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Somos Peru (http://www.somos-peru.nl/) is the only Peruvian restaurant in The Hague and surroundings. It is located in an area where Latin American embassies are based and are well visited by them. I was invited by Somos Peru to try their dishes. Want to know more about this? Then keep reading.
Somos Peru restaurant at Javastraat 13 is a family business with a father, mother, and three sons. The father Edwin de la Cruz is the owner and host, the mother and eldest son prepare together the delicious Peruvian dishes, the other two sons work behind the bar and in service. The name Somos Peru means “we are Peru.” They want to make a statement with their name that they love their country, traditions, culture, music, and especially their Peruvian cuisine. Their goal is to introduce more people to Peruvian culinary cuisine. Edwin de la Cruz and his three sons talk passionately about their family business.
Peruvian cuisine is a mix of traditional Inca cuisine, Spanish, Chinese, and African cuisine. It is indeed a melting pot of flavors and cultures. More and more people are discovering Peruvian cuisine. And that is not surprising since Lima in Peru has been on the list of the world’s best culinary destinations for several years. We don’t have to travel so far for Peruvian cuisine, because we have Somos Peru in The Hague.
Upon arrival at the Somos Peru restaurant, we saw the flag of Peru hanging outside. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we were welcomed by the host Edwin and his two sons. 
The colors red and black of the restaurant’s interior immediately caught my attention. There was previously an Indonesian restaurant there, and according to the owner, the interior has remained the same. I experienced the atmosphere in the restaurant as cozy and pleasant with South American music in the background.
This was my first time trying Peruvian dishes and I was curious what my taste experience would be. I wanted to try popular authentic Peruvian dishes and had the owner put together a selection for me.
For the appetizer, we had a trio mix with Ceviche, Papas la Huancaina (potato salad), and Tiradito. Ceviche is a delicious refreshing dish that consists of fresh fish in strips cured in lime juice and flavored with red onion, salt, cilantro, and rocoto (a type of chili pepper). This was served with sweet potato and corn. Ceviche tasted slightly tangy but also spicy from the rocoto and at the same time well balanced in flavor. We loved it. Papas la Huancaina is a traditional potato salad drenched with aji amarillo sauce.
Tiradito is fresh fish sliced into strips and marinated in lime juice and dressed with aji amarillo sauce (yellow Peruvian pepper). This tasted delicious. The tangy flavor of the lime juice paired nicely with the creamy spicy taste of the aji amarillo sauce. I was also curious about the 2 types of Peruvian corn. The first type of corn was white in color and also distinct in taste. The other type was baked with a crispy coating. The Peruvian corn varieties tasted completely different from what I’m used to with the common yellow corn variety, but I found them delicious.
We were surprised with the main course with the wok dishes Lomo Saltado and Saltado de Camarón. These dishes clearly show Chinese influences. They are both made with soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, salt, onion, cilantro, and paprika.
Only Lomo Saltado with sliced beef strips and Saltado de Camarón with shrimp. Both dishes are served with rice. We found them delightful. Through the dishes, it seemed like we were in a Chinese restaurant instead of a Peruvian restaurant, the wok dishes were so good in flavor.
After the main course, it was time for dessert. We got two types of desserts: Pie de Limón and Crema de Voltéada. We weren’t entirely enthusiastic about Pie de Limón but we were about Crema de Voltéada. The latter tasted like crème brûlée. Crema de Voltéada is made from condensed milk and evaporated milk.
We did miss live Peruvian music on a Saturday evening. From the owner, we learned that there were no live musicians present this time. Musicians are only hired to play Peruvian music if a certain number of dinner reservations are made at the restaurant on that same evening. And our Saturday fell just short of that.
Actually, we didn’t even mind that there was no live Peruvian music, because the food more than made up for it. It was an ultimate Peruvian taste experience with eye-catching dishes. We were so enthusiastic that we will definitely come back for the other dishes. Somos Peru (http://www.somos-peru.nl/) clearly belongs to our favorite restaurants in The Hague. If you haven’t been to this restaurant yet, it is definitely worth a visit.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/somosperurestaurant/
Address: Javastraat 13 in The Hague, website: http://www.somos-peru.nl/
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