owners) off of Alton. I like this location the most because it tastes better than Costa Mesa for some reason, and serves more than the Irvine location.
With that said, if this location were adjacent to El Polla Inka in Torrance, El Polla Inka would beat it hands down. -
Review from Noelle M.
Newport Beach, CA
The green sauce for your bread ROCKS!
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Review from Christine G.
Anaheim, CA
8/22/2010
This is my first shot at Peruvian food so gauge the accuracy of my review on that. One of my coworkers is Peruvian and she frequents here so I imagine it's legit.
I have never had a bad dish here and I try to make it a point to try something new whether I order it or whomever I'm with orders it. Try everything. You won't be disappointed.
Two dishes of note:
1. Beef Saltado-- beef, french fries, onions, and cilantro.
2. Lamb Stew-- lamb with a side of white beans and citrus-marinated onions and cilantro
Both will blow your mind.
One thing I will order EVERYTIME is the fried plantains. It complements any dish.
