Like the other ambitious cooks from around the globe who’ve been rashly setting up kitchens in New York this fall (Miguel Sanchez Romera from Barcelona at Romera, Jung Sik Yim from Seoul in the old Chanterelle space downtown), the Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio comes to town with a sparkling résumé. Easily the highest-profile chef in South America, Acurio has been described as “Lima’s Molto Mario” and “the Jean-Georges of Peru.” Like Batali, he’s a round, charismatic figure, with multiple hit TV cooking shows to his credit. Like Jean-Georges, he’s authored numerous glossy cookbooks and operates a vast international empire of restaurants. At last count, there were 29 Acurio establishments in twelve countries (Jean-Georges has a mere 25), and the frenetic chef reportedly has plans in the works for at least 20 more, including a Japanese-Peruvian concept, a Peruvian steak-and-sandwich joint, and a chocolaterie.
Acurio’s first New York venture is called La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, and it’s part of a string of signature ceviche bars with outlets in far-flung destinations like São Paulo and San Francisco (two more are planned for L.A. and Miami). The 196-seat restaurant occupies the same two-floor space off Madison Square Park that Danny Meyer’s Indian-fusion restaurant Tabla occupied until last spring. There’s still a large round hole between the two floors, as in Meyer’s day, and a curving wooden staircase, which the new owners have painted in a severe shade of black. There’s a sculptural arrangement made from dried Peruvian corn kernels on one of the walls, and shimmering lattice curtains are hung here and there in a vain attempt to give the ungainly space a soothing, aquatic feel. But these effects tend to work better in the downstairs ceviche bar than in the upstairs dining room, which was submerged, on the evenings I visited, in a weirdly flat, shadowy gloom.
Read more at http://nymag.com/restaurants/
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